Broncbusters fall to fifth-ranked Barton

Garden City, KS-Phoebe Reyes had 12 kills, Mina Kaneko added 20 digs, and fifth-ranked Barton toppled Garden City in three sets, 13-25, 24-26, 14-25 Wednesday night at Conestoga Arena. The loss dropped the Broncbusters to 9-6 overall and 3-3 in the Jayhawk.  

Kinnley Flower recorded 15 assists for Garden City, which committed 21 attack errors and seven service miscues. Julia Brazil and Carly Lang each had eight kills, and Vitoria Stedile posted 26 digs.  

Jacob Sander's team struggled at the onset. Barton coasted to a 13-3 lead in the first and was never challenged.  

But the second set was a different story. 

After trailing by as many as three, the Broncbusters answered with a 14 -6 run to take 22-17 lead following a double block by Brazil and Duru Karagoz. But the Cougars, which won their sixth straight match, made a furious rally, starting with Elena Stankovic's kill that was deflected off the hands of Brazil. That was followed by Anna Wierzbicki's tap over, which was all part of a 9-2 surge to close the set. Still, it was a missed opportunity considering Garden City had set point, which was eventually wiped away by Mya Thompson's kill. 

In the third, Barton turned a one-point affair into a runaway, using a 15-6 run to open a 23-13 advantage.  

Elena Stankovic posted 16 assists and five digs, and Kassidy Nixon had 17 digs and four kills for Barton, which improved to 20-1 overall.