They caught the last train to spring volleyball with a miraculous third place and now look beyond the quarterfinals and semifinals to the championship final. GS Caltex has no intention of canceling its reservations for away accommodations in Suwon and Gimcheon.
The GS Caltex team, led by head coach Lee Young-taek, achieved a straight-sets 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-15) victory in the final match of the Jin Air 2025-2026 V League women's division sixth round against Hyundai Engineering & Construction at Jangchung Arena in Seoul on the 18th.
GS Caltex finished the season with a 19-17 record (57 points), pushing Heungkuk Life down to fourth place and securing third place in the regular season. Heungkuk Life had the same points and number of wins, but GS Caltex earned the home quarterfinal by a narrow edge in set ratio (1.106-1.072).
GS Caltex's return to spring volleyball is the first in five seasons since the 2020-2021 season, when they finished first in the regular season. In addition, head coach Lee Young-taek will lead a spring volleyball stage for the first time in his managerial career. GS Caltex will play a single-elimination quarterfinal against fourth-place Heungkuk Life at Jangchung Arena on the 24th.
Head coach Lee Young-taek attended the Jin Air 2025-2026 V League postseason media day held at Hotel Rivera Cheongdam in Seoul on the 20th with the miracle's third-place protagonist Kwon Min-ji.
Head coach Lee Young-taek and Kwon Min-ji left a postseason pledge saying, "With hot energy, we aim higher."
Hyundai Engineering & Construction head coach Kang Seong-hyung, who advanced directly to the playoffs in second place, picked GS Caltex as the winner of the quarterfinals when predicting opposing lineups, saying, "I judged based on head-to-head records."
In response, head coach Lee Young-taek said, "We are very grateful that you predicted we would come up. We will do our best to meet your expectations."
Heungkuk Life head coach Yoshihara Tomoko predicted Kim Ji-won as GS Caltex's starting setter for the postseason, while head coach Kang Seong-hyung predicted An Hye-jin. Upon hearing this, head coach Lee Young-taek sighed deeply when asked who the starting setter would be, saying, "It is hard to say because I haven't been able to decide. We still have training left, so we will watch the process and decide."
They caught the last train to the postseason with a miraculous third place, but they have no intention of ending their spring journey in the quarterfinals. GS Caltex is aiming for a second miracle in the postseason.
Head coach Lee Young-taek said, "First of all, it is most important for us to get past the quarterfinals. I don't know what the result will be, but we have booked away accommodations in Suwon and Gimcheon. We will go to the hotels," leaving a resolute determination.
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