League leaders Hillstate lose libero Kim Yeon-gyeon to injury

Kim Yeon-gyeon of Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate in action during a V League game against GS Caltex Seoul KIXX at Suwon Gymnasium on Feb. 2. [NEWS1]

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate face yet another predicament as their key libero Kim Yeon-gyeon will be out for an injury as the race for the V League title heats up.

The Hillstate libero will be off the court for at least two weeks due to an ankle injury she suffered in a game against the Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Life Spiders, which ended with a 3-0 loss for the Suwon side on Tuesday.

Kim was injured during the second set of Tuesday’s game and was diagnosed with a ligament rupture on her right ankle afterward. The club also announced that she will receive another examination in two weeks.

Kim’s injury report comes as Hillstate are tied on points with the Pink Spiders. The Suwon side are still league leaders in the V League as they have one more win than the Pink Spiders, but are tied with their biggest competitor on 60 points.

Hillstate have been the most successful team in the V League this season, riding a 15-game winning streak in the early days of the season. Though that streak ended last year, the Suwon side have held on to the top spot throughout the season.

Hillstate will have to play at least the next three games without their key libero. Her absence in the team will be clear since she is the player to have recorded the most digs this season, with an average of 5.78 per set.

Her class was visible even in Tuesday’s match against the Pink Spiders, as she recorded 6.5 digs per set until she was substituted.

The Suwon side’s attack, however, will likely be better as the team just completed the signing of foreign player Ivonne Montano after dropping Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani due to injury.

Colombian opposite hitter Montano will fill the vacancy left by Bedart-Ghani, who had carried Hillstate’s attack. Montano was the top scorer in the Swiss league in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

There are 10 remaining league matches until the end of the season for Hillstate. The next three opponents they will face without Kim are the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers, Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass and Daejeon Korea Ginseng Corporation.

That match against the last-place Peppers will be the debut game for Montano, while it will also serve as an opportunity for Hillstate to find a way to defend effectively without Kim.

Hillstate will face off the Gwangju side at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Friday.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]