Broncbusters edge rival Dodge City in five

Dodge City, KS-Beating Dodge City always feels a little more special.  

Jelena Milovanovic led the way with 19 kills and three blocks, Tola Maczka had 55 assists, and Garden City took down the rival Conquistadors in five sets 25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 14-25, 15-12 Tuesday night at the Student Activities Center. The Broncbusters improved to 14-9 overall and 4-5 in the Jayhawk, moving within a single game of fourth-place Colby.  

"I'm extremely proud of this group for keeping their composure all night," Head Coach, Patrick Hiltz said afterwards.

Apolline Lepuissant added 13 kills for Garden City, which bumped their road mark to 6-4 this season. Dodge City meantime has lost three straight matches for the first time since August, falling to 12-11 overall and 3-5 in conference play.  

Besides the fourth set, the match was heavily contested. Garden City crawled back from a late-four-point deficit in the opening frame, firing back with an 8-0 run that was capped when Sierra Scanlan hit the ball into the net. Moments later, after the Conquistadors fought off three straight set points, Pinar Dugeroglu hammered home a kill, giving the visitors a 1-0 edge.  

"Our energy was pretty solid all night, and even when it wanted a little bit, we were able to snap back to positive quickly," Hiltz added.  

Once Dodge City rebounded with a seven-point victory in the second, the Broncbusters erased a two-point deficit midway through the third. Lepuissant and freshman Carly Lang connected on back-to-back kills, Lepuissant recorded consecutive service aces, and the Broncbusters were up, 18-15. They pushed the lead to four following an attack error by Tess De Zanet and a kill by Milovanovic that gave Hiltz's squad set point. Dugeroglu then finished off the frame with a crosscourt attack. 

"We could have easily wallowed in misery about a bad fourth set but instead they collectively looked each other in the eye and just knew they were better than that," Hiltz explained. 

Truth be told, the fourth set was one to forget. Dodge City blasted out to a 12-4 lead before pushing the advantage to double digits on Agnes Hegardt's kill that made it 18-8. Garden City never got it under 10 the rest of the way.  

"Give our girls credit because they played a very strong fifth set," Hiltz said.  

Dugeorglu recorded a kill to begin the final stanza. That was followed with a four-touch violation, another Dugeroglu kill and an ace by Milovanovic. After a questionable net violation, Julia Brazil sent a vicious spike through the Dodge City block. Brazil added another kill, Milovanovic sent a laser off De Zanet, and the Broncbusters were up 14-10. Hiltz's team then finished things off when Maczka sent a backwards pass that Lepuissant deposited down the middle for match point.  

"We'll enjoy this one tonight, but we have to do it all over again tomorrow," Hiltz said. 

Brazil added 10 kills for Garden City, which hosts Dodge City on Wednesday night.