Unforced errors cost Garden City in loss to Casper

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Trinidad, CO-The first set of Friday's second match proved to be Garden City's undoing.

Filled with unforced errors, the Broncbusters never recovered, dropping a three-set decision to Casper 13-25, 12-25, 25-23. Garden City fell to 0-2 and will play Otero and Eastern Wyoming on Saturday.

"We need more people to step up," Hiltz said after the match. "We always say we win, or we learn."

This was definitely a learning experience for the brown and gold.

Casper attacked Garden City right from the start. Jada Suguturaga's kill from the back row, coupled with Giulia Santuari's service ace put the Thunderbirds up 10-3. A net violation followed by Suguturaga's tap over, a ball she guided just inside the right boundary, gave Casper an eight-point cushion. They built that lead to as many as 13 after another ace.

"We did get better overall throughout the day, so that's a positive for the future," Hiltz added.

Case in point-the second set, where the Broncbusters jumped out to a 4-0 advantage. But Casper responded with a 10-3 surge powered by Santuari's lefty spike that gave the Thunderbirds the lead for good, 10-7. It swelled to double digits before Casper scored the final five points of the set.

"We just need to carry some of that good play over to Saturday." Hiltz said.

Garden City showed some fight in the third. Trailing by as many as seven points, the Broncbusters responded in a big way, and when Alli Meng's powerful crosscourt kill landed just inside the line, the Broncbusters had evened things up at 22. But as it did in the opening frame, mistakes cost Garden City again, and a pair of service and attack errors ended the match.