(HCC Sports Information)
LIBERAL – Playing a nationally ranked team for the fifth time in the last six matches, the Hutchinson Community College volleyball team had No. 17 Seward County on the ropes in a thrilling Jayhawk West battle on Wednesday night at the Green House.
But Seward County rallied from two sets down to defeat the Lady Dragons 3-2 (19-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 17-15).
Coming out intense and sharp from the first serve, the Lady Dragons built a 2-0 lead, rallying from seven points down in the second set to win it on a 16-3 run. Another late rally in the third nearly put the Saints (12-2, 5-1 Jayhawk West) away in three. Tied at 23-all in the third, Seward County scored the final two points and then dominated the fourth to force a fifth set.
The Lady Dragons (6-11, 3-2) built a 4-1 lead and continued to get critical side outs. But down the stretch, two critical service errors helped Seward County stave off two match points and when HCC was called into the net, Seward County completed the comeback.
“Some of the calls didn’t go our way,” said HCC head coach Sarah Myers, referring to several controversial calls that went against the Lady Dragons and yielded in yellow cards for her and freshman Shayne Haley. “But as far as the way we played, I was very proud of the girls. We had our up and down minutes, but we played with the emotion I’ve been harping on them for so long. They played with that emotion from start to finish.”
Sophomore Jordan Rehm posted her sixth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 19 digs. Rehm also had three total blocks, including two solo stuffs.
Defensively, the Lady Dragons were as scrappy as they have been all season with 97 team digs. Freshman Alyssa Riffel had a match-high 27 digs, which is the 11th most ever in any HCC match and tied for the seventh-most in a five-set match. Four players reached double figures in digs. After Riffel and Rehm, freshman Paige Forrester had 14 digs and freshman Hayley Young had 11.
The Lady Dragons also posted 15 team blocks. Haley had six blocks, Jade Nelson had five and Cassie Wiley had four total blocks. Hutchinson hit .129 for the match
Wiley hit a .312 on seven kills. Emily Oberlin used several perfectly placed tips to total six kills. Nelson and Young finished with five kills and posted a double-double with 26 assists and 14 digs. Young also had four of Hutchinson’s eight service aces.
“I was more proud of them after this game than some of the games that we have won,” Myers said.
Seward County was led by Courtney Geesing, who had 18 kills. Daiane Souza had 13 kills. Sarah Miller added five kills and 11 blocks. Seward County hit .113 for the match and had 18.5 team blocks.
Hutchinson was the aggressor out of the chute, scoring the first three points and sparked by Wiley’s four kills, built 21-12 lead in the opening set. Powered by Geesing, Seward County went on a 7-2 run to pull within 23-19 on a Geesing service ace. Back-to-back kills by Nelson clinched the first set for Hutchinson.
Geesing was again a handful in the second. Five more kills by the Saints’ outside hitter helped build a 16-9 lead. Haley got the sideout with a kill, and then Forrester went on a six-point service run to tie the set at 16-all on a Saints net violation. The Saints scored the next two for an 18-16 lead, but Seward County gave them right back on attack errors. Tied at 18-all, the Lady Dragons went on a 7-1 run with strong blocking by Wiley and Nelson. HCC took a 2-0 lead when Wiley and Young stuffed the Saints on set point.
The third set featured 15 ties and eight lead changes. HCC’s largest lead was 12-9. Seward County’s largest lead was three at 21-18, but HCC once again fought back. Back-to-back tips for kills by Oberlin and Young tied the set at 22-all and a Riffel service ace gave the Lady Dragons a 23-22 lead. But the Saints continually went to Geesing on big points, getting two-straight kills to get Seward to set point and an HCC attack error long sent the match to a fourth set.
The Saints scored the first six points of the fourth set, but HCC never went away. Trailing 9-3, Hutchinson chipped away and pulled with 11-9 on a double block by Haley and Oberlin. Seward County never relinquished the lead in the fourth set, closing out on a 7-3 run.
After being shut out on 12 swings in the fourth set, Rehm showed her leadership in the fifth with four huge kills to help the Lady Dragons take and early 4-1 lead. Her final two kills of the night set up the Lady Dragons with two match points. With HCC leading 15-14, Souza kept the Saints alive with a huge cross-court kill. That started a run of the final three points in the Saints favor, the match ending with an HCC net violation.
The Lady Dragons will play host to Seminole State, Jefferson College, Missouri State-West Plains and Frank Phillips College in the Caribbean Tan Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Sports Arena.
MATCH NOTES – Lady Dragons are now 2-3 in five-set matches in 2011. … This is the second-straight year that HCC and Seward County played in a five-set match.