Broncbusters drop five-set thriller to Colby

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-Oh, the one that got away.

Maelie Chupin had 13 kills, Savannah Adams added three aces, and Colby beat Garden City in five sets 25-20, 17-25, 26-24, 20-25, 11-15 Wednesday night at Conestoga Arena.

"I couldn't be prouder of this team tonight," Head Coach Patrick Hiltz said afterwards. "Sure, this loss stings, and it should, but with what we've dealt with this year so far and especially this week, I just can't say enough about our resiliency and heart."

The Broncbusters came out on fire in the opening set. Giorgia Cappelletti tallied consecutive kills; then blocked a Trojan attack, Vanja Stefanovic put the hammer down with a crosscourt spike, and Garden City scored 11 straight points to open up a 21-9 lead. They won the frame by five.

"When we get every player playing their best at the same time, we could beat almost anyone, and we certainly showed that tonight," Hiltz added.

Garden City stayed close in the second until Colby hit them with a 15-7 surge to close the set. But the Broncbusters rebounded in the third, and with the game tied at 24, the Trojans were called for a net violation before Remi Vargas set up Cappelletti perfectly for a spike that put the home team up, 2-1.

"Our next step is to be able to do this every game," Hiltz stated. "I am confident that we can do that."

The Broncbusters couldn't close the deal in the fourth. Then in the final set, Hannah Brandt's powerful spike had Garden City on top, 9-8. That's when the Trojans took over. A service error followed by Chupin and Silvia Bonsanti kills fueled a 7-2 run to close the match.

Cappelletti finished the night with 18 kills for Garden City, which lost for the fifth time in their last six matches.

Next up: Garden City at Dodge City-Saturday, Sept. 25-6:30 p.m.