Garden City beats Allen; now 4-0 for first time in 20 years

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-Patrick Hiltz considers himself quite the volleyball historian. But even he had to do a double take at an obscure milestone that hadn't been sniffed in ages. 

Fiona Arnold posted 16 kills, Emmah Sultz added 22 assists, and Garden City improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2002 with a four-set victory over Allen on Saturday 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, and 25-19 at Conestoga Arena. 

"Allen is a really good team," Hiltz said afterwards. "I don't think people realize what kind of a problem they are going to cause in the Jayhawk Conference."

Well, the Broncbusters can attest to the issues the Red Devils presented them in the finale of the inaugural Scooter's Coffee Invitational. After splitting the first two sets, Garden City found themselves in a six-point hole in the third. But Jelena Milovanovic recorded a kill, Kate Perryman then blocked an Allen attack before blasting a ball just inside the end line. Moments later, the freshman middle blocker provided another spike, Arnold swatted back a Red Devil swing, and the Broncbusters closed the set on an 18-10 run.

"This was a good test for us," Hiltz added. "These are the types of challenges we will see all season in the Jayhawk Conference."

In the fourth, the Red Devils again dealt Garden City an early blow, sprinting out to an 8-3 lead. In fact, the Broncbusters didn't jump in front until late in the frame, utilizing a 9-3 run that put them up 16-15. That was followed by an Arnold kill, Tola Maczka recorded an ace, and Milovanovic sent back another Allen attack. She and Ozge Yavuz then combined for back-to-back kills, Allen committed consecutive errors, and the Broncbusters remained perfect through four matches for the first time in two decades.

"Every time we are down, I always am trying to find a way to get us right back up with a big kill or a big play," Sultz said. "I am always going to try and change things up."

Perryman finished with 14 kills and four blocks for Garden City, which is back home Tuesday for a triangular with Clarendon and Lamar. Milovanovic had 12 kills.