Garden City dominates Lamar; clinches playoff spot

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Lamar, CO-It's those small building blocks that has Head Coach Patrick Hiltz really excited about the future.

Katarina Vojvodic had 14 kills and eight digs, Meosha Erving added seven blocks, and the Broncbusters snapped a six-match losing streak with a three-set, 25-19, 25-15, 25-17 victory over Lamar. It was their sixth win of the season, which also coincided with Seward beating Dodge, meaning Garden City clinched a playoff spot.

"We played very well offensively tonight," Hiltz said afterwards. "We weren't perfect by any means, but that's the best we've been all year on offense."

Garden City wasted little time in establishing a rhythm, jumping out to a 9-4 advantage in the opening set. After Lamar crawled back to tie things up at 19, the Broncbusters regained their footing, scoring the final six points to win the frame.

"Meo (Meosha Erving) was on fire," Hiltz said. "Katie (McHugh) set the ball well, and Kat (Vojvodic) saw the court very well."

The Broncbusters were in full control in the second set, scoring 16 of the first 22 points and eventually winning it by 10.

"Our mental focus was good all night too," Hiltz added. "I think we had maybe one stretch where we couldn't get out of a rotation. But other than that, our side-out game was strong."

After a few lead changes in the third set, the Broncbusters put the clamps down, taking advantage of back-to-back hitting errors by Lamar to take the lead for good.

"We need to remember how to play this way," Hiltz said. "Especially with a very good Hutchinson team coming in on Saturday."

Next up: Garden City hosts Hutchinson on Saturday. Match time set for 6 p.m.