Broncbusters push Hutch to the limit before falling in five

Hutchinson, KS-To think how different the Region VI playoffs could look.  

The Broncbusters, who were sitting in third place following a four-set victory over Pratt on Oct. 14, dropped their final two matches including back-to-back five-set heartbreakers capped by a 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 25-18, 18-25, 13-15) loss to Hutchinson at the Sports Arena on Wednesday night. Garden City finished the regular season 18-12 overall and 8-8 in conference play. They currently sit in fifth place with a potential opening-round matchup vs. Butler looming.  

"We are right there," Head Coach, Patrick Hiltz said. "As frustrating as it is to come up short in set five again, we know we are in these matches and two points can be as simple as a weird bounce here and there." 

Garden City, which entered the night having not won a match at the Sports Arena in 23 years, eked out an opening-set victory thanks to a Hutchinson attack error and a Julia Brazil kill. But the Broncbusters were flat in the second set as the Blue Dragons used a 10-4 run to go up by seven. Hutchinson won the set by six. 

"We pushed two teams that will be top-four seeds in the playoffs to the brink and had every chance to win it," Hiltz explained.  

The Broncbusters though, like they've done for much of the season, showed their resiliency in the third set. Carly Lang terminated a pair of kills off Tola Maczka assists, Maczka recorded a service ace, and Apolline Lepuissant polished off a brilliant rally with a crosscourt spike to give Garden City a 22-17 advantage. Pinar Dugeroglu's block eventually ended the set.  

"We can now take what we learned from these matches and work on getting better where we see opportunities for improvement," Hiltz said. 

But just like in the second, Garden City's energy level tapered off in the fourth. They trailed by as many as eight and committed 11 errors in the frame allowing Hutchinson to force a fifth and decisive set. 

That's where the opportunity was lost. 

Anna Dean's kill broke an 8-8 tie and forced Garden City to call timeout. Taniya Golden and Giovanna Ravanhani followed with a pair of spikes, and the Broncbusters had to stop play again. Moments later, after Garden City fought off one match point with Julia Brazil's kill, Golden terminated the game-winning tally with a spike down the middle.  

"We will be able to watch back and make improvements and adjustments so we can clean things up and put ourselves in position to win the matches we have coming up," Hiltz said. 

Lepuissant and Dugeroglu each had 15 kills apiece for Garden City. Maczka totaled 45 assists and one ace, tying the single-season mark. Vitoria Stedile posted 29 digs, breaking the single-season school record.  

Golden paced the Blue Dragons with 18 kills, and Ravanhani had 42 assists.