Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, competing as a South Korean representative in women's professional volleyball, suffered a defeat against Japan's SV.League representative Osaka Marvelous.

The Pink Spiders lost 0-3 (17-25, 18-25, 15-25) to Osaka in the opening match of the 2026 Jeju Korea-China-Japan Women's Volleyball Top Club Super Match held at Jeju Halla Gymnasium.

With key players called up to the South Korean national team for the East Asian Championship, the Pink Spiders fielded a starting lineup featuring Pyo Seung-ju, Choi Eun-ji, and Byun Ji-su.

Moon Ji-yoon, who entered as a substitute in the first and second sets before starting the third, scored a team-high 11 points, while Pyo Seung-ju, who returned to the V-League after signing with the Pink Spiders ahead of this season, contributed 4 points.

The Pink Spiders kept the match tight early in the first set led by the attacks of Pyo Seung-ju and Choi Eun-ji, but their reception faltered past the middle of the set.

Trailing 11-13, they failed to block the opponent's flank attacks and conceded six consecutive points, handing over the momentum.

Though substitute Moon Ji-yoon fought hard with blocks and open attacks, the team failed to close the gap and dropped the first set 17-25.


Early in the second set, the Pink Spiders fell behind 0-6 amid a combination of unstable reception and defensive errors.

Byun Ji-su recorded consecutive blocks, while Im Hye-rim and Moon Ji-yoon joined the attack from the front and back courts to chase, but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit.

Struggling against the opponent's fast-paced attacks until late in the set, the Pink Spiders surrendered the second set as well at 18-25.

Early in the final third set, the Pink Spiders tied the game at 4-4 with a blocking point by Choi Eun-ji and kept the balance until 6-6.

However, they were soon blocked by the opponent's high-reaching defensive wall and committed consecutive errors, falling behind 8-12.

Unable to find an offensive breakthrough, the score widened to 9-16, and a drop in concentration late in the set led to a 15-25 straight-set defeat.

Both Osaka, representing Japan in this tournament, and Shanghai Bright Uベスト (Bright Ubevest), representing China, are teams where "Volleyball Empress" Kim Yeon-koung previously played.

Kim Yeon-koung stepped up as the ceremonial first server for the opening match.


In the ensuing match, Hyundai Hillstate lost 0-3 (16-25, 24-26, 18-25) to Shanghai.

Hyundai Hillstate also played without several key players who were called up to the national team, with Lee Chae-young scoring a team-high 10 points.

Transferred player Lee Han-bi added 8 points, Bae Yu-na performed well with 7 points including 3 blocks, and setter Gu Sol, who joined this season after playing in the semi-professional stage, contributed 4 points including 2 blocks and 1 service ace.

Hyundai Hillstate played a tight contest early in the first set but conceded the initiative after being repeatedly blocked by the opponent past the middle of the set, losing 16-25.

Entering the second set, they took a 16-12 lead driven by the scoring of Lee Han-bi and Lee Chae-young, but struggled against the opponent's tenacious defense late in the set and conceded unanswered points, suffering a painful comeback defeat at 24-26.

Having completely lost momentum, Hyundai Hillstate trailed from the start of the third set and, failing to narrow the score gap, ended the match in a straight-set defeat at 18-25.

(Photo: Provided by KBSN, Yonhap News)