GS Caltex Women’s Professional Volleyball pulled off a dramatic comeback to win its third straight match.
GS Caltex came from behind to defeat Pepper Savings Bank 3-2 (21-25 23-25 25-20 25-19 15-12) in a full-set match in the first round of the Dodram 2023-24 V-League Women’s Division at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Sunday.
After dropping the first and second sets, GS Caltex bounced back to take the third, then the fourth to level the match, and finally the fifth to complete the thrilling upset.
Giselle Silva (real name Silva) was hot on the day. After scoring over 30 points per game in the previous two matches, Silva poured in 40 points to lead her team to victory.
Homegrown ace Kang So-hwi added 25 points, including two blocked shots, as GS Caltex’s vaunted left-right duo combined for 65 points.
GS Caltex (8 points), which won its opening three games in a row, is in third place behind Hyundai E&C (10 points) and Heungkuk Life (9 points), which have played one more game.
Pepper Savings Bank, which suffered an upset loss to Thru, has lost two in a row. Foreign players Yasmin Bedardt (registered name Yasmin) had 23 points and M.J. Phillips (registered name Phillips) had 17 points, including seven blocked shots, but the finish was not enough.
GS Caltex was on the verge of defeat in the third set, which they entered with a 0-2 set score, as they were down 9-12.
After Silva and Yoo Seo-yeon gradually erased the gap, GS Caltex took a two-point lead at 15-15 when Kang So-hwi blocked Yasmin’s attack after Silva’s back-attack.
At 17-16, Oh Seo-yeon’s fastball led to back-to-back points, and Kim Ji-won’s service ace made it 23-16, opening the door for the comeback.
GS Caltex also scored back-to-back points in the middle of the fourth set to pull away from Pepper Savings Bank.
After an opening attack by Kang So-hwi made it 17-14, GS Caltex combined a kill by Yoo Seo-yeon with an opponent error to extend the lead to 19-14.
Moon Ji-yoon was responsible for the point that sealed the fifth set when she shook off Park Eun-seo’s 토토사이트 reception with her serve at 24-19.
GS Caltex was relentless in the upset. At 6-6, Silva and Kang So-hwi sparked a 10-6 run to take a commanding lead and never allowed the game to slip away, securing a valuable victory at home.