Needing to limit errors against the always solid Blue Dragon squad, the Barton Community College volleyball team committed its most errors in over a month Wednesday night at the Sports Arena resulting in a 3-1 loss to Hutchinson Community College 18-25, 23-25, 25-13, and 16-25. The loss drops Barton to 5-7 in Jayhawk play and 13-12 on the year while the Blue Dragons improve to 10-2 in conference and 19-9 overall. The fifth place Cougars' next action comes Saturday in hosting ninth place Cloud County Community College (1-11, 4-20) in a 2:00 p.m. "Dig Pink" match.
Barton attacked for just .106 in the match, Finishing with 29 hitting errors and the most since its epic five set loss to ranked Western Nebraska back on September 2, Barton's attack registered at just .106 for the match.
"We had too many stupid errors," said Coach Stephenson. "We find ourselves fighting the same errors we've had all season. We need to refocus on our mental errors and get prepared for our next match."
Monique Oliveira led the team with eighth double-double of the season with thirteen kills to go along with thirteen digs while Kate Deterding put down a career high ten kills. Carolina Goncalves led the 6-2 attack with sixteen assists while Ilona Boniface collected twenty-two digs.
A pair of three point spurts were the difference makers in the first set as the Dragons grabbed a 12-9 lead and later in taking a 17-13 advantage. Despite a Barton timeout, Hutchinson increased the lead to five before the Cougars scored the next two cutting into the deficit. The margin remained three as the teams traded points until the Dragons ran away from a 21-18 score to close out the set with four straight as Barton had more hitting errors than kills, in addition to five other statted errors.
A four point stretch earned Barton a slim 8-6 edge early in the second lead only to have the Dragons respond with three straight to regain the lead. Trading a pair of points, Kelsie Antcliff's kill led another two point spurt giving Barton its final lead of the set coming at 12-11. Four Hutchinson points followed by another two coming out of a Barton timeout suddenly put the Dragons on the top side of a 17-12 score. Getting a couple of Oliveira kills, a solo attack by Antcliff, and two Deterding kills, the Cougars mounted a comeback outscoring the Dragons 6-1 to tie the set at 20. Trading solo points then trading a pair of points with Oliveira punishing her eight kill of the set to deadlock things at 23, Hutchinson grabbed the final two for the two set match lead.
Following their opening set of a -.031 attack with just six kills, Barton seemed to be finding their offensive groove despite dropping the second set in hitting for what would be a match high .250 attack pounding down nineteen kills.
The Cougars tried to carry the momentum into the third but in a sloppy start for both teams committing countless errors, the set trudged its way to a 12-all tie. Two more Hutchinson errors and an Antcliff kill gave Barton a little space, later increasing the lead to 18-14 behind a Goncalves service ace. However a fifth Barton service error of the set turned the tide back to the Dragons, rattling off the next three with another point coming on the flip-side of a Barton timeout to suddenly put the Cougars looking up to a 19-20 score. Two of Kailey Harris' four kills in the set and an assisted block by Ariana Taylor and Laine Alves Conceicao helped re-spark the Cougars to a 21-20 lead. The Dragons interrupted the streak with a solo point before kills by Conceicao, Oliveira, and Antcliff's fourth put the final dagger on a 4-2 closeout forcing the extra set.
As errors crept back into the Barton game in the third after a better second set, the fourth continued the surge of errors as two service misfires and a pair of other errors helped Hutchinson get out to an 8-3 lead. Attacking for just .000 in the set, the Cougars strung together just two consecutive point spurts while Hutchinson took advantage of the offensive drought and miscues to double up Barton multiple times including at set point at 24-12. Getting kills from Oliveira and Deterding, Barton rattled off four straight before a kill off a block ended the night in Hutchinson's four set victory.