A modest three match win streak came to an end Saturday evening in Liberal for the Barton Community College volleyball team as 10th ranked Seward County Community College swept the action 25-17, 25-17, and 25-13.
Barton's loss also snapped a two match win streak against Seward County, winning the Region VI title last year in Liberal then knocking off the then 7th ranked Saints 3-2 earlier this season at the Barton Gym.
The Cougars drop into third place of the standings at 6-2 and 15-9 overall with Seward County moving into second at 7-2 and 14-4 on the season.
Next on the slate is a pair of home matches beginning Wednesday hosting Garden City Community College and a Friday non-conference contest against Hesston College. First serve slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Barton Gym for each match.
A 4-0 spurt put the home Saints out front at 11-8 but behind three Mylena Testoni kills, the Cougars would battle back to tie it at 12-all and again at 13-all. From there the Saints broke open the set rattling off five straight and two more following a Barton timeout and Tasiah Nunnery kill to increase the lead out to 20-14. Barton closed to within 22-17 following Maria Santos' lone kill of the set but the Saints closed out with the final three points.
Behind three early Testoni kills, Barton kept the second set tied until three Saints' errors and a Joelle LaForce block keyed four straight for a 11-7 lead. The Saints quickly tied it up coming out of a timeout then tacked on three more after a LaForce kill for a 14-12 advantage. Santos' kill cut it to one and again the margin was one at 15-14 before a pair of service aces sparked a Saints 6-0 run to break open the set 12-14. Addison Crites' block led a trio of Barton points cutting the margin to four but Seward County rolled out the set with the final four points including their second straight set clinching service ace.
The Cougars committed eight of their 17 attack errors in the set, hitting at just -.088 following a .312 in the opening set. Overall Barton's errors never allowed the Cougars to stay in the match, committing nine receiving miscues as the team gave away 32 chances on the combined offensive and defensive effort.
As Barton began substitutions in the second set and throughout the third, Seward County took early command behind four straight for a 6-2 lead. Jadyn Brown and Nunnery attacks cut the deficit in half but it was as close as Barton would come the rest of the match. Later following Nunnery's third kill of the set, the Saints gained more distance on a 4-0 run for a 15-7 lead then doubled up the Cougars behind five straight in a 22-10 advantage. A pair of attacks by Buse Kocakaya stopped the run but the Saints scored three of the last three points including another service ace to put the Cougars away.
Nunnery had her double-double streak come to an end at three straight, tying Testoni for the team lead of 7 kills while collecting 12 digs. Testoni, who played just a set and a half in the match, attacked at a .238 clip on her seven kills as LaForce led at .400 on four kills.
Isabella Guedes recorded 18 of the team's 25 assists on just a .092 team attack as Mya Maxwell had her two match double-double streak end on just five assists. Hanna Miller led the team with 19 digs.