Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Four Hutchinson Community College volleyball players reached double figures in kills as the Blue Dragons improved to 2-0 in the Blue Dragon Volleyball Classic with a four-set victory over the Jefferson Vikings on Friday night at the Sports Arena.

Led by freshman Blondie Penaflor, the Blue Dragons hit .273 as a team in a 25-15, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16 win in the second match of the day for Hutchinson. Earlier on Friday, the Dragons swept Trinity Valley. The Dragons improved to 9-6 overall. Hutchinson has two matches in the Classic on Saturday – No. 8-ranked Missouri State-West Plains at 10 a.m. and Laramie County at 2 p.m.

Penaflor had eight of her team-high 16 kills in the fourth set to lead the Blue Dragons. Hutchinson won the first two sets, but dropped the third and trailed 2-0 in the fourth before Penaflor started her big fourth set with three consecutive kills to give Hutch an early lead. Penaflor added two total blocks, including a solo block.

Freshman setter Andrea Serrano set a balanced offensive attack as four players reached double figures in kills for the first time this season. Serrano had 48 assists and posted a double-double with 12 digs.

Freshman Sophie Connor had 11 kills, while sophomore Kristina Head and freshman Morgan Harvey had 10 kills each. The Dragons had 57 total kills and 19 attack errors.

Freshman libero Amanda Velez had 15 digs, while Connor had nine.

SET 1: The Blue Dragons sided out on 14 of 15 chances in the opening set, allowing only one two-point run to the Vikings. Six different Dragons registered kills led by Head, who had four kills and three total blocks in the opening set. A Connor kill capped a 5-0 Dragon run that built an 8-4 lead. Harvey and Head teamed up for a double block to make it 15-8 and another Head kill made it 19-10. Hutch reached a 10-point lead on a Zoe Schmidt-Penaflor double block at 24-14. Two points later, the Vikings had a service error on set point No. 2 for a 25-15 Hutch win.

SET 2: Connor and Penaflor combined for nine of Hutchinson's 15 kills in the second half. The second half was much closer as Hutchinson's sideout percentage slipped from 93 percent to 63 percent. Tied at 10-all, a Connor kill started a 4-1 Hutch run. Harvey nailed a cross-court kill for a 14-11 lead. Jefferson answered back with a 4-1 run to knot the set at 15-15. Tied at 16-all, two Head kills and a Connor kill gave the Dragons a 19-6 lead. Leading 22-18, Jefferson tied the set at 23-all with three Dragon attack errors aiding the comeback. Schmidt got a key sideout with a kill out of the middle to make it 24-23 and Penaflor tooled the block on set point for a 25-23 win and a two-set match lead.

SET 3: Hutchinson's sideout percentage dwindled in the third set to 54 percent. Jefferson jumped out to a 12-5 lead and later led 16-9, forcing the Dragons to burn their second timeout. Hutchinson went on a 6-1 run out of the timeout and pulled within two points after a Harvey solo block cut the Jefferson lead to 17-15. Two points was as close as the Dragons could come in the third set, doing so on seven different occasions after trailing 16-9.

SET 4: Trailing 2-0, Penaflor picked up the Blue Dragons and immediately grabbed momentum from the Vikings. Three-straight kills by Penaflor erased that early deficit and gave Hutch a 3-2 lead. Two more Penaflor kills broke ties at 4-all and 5-all. Leading 7-6, Harvey delivered a kill which sparked an eight-point Amanda Velez service run. Head and Connor teamed up for a stuff block to give Hutch a 15-6 lead. That lead grew to 21-9 as Penaflor had two kills and a solo block on consecutive Dragon points. Jefferson scored on 7 of the next 9 rallies, but a Connor kill and Viking attack error on the final two points gave the Blue Dragons a decisive 25-16 win.