Broncbusters take down Pratt in three

Garden City, KS-The Broncbusters made quick work of Pratt on Wednesday night. 

Jelena Milovanovic posted 11 kills, Tola Maczka added 27 assists, and Garden City swept Pratt    25-18, 25-20, and 25-11 at Conestoga Arena. With the win, the Broncbusters clinched a playoff spot and improved to 17-9 overall and 5-6 in conference play. 

After trailing briefly in the first set, the Broncbusters took control when Maczka setup Milovanovic for a kill. Traci Cramer added a spike, Ozge Yavuz went crosscourt, and Cramer finished off an attack down the middle as the home team closed the frame by scoring seven of the final eight points. 

"Once we stopped giving them points, we were pretty good," Head Coach, Patrick Hiltz said. 

The only drama occurred in the second set when the Broncbusters were down 6-1. In fact, they trailed by as many as six and didn't take their first lead until Fiona Arnold slammed home a kill to make it 21-20. Yavuz followed with a spike, and Maczka dropped in an ace, powering a 6-0 run to close the set. 

"It was ugly," Hiltz added. "When we stopped making errors, we became a pretty good volleyball team."

That was proven in the third set where the Broncbusters jumped out to a 6-1 advantage and never looked back. Hannah Brandt's attack landed just inside the sideline, Maczka added another assist when she passed to Arnold for a kill, and Kate Perryman racked up one of her team-best three blocks. In all, the Beavers never stood a chance as Garden City closed the match on an 11-3 run. 

Perryman finished with nine assists for Garden City, which now sits just a game back of Dodge City for fourth place in the Jayhawk west after the Conquistadors lost in three at Seward.