STERLING, Colorado – For the fourth time in program history, the Hutchinson Community College volleyball team earned two five-set victories on the same day.
Playing the final two matches of the Northeastern Junior College Classic on Saturday at the Bank of Colorado Center, the Blue Dragons opened the day with a 3-2 victory over Iowa Western (25-22, 17-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-9).
Then in the final match against Laramie County, the Blue Dragons trailed 0-2 and 17-13 in the third set before rallying for a reverse sweep. Hutchinson defeated the Golden Eagles 21-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12, 18-16.
The Blue Dragons went 2-2 in the NJC Classic and are now 10-7 for the season. Hutchinson has a quick turnaround with a 6 p.m. Monday home KJCCC match against No. 16 Colby at the Sports Arena.
Saturday was the fifth time overall the Blue Dragons played two five-set matches in a single day. The Dragons have won nine consecutive matches in those situations, last winning a pair of single-day five-setters on August 30, 2024 after wins over Indian Hills and Lamar.
LARAMIE COUNTY RECAP
The first two sets against Laramie County, the Blue Dragons hit a negative .025 as the Golden Eagles had 11 blocks in the first two sets.
Sparked by a huge third set from sophomore Lauren Vasquez, the Blue Dragon offense came to life. Hutchinson hit .303 over the final three sets to complete the reverse sweep.
Hutchinson pulled off the 11th reverse sweep in team history, the fourth under head coach Dayana Acevedo Trent. The last Blue Dragon reverse sweep came in the opening round of the 2025 Region 6 Tournament at Butler.
Vasquez hammered home a career-high 24 kills to lead the Blue Dragons. She hit .298 on a career-high 47 attacks, adding two blocks, two digs and a set assist. Vasquez had had nine kills and hit .667 in the third set on 12 attacks. She added six kills, hitting .200 on 15 attacks in the fourth set.
Freshman Julia Macedo finished with 16 kills on 39 swings, hitting .256. She added four block assists.
Freshman Maria Eduarda Dias had 11 kills and a season-high seven total blocks. Freshman Giovanna Monteiro had 10 kills and 14 digs for her team-high 10th double-double of the season.
Freshman setter Klaudia Bilinksa posted her first career double-double with season highs of 51 assists and 16 digs. Bilinksa became the first Blue Dragon setter to reach 50 assists in a single match since Andrea Serrano’s 53 against Neosho County on September 10, 2021.
The Blue Dragons had 68 team kills, which tied four other teams for the ninth-most kills in Blue Dragon single-match history. The last time the Dragons had 68 or more kills came against Missouri State-West Plains with 68 on August 20, 2022. Hutchinson hit .166 for the match on 175 total attacks. The Dragons had 10 total blocks, 73 total digs and eight aces.
Sophomore Clara Oliveira had a season-high 20 digs, reaching 20 or more digs for the 15th time in her career. Oliveira had three ace serves and five assists. Freshman Ashley Scott had a season-high 14 digs with an ace.
After dropping the first set, the Dragons led 15-5 in the second set, but Laramie County rallied with a 20-3 run to win the set and take a 2-0 match lead. The Golden Eagles led 17-13 in the third set, but Vasquez got on a roll and Hutchinson went on a 12-2 run to capture their first set. The Dragons hit .432 in the fourth set with 19 kills to cruise to a 25-12 win. The Dragons had to fight off a match point against in the fifth set, but scored the final three points to complete the comeback.
After the two five-set wins on Saturday, the Blue Dragons are 2-1 in five-set matches this season.
IOWA WESTERN RECAP
Monteiro had a team-high 21 kills to lead the Blue Dragons in the second five-set match against Iowa Western this season.
The Blue Dragons had chances to end the match in four sets, but Iowa Western wiped out six match points with a 7-0 run to force a fifth set with a 26-24 win. The Dragons responded with a strong fifth set and closed out the match on the first match point of the final set.
Monteiro hit .220 on 50 total swings. She had her ninth double-double with 11 digs and she had three block assists. This is the fourth time this season she has had 20 or more kills.
Macedo had some big fifth-set kills and finished with 13 kills with 36 attacks. Vasquez had 12 kills.
The Blue Dragons hit .160 for the match with eight blocks, eight aces and 58 digs.
Bilinksa tallied 48 assists with three kills, five digs and two aces.
Oliveira had 13 digs, while Arianna Delgado and Scott with 12 digs each.
