
Vargas leads the way as Broncbusters roll Lamar
By Mike Pilosof
McCook, Neb-The Broncbuster volleyball resurgence is alive and well. Friday morning further proved that point.
Remi Vargas had 20 assists, Reagan Karlin recorded 10 kills, and Garden City roared past Lamar 25-16, 26-24 and 25-16 in their first match at the McCook Tournament.
"We certainly didn't play our best, but we still found a way to win," Head Coach Patrick Hiltz said. "It's nice to be able to be off a little bit but still have the mental and physical ability to push through."
The Broncbusters thoroughly dominated the opening stanza. Tori Gehret, who missed Monday's match at Pratt with an injury, setup Tauja Durham for a spike, Karlin powered one down the line, and Alli Meng finished off a perfect attack to give Garden City a five-point lead. Vargas then setup Baldowsky and Durham for back-to-back kills, Durham added a service ace, and the brown and gold was up 1-0.
"There wasn't ever any negativity," Hiltz added. "Just a knowledge and understanding that we need to get back to playing smooth volleyball."a
Garden City experienced a few bumps in the second. Two Lamar kills and a hitting error on Pulelehua Keb had the Lopes up 3-0. The road team though eventually figured things out, and when Vargas setup Meng for a line drive spike that landed inches inside the right boundary, the Broncbusters had a 9-8 lead. They never trailed again in the frame. Meng added two more kills, Vargas swatted back a Lamar attack, and Laren Baldowsky blocked a ball at the net to put the Broncbusters up two. After the Lopes tied the match at 24, Karlin and Baldowsky finished off Lamar with a pair of kills.
"We did enough, but we will need much more in order to compete against Eastern Wyoming," Hiltz said.
Garden City left no doubt in the third. They built an early 4-1 edge before Durham's powerful crosscourt kill stretched it to 8-4. Moments later, Baldowsky added another block, Karlin tallied a service ace and a kill, and the Broncbusters scored five straight points to open up a nine-point cushion, 23-14. It was their largest lead of the match.