DRAGONS FALL IN 4 SETS TO REIVERS AT BLUE DRAGON CLASSIC

Lauren Vazquez swings for one of her 12 kills in the Blue Dragon Volleyball team's 3-1 loss to Iowa Western in the Blue Dragon Volleyball Classic on Friday at the Sports Arena. (Billy Watson/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

September 26, 2025

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Three players reached double figures in kills and sophomore setter Angela Reupena had her third double-double of the season, but the Hutchinson Community College volleyball team came up short in a four-set loss to Iowa Western at the Blue Dragon Volleyball Classic on Friday at the Sports Arena.

Hutchinson lost to Iowa Western for the second time this season, falling on Friday 25-18, 26-24, 13-25, 21-25.

Now 0-2 in the Classic, the Blue Dragons (9-10) look for their first win of the tournament and home season with a pair of matches on Saturday – 9 a.m. against MSU-West Plains and 1 p.m. against the Southwestern College JV.

The Blue Dragons improved some 95 points in their attack percentage from Friday's earlier 3-0 loss to Tyler. The Dragons hit .139 on 49 kills and 144 swings. Iowa Western hit .349 on 51 kills and 126 attacks.

Sophomore Alondra Villanueva had a team-high 15 kills and hit .229 on 35 attacks. She added eight digs and two block assists.

Freshman Lauren Vazquez had 12 kills on .250 hitting with nine digs and an ace. Sophomore Jaylynn McNeill had 10 kills on 38 attacks.

Reupena finished with 35 set assists and 13 digs for her third double-double of the season. She added a career-high five kills on a career-high .556 hitting and posted a career-best four ace serves.

Freshman libero Clara Oliveira had a team-high 14 digs. She also had three service aces.

Kendall Picolet had 17 college to lead Iowa Western.

Set 1: The Reivers jumped out to a 6-2 lead. That run was snapped by a Vazquez kill. A McNeill kill tied the set at 9-9. Iowa Western then scored 3 of the next 4 points and never looked back. Trailing 18-14, the Dragons pulled within two after kills from Villanueva and Mattie Galliher. Iowa Western hit .355 in the set and finished off a 25-18 victory.

Set 2: The second set featured 11 ties and five lead changes. The Dragons had their best offensive set of the day hitting .237 led by Vazquez, who had six kills in the set. The Dragons also had five aces in the set. Tied at seven, a McNeill kill gave the Dragons the lead. Later on, the Dragons found themselves down 16-11. Hutchinson rallied with an 8-2 run to take a 19-18 lead on a Vazquez ace. Trailing 23-22, the Dragons earned their first set point after kills from McNeill and Follmer. Then tied at 24, McNeill delivered a kill again and McKenzye Williamson served up an ace on set point for a 27-25 win and to tie the match at 1-1.

Set 3: Iowa Western hit .44 in the third set and held the Blue Dragons to .032 in a decisive set victory for the Reivers. Tied at 10, Iowa Western outscored the Reivers 15-3 to close out the set for a 2-1 match lead.

Set 4: The final set had seven ties and two lead changes. The Blue Dragons trailed 16-10, but scored seven unanswered points to take a 17-16 lead on Reupena's serve. Villanueva had three kills in the run and Reupena's five ace of the match gave the Dragons the one point lead. Tied at 20, the Reivers scored four unanswered points and won the closed the match with a 25-21 victory.