Conqs Fall to #10 Seward County in Straight Sets

 The Dodge City Community College volleyball team lost to a Seward County program ranked 10^th in the country in straight sets Monday night.

The Conqs improved their outcome over the course of the three sets last night, losing 25-10, 25-17, and 25-21, but the effort wasn't enough as the Saints picked up the conference road victory.

Seward opened the first set with quick 9-3 start that prompted the first DC3 timeout of the match, ultimately leading to a 12-4 Seward advantage. A small 3-0 Conquistador run to get within five points at 12-7 was short-lived as the Saints extended their lead to 17-7, forcing another timeout for head coach Jordan Bruere. The Saints cruised to a 25-10 set one victory.

Set two saw the Conquistadors battle early to take a 4-3 lead, their only lead of the match. The Saints immediately responded with a 10-4 run to go ahead 13-8. Trailing 19-10, the Conquistadors gained some momentum late as they went on a 7-3 run to get within 5 at 22-17. Again, the Saints had a response to the Conquistador effort, scoring three consecutive points to win the set 25-17.

The third and final set proved to be a rollercoaster for the Conquistadors. Seward looked poised to finish the match in a landslide as they opened up on a 16-2 run that two Jordan Bruere timeouts couldn't stop. However, following the second timeout, the Conquistadors flashed signs of life as they brought the score within three points at 23-20 off the strength of an 18-7 scoring burst. Seward woke up from their apparent daze and once again had a response, winning the set 25-21 and winning the match in the process.

"Seward was very consistent tonight, served tough, and made little errors while challenging us to find a way to score," said Head Coach Jordan Bruere. "Our serve-receive had a tough time being consistent in the first two sets. Seeing Ruby [Ruby Osawey] go down with an injury to end the second set was tough on us. We need to find a way to compete with her on the sideline, though. I was proud of our effort by not giving up after getting down 16-2 in the third set. We started passing and serving well, while finding ways to score but it wasn't quite enough to get us into a fourth set."

The Conqs were led by Hillary English's 10 kills while she also added eight digs. Bruna Torres led the home team in that category with her 23 digs as she stopped a number of ferocious Saint attacks. Nur Yaren Turkmenoglu led the Conquistadors in assists with 16. Turk chipped in 10 digs as well, good for second on the team.

The loss breaks a two-match winning streak for the Conquistadors as they move to 5-11 on the year and 4-7 in KJCCC play. The Saints improve to 14-4 on the year and remain in first place in the KJCCC West at 9-1 in conference play.

Dodge City is back in action on Thursday, March 11^th when they travel to El Dorado, Kansas for a 6:00 pm CST match with the Butler Grizzlies. The match will be live streamed but be sure to check the Butler Grizzly athletic website for their policies on visiting fans.