Broncbusters sweep Vernon; improve to 3-0

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-Make it three for three.

Jelena Milovanovic had 14 kills, Tola Maczka added 21 assists, and Garden City improved to 3-0 with a three-set victory over Vernon 25-19, 25-22, 25-20 Saturday afternoon at Conestoga Arena.

"I don't think we played very well at all," Head Coach, Patrick Hiltz said after the match. "We weren't focused from the very beginning. We just kind of went through the motions at times. We just have to get locked in."

If Garden City didn't play well, it's scary to think what it would have looked like if they did. They blew the Chaparrals off the floor in the first set thanks to a steady diet of power and efficiency. Fiona Arnold powered a kill down the middle, Maczka dropped in a perfect ace, and Milovanovic used a vicious spike to end the frame.

"I still think this was a sleep-walk match," Hiltz explained. "We can't continue to play like that and expect to be successful."

After falling behind 5-1 early in the second, Emmah Sultz bumped a perfect pass to Arnold, who whacked a line-drive just inside the right boundary. Moments later, Hannah Brandt evened things up with a kill. Once the teams exchanged blows, Garden City was staring at a 19-17 deficit after four straight aces by Reiana Johnson. But Hiltz's team responded again. An Arnold kill followed by a rotation error tied things at 20. Then Vernon was called for a delay, awarding the go-ahead point to the Broncbusters. That eventually led to back-to-back Milovanovic spikes that ended the set.

"Jelena did some really good things today," Hiltz said. "She played very well and got us out of some rotations."

With the set tied at 11 in the third, Garden City seized the momentum with a quick 4-0 spurt. Apolline Lepuissant fired a crosscourt kill, Arnold successfully put away back-to-back attacks, and Lepuissant sent a rocket over the net to give Garden City their first 3-0 start since the 2020 campaign.

Arnold finished with nine kills, and Maczka and Lepuissant each recorded a pair of aces for Garden City.