Box Score GREAT BEND, Kan. – Coming off a big win over Garden City on Friday, the Conquistador volleyball team fell to Barton Community College on Monday evening in three straight sets, 25-27, 24-26 and 17-25.
Gabriella Valdez collected 29 assists in three sets as she connected with
Kate Warren for 11 kills.
Jaylen Pegues also had 11 kills on the day while picking up a double-double with 10 digs.
Alex Stecklein led the way defensively with 22 digs on the day.
Dodge City and Barton battled early in set one, but the Conqs then went on a 5-0 run to make the score, 15-9 before the Cougars could score again. Barton was able to collect 5 of the next seven points to cut the lead to 17-14 late in the set. Barton looked to be making a comeback, but a block assist by
Mickey Kriegh and
Rachel Slattery ended the threat, pushing the lead to 19-16. A service ace by the Cougars tied the game at 19 before Barton took a 20-19 lead on a block.
Coming out of a timeout, back-to-back attacking errors by the Cougars gave the lead right back to the Conquistadors, 21-20. Barton then scored three straight points to take a 23-21 lead, forcing Dodge City to call their second timeout of the set. The Conqs would not go away easy, as they tied the game at 23 after a service error and a block assist from
Kate Warren and
Raquel Valdez. A long battle, tied the game again at 25, but back-to-back kills by Barton ended set one, giving the Cougars a 27-25 win.
Just as in set one, both teams traded points until about 10 when back-to-back kills by Warren gave Dodge City a 10-7 lead. Barton was then able to go on a run of their own to tie the game at 14 before a kill gave them a 15-14 lead, forcing Dodge City to call a timeout.
After Dodge City cut the lead to one, a kill by Slattery tied the game at 18, late in the second set. With the tie getting pushed to 21, a big kill from Warren gave the lead back to the Conqs, 22-21. Dodge City extended the lead to 23-21, but the Cougars quickly tied the game at 23. With the game tied at 24, a kill and an attacking error by Dodge City gave the Cougars a 26-24 win in set two.
Early in set three, Barton was able to take an 8-5 lead after an error by Dodge City. After keeping a three-point lead, but pushing it to 9-6, Dodge City took their first timeout of the set. Barton then went on a 4-1 run capped off by a service ace to take a 13-7 lead.
Barton was able to extend their lead to 18-12 before the Conquistadors called a timeout to try and mount a comeback, late in set three. The Conqs were able to cut the lead to five, but it was too little, too late as the Cougars went on to win the set, 25-17, winning the match, 3-0.
The Conqs move to 18-14 on the year and will be in action for their final regular season game on October 25, as they travel to Cloud County Community College at 6:30 p.m.
