Broncbusters erase early deficit to beat Amarillo

Trinidad, CO-One thing is for certain through five matches, Patrick Hiltz's team may be the scrappiest in the country. 

Jelena Milovanovic had 14 kills, Julia Brazil and Apolline Lepuissant each had nine, and Garden City rallied to beat Amarillo College on Friday afternoon in four sets 12-25, 25-13, 26-24, and 25-20. The Broncbusters improved to 4-1 overall. 

"I'm proud of the way all four of our sophomores showed leadership when we weren't playing our best," Hiltz said afterwards. "They all made big plays."

Friday's first set can be described as uninspiring. However, the rest of the match epitomized what this Garden City team, at least early on, is all about: grit. 

Amarillo reeled off the first eight points of the opening frame and eventually led by 12 before set point. It was probably the worst stretch of volleyball the Broncbusters have played this season. 

But Garden City flipped the script in the second. They broke open a two-point affair with an 8-2 run, then finished off the Badgers with Lepuissant's kill that evened the match. 

"Our sophomores kept us calm, and that is key for us until our freshman get completely comfortable," Hiltz added. 

After Tola Maczka and Pinar Dugeroglu tallied back-to-back kills to give Garden City a 26-24 victory in the third, the Broncbusters exploded in the fourth. They went on a 6-0 run to give them a 17-10 advantage and never looked back. Brazil's kill eventually ended the match.