Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Finally playing at home after 15 games on the road to open the 2024 season, the Hutchinson Community College volleyball team hit better than .400 in its first two sets back at the Sports Arena Wednesday night against Cloud County.
The Blue Dragons cooled off in the latter stages of the match and earned a 3-1 KJCCC victory over the Thunderbirds, winning 25-8, 25-13, 24-26, 25-16.
Hutchinson improved to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons will play McCook, Iowa Western, Missouri State-West Plains and Labette this weekend in the Blue Dragon Volleyball Classic at the Sports Arena. Cloud County is now 3-11 overall and 0-5 in the KJCCC.
The Blue Dragons dominated early, out-hitting Cloud County .462 to a minus .154 in the first set and .400 to a minus .031 in the second set. Hutchinson cooled off in the third and fourth sets and wound up out-hitting the Thunderbirds for the match .236 to a minus .008. The Dragons held Cloud County to negative hitting percentages in three of the four sets.
Freshman Atlyn Proctor led the Blue Dragons with 17 kills, hitting .433 on 30 attacks. Proctor had four digs and three block assists.
Sophomore Tiana Simmons had 14 kills on .111 hitting. She had a season-high eight digs with two service aces and two assists.
Freshman Viktoria Graf also reached double figures in kills with 10 kills on .200 hitting. She had six digs and three block assists.
Sophomore middle McKenzie Murphy had a season-high nine kills on .471 hitting. She added five total blocks, including one solo block.
The Blue Dragons out-blocked Cloud County 9-7 and out-dug the Thunderbirds 52-41. The Dragons also racked up a season-high 10 service aces
Freshman setter Ellie Suber earned her first career double-double with 39 set assists and 10 digs.
Freshman libero Addy Foster had a team-high 14 digs.
Freshman Beatriz Carvalho had season highs of four service aces, five set assists and four digs.
SET 1 – The Blue Dragons were balanced offensively in the opening set with five kills from Murphy and four each from Proctor and Graf. Tied at 3-3, the Dragons went on a 7-0 run to take a 10-3 lead after a Simmons kills. A Murphy kill extended the run to 13-2 for a 16-5 Hutchinson lead. Back-to-back kills from Proctor extended the run to 16-3 and a 19-6 Dragon lead. Hutchison closed the set on a 6-1 run, getting a Simmons kill on set point for a 25-8 victory.
SET 2 – Hutchinson had an 8-5 lead and broke open the set with a 7-0 run on Graf's serve. A Murphy kill capped the run and the Dragons led 15-5. A Graf kill upped the Dragon advantage to 19-10. The Dragons scored five unanswered points with a kill from Graf and a Graf/Murphy double block. Simmons had an ace to give the Dragons a 24-12 lead. Graf finished off the set with a kill. The Dragons had 13 kills and four blocks in the second set.
SET 3 – The third set was much tighter with six lead changes and 13 ties. After Cloud jumped out to a 3-0 lead, Hutchinson answered with a 5-0 run and led 5-3 after a Proctor kill. Tied at 20, a Proctor kill, a Proctor/Kierny Follmer double block and an Angela Reupena service ace gave the Dragons a 23-20 lead. The teams traded points to 24-21. Cloud County fought off three match points and scored the final five points of the set for a 26-24 win. Cloud County out-hit the Dragons in the third set .207-.103.
SET 4 – Trailing 3-1 early, the Blue Dragons went on a nine-point service run on Carvalho's serve. Carvalho had four aces in that run, the fourth giving Hutchinson a 10-3 lead. The Dragons built a 16-4 lead on Foster's serve. The longest scoring run from that point was three, by the Dragons. Hutchinson hit only .091 in the fourth set, getting a set-high four kills from Simmons.