There were moments, just not enough of them for the No. 19 Hutchinson Community College volleyball team on Friday during the first day of the Lady Dragon Volleyball Classic at the Sports Arena.
HCC opened the day with a rally that fell short to Seminole State as HCC fell in five sets. Then down two sets to Missouri State University-West Plains, HCC dominated the third set only to have the Grizzlies answer with a four-set victory to hand the Lady Dragons their 10th-consecutive Classic loss.
Seminole State avenged an opening weekend loss to Hutchinson when it was the 11th-ranked team in the NJCAA Division I Volleyball poll with a 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 15-10 victory over Hutchinson. West Plains then defeated HCC 25-19, 25-21, 25-15, 17-25 to drop the Lady Dragons to 10-5 overall.
SEMINOLE STATE RECAP
Sophomore Gabby Rushton tied a career high in kills and blocks, but it was Seminole State that came up with key plays on crucial points defeat the 19th-ranked Lady Dragons in five sets. HCC is now 0-3 in five-set matches this season and have dropped six-straight five-set matches in the Lady Dragon Classic.
Rushton pounded down 10 kills and six blocks to lead the Lady Dragons. She hit .500 on 18 swings with only one attack error.
Sophomores Shayne Haley and Jade Nelson had eight kills each, while freshman middle Megan Heier finished with six kills and four blocks.
Freshman libero Samantha Lackey had 18 digs while sophomore Ashlyn Westerman and freshman Taylor Karcher had nine digs each.
The Lady Dragons tallied nine blocks.
HCC trailed 2-1 when both middles – Rushton and Heier – led a fourth-set comeback. Rushton had two kills and a block, while Heier had two kills, two blocks and a service ace.
Hutchinson jumped out to leads of 3-0 and 4-2 in the five set, but Seminole State scored seven-straight points to take charge. Sofia Berezovksa had two kills and three blocks in the fifth set alone to lead the Trojans, who avenged a 3-0 loss to Hutchinson in Roswell, N.M. when Seminole State was ranked No. 11 in the national poll.
Berezovska had 14 kills and 10 total blocks. Kelsey Betus had 11 kills and Haley Clark had 10 kills for the Trojans.
WEST PLAINS RECAP
Sophomore Teresa Wade came back from a tough outing against Seminole State to tie a career high with 14 kills, but Missouri State West Plains jumped out to a two-set lead and finished of the Lady Dragons in four sets.
Wade had 14 kills in a match for the fourth time this season. She hit .265 on 34 swings and nearly had a fifth double-double with eight digs.
Shayne Haley was shut out in the first set, but finished with eight kills. Megan Heier hit .500 with six kills. Gabby Rushton had five kills and Heier had four kills.
Scout Heizer had 18 assists and eight digs. Ashlyn Westerman had 16 assists and four digs. Samantha Lackey had 10 digs and three service aces.
HCC was out-hit 47-42 and out-blocked 12-7.
West Plains, which is receiving votes in the NJCAA poll, was led by Torika Baleileikulu had 13 kills and six blocks. Taylor Swayzer and Magda Zietek had nine kills each and Candyce Alexander had seven kills.
Hutchinson will play Jefferson College (1-1 on Friday) at 11 a.m. on Saturday and close out with Frank Phillips College (1-1 on Friday) at 3 p.m.
(HCC Sports Information)
FRIDAY’S SCORES
Seminole State def. Hutchinson 12-25, 25-21, 25-10, 17-25, 15-10
Redlands def. New Mexico Military 25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 20-25, 15-7
MSU-West Plains def. Barton 25-14, 25-22, 25-16
Frank Phillips College def. Jefferson College 28-26, 22-25, 28-26, 26-24
Seminole State def. Barton 25-19, 25-21, 25-21
Redlands def. Frank Phillips College 25-15, 25-22, 25-15
MSU-West Plains def. Hutchinson 25-19, 25-19, 15-25, 25-17
Jefferson College def. New Mexico Military 18-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-13, 15-4
