Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College volleyball team pushed the No. 8-ranked team to the brink on Monday night at the Sports Arena.
After a dominating third set to take a 2-1 lead, the Blue Dragons saw Colby raise its level and the Trojans rallied for a five-set victory over Hutchinson. Playing their third-straight five-set match in 72 hours, the Blue Dragons fell to the conference-leading Trojans 24-26, 25-17, 25-9, 18-25, 11-15.
The Blue Dragons fell to 10-8 overall and 2-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. Colby is now 13-3 overall and 4-0 in the KJCCC. The Trojans won their eighth match in a row. The Blue Dragons travel to No. 10 Dodge City on Wednesday.
Bidding for their first Top 10 victory in two seasons, the Blue Dragons dominated Colby in the third set to take a 2-1 match lead. Julia Macedo, Lauren Vasquez and Maria Eduarda Dias combined for 10 kills, while Giovanna Monteiro had two aces and Arianna Delgado added another ace.
But in the fourth and fifth sets, the Blue Dragons had trouble containing Colby outside hitter Ella Dridi, who had seven kills in the final two sets and the Trojans added eight service aces to rally for the victory.
Monteiro posted her 11th double-double of the season with 16 kills on .137 hitting with 15 digs and a team-high four ace serves.
Julia Macedo hit .393 with 13 kills on 28 attacks. Vasquez finished with 13 kills.
The Blue Dragons hit .160 for the match on 50 kills.
Klaudia Bilinksa had 37 assists and nine digs. Libero Clara Oliveira had 15 digs.
Dridi finished with 17 kills to lead Colby. Lena Mihaljica had 10 kills and 19 digs.
SET 1: The opening set featured 12 ties and five lead changes. A Vasquez kill gave Hutchinson an early 6-2 lead. After Colby rallied to take a 10-8 lead, the Dragons responded with a Monteiro kill, Bilinksa ace and a Dias/Monteiro double block gave Hutchinson an 11-10 lead. A Vasquez kill gave the Dragons an 18-17 lead. Monteiro's kill gave Hutchinson a 20-19 lead. Colby used a 4-1 run to lead 23-21. The Dragons tied the set at 24 after a Vasquez/Dias block and a back-row kill from Monteiro. But Colby won the final two rallies of the set for a 26-24 win.
SET 2: The Dragons responded from that narrow first-set loss with a 7-1 start to the second set. A Mattie Galliher solo block gave the Dragons a 9-2 lead. Colby pulled within 15-11 before the Dragons erupted for a 4-0 run and led 19-11 after a Colby attack error. Leading 20-15, Vasquez's kill started a 5-2 set-closing run to tie the match at 1-1 after a 25-17 win.
SET 3: The Dragons scored the first nine points of the third set, getting six kills, a block, an ace and Colby attack error to take immediate control of the set. Colby pulled within 11-5, but Hutchinson outscored the Trojans 14-4 over the remainder of the set to take a 2-1 match lead. The Dragons held Colby to negative-.065 hitting and sided out at an 81-percent clip to dominate the set, winning 25-9, the first time Hutchinson held a conference opponent to less than 10 points in a set since holding Dodge City to eight points last season.
SET 4: The Blue Dragons took a 5-4 lead on a perfect Macedo tip for a kill, but Colby answered with a 4-0 run for an 8-5 lead. The Dragons tied the set at 10-10 after a Galliher ace serve. Back-to-back Colby attack errors gave the Dragons a 12-10 lead. The Trojans used a 7-1 run to build an 18-13 lead. Galliher's kill cut the deficit to 22-18, but Colby finished off the set with two kills and an ace for a 25-18 win.
SET 5: Colby had six ace serves in the final set to take control. The Trojans led 8-1, but a 5-0 Hutchinson run pulled the Dragons back within 8-6. Another Colby ace upped the Trojan lead to 12-7 and sided out the remainder of the match to complete the comeback.