The beginning was far better than the ending Wednesday night at the Barton Gym as the Barton Community College volleyball team won the first set but faded away in a 3-1 loss to 16th ranked Colby Community College 22-25, 25-9, 25-18, and 25-16.

The third straight loss to ranked opponents drops Barton to 7-5 in conference play and 17-14 overall while Colby stays in the Jayhawk West title chase improving to 12-1 and 24-2 on the season. The Cougars next head to Garden City Community College on Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. first serve before closing out the regular season next week with a trio of home matches.