Hillstate lose third game in a row as lead starts to disappear

Ivonne Montano of Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate attacks during a V Leauge game against Gimcheon Korea Express Hi-Pass at Suwon Gynamsium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate lost a third straight game for the first time this season, falling 3-1 to Gimcheon Korea Express Hi-Pass at Suwon Gynamsium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Tuesday.

The league leaders have been on a losing-streak since they lost 3-0 to their biggest competitor the Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders last Tuesday. They even lost 3-2 to the last-place Gwangju AI Peppers last Friday, a team that has only won three games so far this season.

On Tuesday, the Suwon side started the game the way they had wanted, taking the first set 25-21, but could not maintain that momentum.

Hillstate managed to take the second set to 21-21 but failed to block Hi-Pass ace Katherine Bell’s attacks in the end, ultimately losing the second set 25-21.

The third set was neck-and-neck as the two sides took the score to 20-20, but the Suwon side conceded multiple points through their own errors and failed to score more. They eventually lost the set 25-20.

The league leaders had to bounce back in the fourth set to stay alive, but they never grabbed a lead during the set and showed a lack of cohesion in defense. The score went 24-20 and they conceded that last point to Park Jeong-ah, losing the set again 25-20.

Tuesday’s loss extended Hillstate’s losing-streak to three games. They have not been the same since they lost two key players to injury: Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani, who had carried the team’s attack, and Kim Yeon-gyeon, who had recorded the most digs.

Hillstate’s new foreign player Ivonne Montano managed to score the most points with 20 for her side, but it was not enough to fill the vacancy left by her predecessor.

Bedart-Ghani had previously led her side to a 3-2 win in the last game against the Gimcheon side on Dec. 4 last year, with 35 points.

Hillstate still sit on the top of the table with 61 points as of press time, but the second-place Pink Spiders might snatch the position if they win Wednesday’s game against the Peppers.

The Suwon side’s next game is against Daejeon Korea Ginseng Corporation at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon on Friday.

They will have to improve their defense in the next match, particularly in the absence of key libero Kim, since she will be out for two weeks.

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