The season is underway for Dodge City volleyball as the Conquistadors traveled to Council Bluffs, Iowa to compete in the Reivers Classic hosted by Iowa Western.
Top-notch competition stood in front of the Conquistadors and the Conqs stood tough but came home just 1-3 in the four games at the tournament. The Conqs capped the tournament with an electrifying five-set victory over Jefferson while opening the tournament with a tough five-set loss to the host Iowa Western. In between those matches the Conqs faced off with #4 Indian Hills falling 3-0 and competed against #6 Western Nebraska dropping that match 3-1.
Vs. Iowa Western – Lost 3-2
To open the tournament the Conqs squared off with the host Iowa Western and the match went to five sets going the Reivers way (26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 14-25, 14-16). Much of the first set of the season was back-and-forth for the Conqs against Iowa Western and then Reivers put a late run together to work to set point but the Conqs would fend off set point twice and ultimately end the first set on a 4-0 run to win it 26-24. Set two once again saw the Conqs put together a late push to take it 25-21 and lead the match 2-0, however, Iowa Western responded by taking a tight third set 25-22 and controlling the fourth set 25-14 to force a fifth set. The fifth set was back-and-forth like earlier in the match but the Reivers snuck past the Conqs late winning the match behind a 16-14 fifth set.
In the loss, Beatriz Lampugnani Cornachini led the Conqs with a double-double recording 17 kills and 12 digs. Leisey Keli'i notched 19 digs at the libero position, while Sierra Scanlan added 11 digs and six kills. Agnes Hegardt chipped in nine kills, while Tess De Zanet finished with six kills and seven digs and Hayden Pinard tallied 40 assists.
Vs. #4 Indian Hills – Lost 3-0
To cap day one of competition at the Reivers Classic the Conqs faced off with #4 Indian Hills and the Conqs struggled to get things going falling behind early in the first two sets and ultimately dropping the match 3-0 (17-25, 15-25, 20-25).
Conqs offense was spread out in the loss to Indian Hills with De Zanet recording seven kills, Hegardt adding six and both Lampugnani and Scanlan each adding five. Keli'i recorded 14 digs anchoring the back row, while Pinard tallied 25 assists.
Vs. #6 Western Nebraska – Lost 3-1
Day two of action at the Reivers Classic opened with an early morning matchup for the Conqs as they faced off with #6 Western Nebraska. The Conqs would struggle in the first set but responded to be competitive in the next three taking one set but falling 3-1 (12-25, 21-25, 29-27, 19-25) in the match.
Scanlan had a strong offense performance with a team-high 12 kills in the contest while adding 10 digs for a double-double. Lampugnani Cornachini added nine kills and 18 digs, while defensively Keli'i recorded 20 digs, and Jahaziel Alualu-Talamoa in her season debut had six kills and 10 digs. Pinard recorded 34 assists.
Vs. Jefferson – Won 3-2
To cap the tournament the Conqs came away with their first win of the season and the first win for Head Coach, Erin Mellinger as the Conqs coach. Taking on Jefferson the Conqs had another strong test on their hands and the match proved to be a battle going down to the wire in each set with the Conqs grabbing the 3-2 victory (23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 18-16).
In the win a quartet of Conqs notched double-figure kills with Lampugnani Cornachini and Scanlan leading the charge each with 14 kills; Scanlan added 11 digs for the double-double for the second straight match. While, Alualu-Talamoa added 11 kills and 14 digs, along with Hegardt chipping in 10 kills. Defensively the duo of Keli'I and Jatnna Pena helped patrol the floor for the Conqs recording 37 and 20 digs each. Pinard added a double-double with 51 assists and 12 digs.
The Conqs sit at 1-3 after the first weekend of competition and up next is a trip to Colorado for three matches in La Junta at the Otero Invitational as the Conqs will play Otero, North Platte, and Eastern Wyoming. Conference play opens the following week on Wednesday, August 30th on the road against Hutchinson at 6:00 pm.
