GS Caltex, the 2025-26 V-League women's champion, beat Korea Expressway Corp. to win the 2026 Yeosu NH Nonghyup Cup volleyball tournament.
GS Caltex took the title on the 18th at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, edging Korea Expressway 3-2 (25-23, 26-28, 18-25, 25-22, 15-5) in a five-set final.
The win brightened GS Caltex's outlook for the new V-League season. The club had already routed Korea Expressway in the 2025-26 championship series, and it beat the same opponent again in the final of the Cup, which serves as a preseason showcase.
It was GS Caltex's first Cup title in three years, since 2023, and its seventh overall. The tournament began in 2006, and GS Caltex, the most successful women's team in its history, widened its lead over second-place Hyundai Engineering & Construction, which has five titles.
Korea Expressway, meanwhile, fell short in its bid for a first Cup title in 15 years, since 2011. The loss was its seventh runner-up finish, including last year's tournament, the most of any team.
Gizelle Silva, the GS Caltex ace who was named V-League MVP last season, was voted tournament MVP with 28 of 34 votes from reporters.
Korea Expressway's main scorer, Leticia Moma Bassoko, was named winner of the Fighting Spirit Award, given to a standout on the runner-up team, while teammate Kim Da-eun won the rising star award.
GS Caltex took the opening set in a tight finish, closing it out with back-to-back points from Thanacha Sooksod and Silva at 23-23.
The team then lost momentum by dropping the second set. Leading 24-23, GS Caltex failed to stop an attack by Korea Expressway's Asian-quota player Mami Uchiseto, sending the set to extra points.
GS Caltex got another chance when Korea Expressway's Kim Se-bin sent a serve long, but it could not handle a powerful back-row attack from Moma and the set went to extra points again. An error by Kim Ji-won let Korea Expressway take the lead, and after Moma scored at 26-26, Kim Ji-won committed an over-the-net violation to level the match at one set apiece.
With the momentum gone, GS Caltex surrendered the third set with little resistance. Trailing 5-6, its defense wavered and it conceded six straight points to fall well behind. Unable to close the gap, GS Caltex went down 1-2 in sets.
GS Caltex regained its footing in the fourth set. At 17-16, it blocked a hard spike from Moma and Kwon Min-ji turned a difficult high ball into a cross-court winner, lifting the team's momentum. GS Caltex then scored in succession to take the set 25-22 and force a fifth.
Silva's dominance carried GS Caltex past Korea Expressway in the decider. Leading 4-2, she rattled the opposing defense with a powerful serve, and GS Caltex seized the opening with three straight points to stretch the lead to 7-2. From there the team closed out the title without serious trouble.
Silva had scored 12 points by herself in the fifth set of the previous day's semifinal against Heungkuk Life Insurance to put GS Caltex into the final, and she controlled the decisive set again in the final. She finished with a team-high 30 points, including two blocks and three service aces. Kwon Min-ji also starred with 24 points.
Moma, who played through knee pain, scored 31 points but it was not enough. Korea Expressway's homegrown ace Kang So-hui struggled, managing six points on a 23.81% attack success rate.
The men's Cup tournament begins at the same venue on the 19th.