Broncbusters take down Bethany in four sets
By Mike Pilosof
Photo by Brad Nading
Garden City, KS-Minus a sluggish second set, Garden City took care of business in slick fashion on Tuesday night.
Katarina Vojvodic had another big night, leading the way with 19 kills, Katie McHugh had 41 assists, and the Broncbusters earned the second victory of the season, beating Bethany in four sets 25-17, 17-25, 25-20, 25-8).
"While I am happy with the win obviously, I still think we need to find a way to rid ourselves of the state of mind we were in during the second set," Head Coach Patrick Hiltz said. "But overall, I thought we played very well."
Vojvodic was the catalyst from the start. Her three kills to start the match gave Garden City a lead they never relinquished in the first set. With her team up 11-5, Vojvodic sent a spike cross court that landed inside the line for a seven-point advantage. Then it was Summer Nerkowski and Meosha Erving that followed with kills to get the Broncbusters to set point. They gave way to Angel Sherman, whose powerful spike gave Garden City the opening frame.
"Bethany did a good job of scrambling and putting us in position to score our own points, and tonight, we were able to do that," Hiltz added.
The second set was a much different story.
Garden City could never find any consistency, and after a Bethany error that allowed the Broncbusters to tie it at 11, the Swedes scored six straight points. Only a Vojvodic kill stopped the run, but it didn't kill the momentum. Christian Garcia answered with a spike, Garden City committed back-to-back errors, and Bethany closed the set on a 14-6 run to even the match.
"We have to take control of these matches," Hiltz said. "We can't rely on our opponents to make mistakes."
The Broncbusters bounced back in the third set, thanks to McHugh's service ace that got Garden City going. Erving and Sheridan Rodriguez powered balls right through the middle of the Swedes' defense, Vojvodic tapped one over the net, and Erving punctuated another kill to give the home squad a 20-15 cushion. Once Bethany closed to within three, the Broncbusters scored five of the final eight points, capped with an emphatic kill by Vojvodic.
"We've been talking a lot about finishing sets, and in turn, finishing matches," Hiltz added. "I thought we did that beautifully tonight."
Garden City left no doubt in the fourth.
Vojvodic had her best run of the night, tallying three kills in the first six points, giving Garden City a 6-0 lead. They made it a double-digit advantage when Alexandra Jackson's bump landed in front of three Swede players by the net. An Erving kill and a Bethany error, stretched the lead to 12 before an Angel Sherman ace ended the match.
Garden City improved to 2-16 on the season. They are back on home on Saturday to face Lamar and Clarendon. Match time set for 11 a.m.