Hutchinson CC Sports Information
PARK HILLS, Missouri – The Hutchinson Community College volleyball team fell in four sets to Missouri State University-West Plains to close out the Mineral Area College Tournament on Saturday at Sechrest Gym.
The Blue Dragons finished the tournament 2-2 after an 18-25, 17-25, 25-19, 23-25 loss to the Grizzlies.
The Blue Dragons are now 20-11 overall and will return to conference play on Wednesday with a road trip to play at Colby.
Sophomore middle blocker Anna Dean had a career-high 16 kills to lead the Blue Dragons. She added five total blocks and an ace serve to lead Hutchinson.
Sophomore Taniya Golden finished with eight kills and eighth dogs. Setter Giovanna Ravanhani was next with five kills.
Ravanhani had 28 assists to power the Dragon offense. Freshman liberal Isabella Rollandini had 12 digs and three service aces. Freshman defensive specialist Alondra Velez had nine digs.
The Blue Dragons were out-hit 48-41 and blocked were tied at 10-10.
This is the fourth tournament this season the Blue Dragons have gone 2-2.
Set 1: West Plains took immediate charge of the Blue Dragons by jumping out to an 11-2 lead. That deficit drew to 13-4, 15-15 and 19-6 before the Dragons started to find some rhythm. A Golden ace pulled the Dragons within 22-11. Then at 24-11, the Blue Dragons fought off six-straight set points, pulling within 24-18 on a Dean kill. The Dragons dropped the opener 25-18.
Set 2: The second set was the same story as West Plains built an immediate 12-3 lead. Back-to-back Dean kills pulled the Dragons with 13-7, but the Grizzlies went on a 5-0 run to pull away. Down 23-12, the Dragons surged with a 5-1 run, but West Plains closed the 25-17 win on the third set point.
Set 3: Trailing 6-5, the Blue Dragon offenses caught fire with an 8-1 run that capped by back-to-back Ravanhani kills and a Dean solo block for a 13-7 lead. The lead drew to 18-10 after a Golden kill. Ashlyn Long had a kill for a 21-13 lead. West Plains scored three in a row to pull within five, but a Ravanhani kill stopped that advantage. A Dean/Ravanhani block made it 24-16. West Plains fought off three set points, but a Dean kill kept the Dragons alive with a 25-19 victory.
Set 4: The Dragons trailed 8-4 early, but a 4-1 run kept them within striking distance. A Ravanhani kill pulled the Dragons with 9-8. West Plains then took charge with a 6-0 run to build a 15-9 lead. The Blue Dragons had a pair of 3-0 runs to force a comeback attempt. The first was a Golden kill to make it 18-15. The second fought off three match points to pull within 24-23. The Grizzlies got a kill to close the match, winning 25-23.