Miscues cost Garden City in loss to Cisco

By Mike Pilosof

Odessa, TX-On Friday, the Broncbusters found themselves with an identity crisis on their hands, one that cost them in their opening match vs. Odessa. Unfortunately, not much changed in Friday's finale.  

Garden City's issues stemmed from an inability to put the ball away, and the end result was a four-set 10-25, 25-20, 17-25, 18-25 loss to Cisco on the opening day of the Wrangler Classic at OC Sports Center.

"I'm disappointed with our effort today," Head Coach Patrick Hiltz said. "We were exposed for our lack of discipline and poor decision making. We were careless with the ball way too much today, and it cost us."

That was apparent in the first set when the Broncbusters committed a multitude of errors including two service miscues early on that had the road team quickly down 8-4. That was followed by Tauja Durham's line-drive shot that ricocheted into the net; Reagan Karlin's attack sailed wide and Angel Sherman's spike missed its target, giving the Wranglers a 10-point edge. But the play of the set came on the final point when Laren Baldowsky had what appeared to be a brilliant kill down the middle, only to have Natalie Otto dig it out perfectly for set point.  

"We need to have a better understanding of the offense, play harder, more disciplined defense and be intelligently aggressive," Hiltz explained.

The Broncbusters responded valiantly in the second set. Remi Vargas and Alli Meng hooked up on a beautiful 1-2 combo, before Vargas found her other former high school teammate, Reagan Karlin for a kill that knotted the frame at 10. Durham pulverized a ball just inside the line, Meng tapped one over softly, and Baldowsky initiated a perfect attack for a 21-17 advantage. Karlin added another kill, which was followed up by a hitting error by the Wranglers, giving the set to Garden City.

"We have talent, and we can make plays, but at this level you have to make good plays several times in a row just to earn one point," Hiltz said.

Whatever momentum the Broncbusters gathered in the second, evaporated the rest of the way. Cisco used a 14-6 run to break open a 7-7 tie in the third, and Garden City never recovered. Eventually, Durham's attack sailed long, and Meng's spike was blocked at the net to give the Wranglers the set. Then in the fourth, Cisco opened things up, building an eight-point lead, 21-13 thanks to another Broncbuster service error. Moments later, Karlin's attack sailed a wide left putting the finishing touches on an already frustrating day.

"We have plenty to work on in practice, but we also need to watch some film and see if we can clean some things up for tomorrow," Hiltz said. "I am confident we can clean it up and play better on Saturday."

Up Next: Match 1-Garden City vs. Victoria College-9 am followed by Match 2-Garden City vs. Hill-1 pm, Saturday, Jan. 30