Shaking off a sluggish opening set, the No. 18 ranked Barton Community College volleyball team responded by winning the next three Wednesday evening at the Hutchinson Sports Arena, taking down No. 20 Hutchinson Community College in four sets (15-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-18).
The victory was Barton's seventh straight in the series and improved the Cougars to 5-2 in KJCCC play and 15-7 overall. Hutchinson slips to 6-2 in conference play and 14-9 on the season.
Barton returns home Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. first serve against Seward County Community College at Fleske Fieldhouse.
After being outkilled 13-9 and hitting just .081 in the opening set, Barton flipped the script over the final three frames. The Cougars produced a 49-32 advantage in kills during the stretch, including 18 on a match-best .351 attack in the fourth, finishing the night with 58 kills on .195 hitting.
Kiera Loe continued her consistent production on the outside, leading Barton with 19 kills for her 13th double-digit performance in 15 matches and fifth outing with 19 or more. Amanda Riepe established a new career high with 14 kills while collecting 16 digs for her third double-double of the season. Mariam Urazbakhtina matched her career high for the fourth time this season with 11 kills, while Brylynn Wicker added six kills on a team-best .333 attack.
Mileah Neal directed the offense with a career-high 44 assists while adding 10 digs for her first double-double of the season and sixth of her career. Reigning KJCCC and NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week Ana Fabiely Fachi continued her presence at the net with five block assists, her second-highest total of the season, while recording a career-high 13 attack attempts on the offensive end producing six kills for a .231 efficiency.
Anchoring the back row, Jaden Katsis joined the new career high club with 27 digs as the Cougars finished with 78 on the night. Hotone Tarui added 12 digs, giving Barton four players in double figures.
Set-by-Set Recap
First Set: Hutchinson seized control from the opening serve, scoring the first five points before stretching the margin to 9-2. Barton briefly found life with five straight points to pull within 12-8, but the Blue Dragons quickly regained control. Hutchinson later stretched the margin to double figures at 20-10 before closing out the 25-15 opening-set victory.
Second Set: Barton completely reversed course in the second, jumping out to a 7-2 advantage before steadily extending the margin. A three-point burst pushed the lead to 17-10, with the Cougars later taking four of five points to build a 24-15 advantage. Hutchinson delayed the finish with three straight before Barton secured the 25-18 equalizer on a Blue Dragon attack error.
Third Set: Falling behind 7-3, Barton responded with five straight points to grab its first lead of the frame. Neither side could gain much separation from there as the teams battled through a 19-all deadlock before the Cougars moved in front 22-20. Hutchinson answered with three straight for a 23-22 edge, but Fachi delivered a tying kill before Neal's service ace put Barton at set point.
The Blue Dragons fought off the opportunity to tie it at 24, but Fachi and Loe combined on a block to put the Cougars back in front before Urazbakhtina delivered the final blow for the pivotal 26-24 victory.
Fourth Set: Barton gained an early foothold with five straight points to turn a 3-all tie into an 8-3 advantage. Hutchinson battled all the way back to draw even at 11 and again at 12 before the Cougars began creating separation. Leading 18-15, Barton put together the decisive late push, with Urazbakhtina supplying three kills during a 5-1 stretch that opened a 23-16 lead. The freshman added another kill for match point before Wicker slammed home the final ball to complete the 25-18 victory.