Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Alondra Villanueva and Lauren Vazquez combined for 51 kills to lead the Hutchinson Community College volleyball team in its Jayhawk Conference home matchup against Butler on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.
But after capturing the first two sets, the Blue Dragons dropped the final three sets by a total of seven points in a 3-2 loss to the Grizzlies.
Hutchinson is now 11-12 overall and 3-5 in the Jayhawk. The Blue Dragons travel to play at No. 12 Barton at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Great Bend. Butler is now 13-8 overall and 4-4 in the KJCCC.
The Blue Dragons broke a single-match team record for kills with 75. Villanueva had a career-high 30 kills and Vazquez had a career-high 21 kills.
Villanueva is the second Blue Dragon in program history to reach 30 kills in a match. Katelyn Elstun had 34 kills against Missouri State-West Plains in 2019. Villanueva also tied for the second-most attacks in a match with 30, tying Hall of Famer Mariana Blum, who had 70 against Indian Hills in 2004.
Villanueva hit .314 for the match and posted her team-high 10th double-double of the season with 16 digs.
Vazquez had her fourth double-double of the season with 21 kills on 40 attacks for a .375 hitting percentage. She added 16 digs.
The Blue Dragons out-hit Butler .226-.220 and had 75 kills to Butler's 58. The Grizzlies out-blocked the Blue Dragons 11-7 and had 12 aces to Hutchinson's six. The Dragons out-dug Butler 86-57.
Sophomore setter Angela Reupena had 37 assists, six digs, four kills and an ace.
Freshman setter Alexandra Garcia had 14 kills four digs and two kills.
Freshman libero Clara Oliveira had 27 digs and a season-high 15 assists. This was Oliveira's eighth match of 20 or more digs this season.
SET 1: The Blue Dragons got off to a tremendous start hitting .419 for the set and sided out at a 77-percent clip. Five different players has at least three kills led by Vazquez's five kills and Villanueva's four. Tied at 11-11, a Jaylynn McNeill kill started a 7-1 Blue Dragon run that was capped by a Vazquez kill for an 18-12 lead. Back-to-back Vazquez kills capped another 4-0 run for a 22-14 lead. The Dragons never trailed in the opening set and won it 25-17.
SET 2: The Blue Dragons continued to hit well, swinging at a .303 clip while holding Butler to .250 hitting. Trailing 11-9, the Dragons scored five unanswered points to build a 14-11 lead. A double block from Villanueva and Mattie Galliher pushed the Hutchinson lead to 19-14, but the Grizzlies battled back with a 10-4 run and had set point at 24-23. Villanueva tied the set at 24 with a kill, the freshman Sorielys Dominquez aced the Grizzlies on consecutive serves to win the set 26-24.
SET 3: Hutchinson's hitting percentage dropped to .149 in the third set, while Butler hit .275. An Oliveira ace and Vazquez kill gave the Dragons an 11-7 lead, but Butler countered with a 10-point service run that gave the Grizzlies a 17-11 lead. Trailing 20-16, the Dragons scored four straight o pull within 20-19, but the Dragons never got the set tied and Butler won its first set of the match 25-22.
SET 4: The fourth set featured eight ties and five lead changes and a big Blue Dragon comeback in the set. Trailing 14-7 after Butler scored nine unanswered points, the Blue Dragons fought back. Trailing 19-11, a Garcia setter dump for a kill capped a 3-0 run to pull within five points. Trailing 21-16, the Dragons scored seven-straight points – getting two kills each from Villanueva and McNeill and a pair of blocks – to tie the set at 22. Butler led 24-23, but missed a serve on set point. The Dragons led 25-24 on a Kierny Follmer/McNeill block. Butler then got a Dragon service error, ace and Hutch attack error to win the set 27-25.
SET 5: The Dragons led 4-2, but saw Butler go on another extended scoring run of 6-0 to lead 9-4. The Dragons trailed 12-7, but a 6-1 Hutchinson run knotted the set at 13. Dominquez's third ace of the match gave the Dragons match point at 14-13. The Dragons had two match points, but Butler's five aces in the final set was too much to overcome in a 17-15 setback.
MATCH NOTES: The Blue Dragons are 2-3 in five-set matches this season. … Dominquez tied a season high with three aces. … There were a combined 30 ties and 17 lead changes between the Blue Dragons and Grizzlies. Galliher had a team-high five blocks.