The No. 18-ranked Barton Community College volleyball team couldn’t capitalize on early leads Wednesday evening, falling in straight sets (25-22, 25-21, 25-17) to No. 8 Dodge City Community College at the Student Activity Center.
Barton jumped out to a 6-0 advantage in the opening frame and led 6-2 in the second, but the Conquistadors rallied in both before controlling the third to complete their first season sweep of the Cougars since 2022. The victory also snapped Barton’s two-match winning streak in Dodge City.
The loss drops Barton to 8-4 in KJCCC play and 18-9 overall while Dodge City improves to 11-1 in conference action and 22-5 on the season. The Cougars return home Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. matchup against Butler Community College at Fleske Fieldhouse.
By the Numbers
Barton struggled to find its offensive rhythm against the KJCCC’s leading blocking team in both total blocks and blocks per set, managing just 34 kills on .130 hitting, its lowest attack percentage since a Sept. 5 loss to then-No. 6 Florida SouthWestern State College. The 34 kills were also the Cougars’ second-fewest of the season, trailing only their 31-kill performance in an Aug. 22 sweep of Tyler Junior College.
The Conquistadors have proven particularly troublesome for the Barton attack this season, limiting the Cougars to .138 hitting in their first meeting and .130 in Wednesday’s rematch. Barton opened the night hitting .206 before slipping to .088 and .094 in the final two sets.
Kiera Loe paced Barton with 15 kills, extending her streak to seven consecutive matches with at least 14 kills. The sophomore added six digs and a block assist, while Mariam Urazbakhtina contributed seven kills on .312 hitting and Paola Batista chipped in five kills on .333 hitting with three block assists.
Brylynn Wicker delivered four kills, three service aces, a solo block and a block assist, while Mileah Neal distributed 29 assists to go with two aces and four digs. Defensively, Amanda Riepe led the Cougars with 10 digs, followed by Loe and Jaden Katsis with six each.
Set-by-Set Recap
First Set: Barton couldn’t have asked for a much better start, as Wicker’s opening kill and three service aces helped stake the Cougars to a 6-0 advantage. Dodge City gradually chipped away with a pair of three-point runs before using four straight to claim its first lead at 11-10.
The teams traded blows throughout the middle stages before Barton surged ahead 21-18 behind a 4-1 stretch. The Conquistadors responded with three straight to pull even, and following another exchange of points, Dodge City broke the eighth tie of the frame by claiming the final three points for the 25-22 opening-set victory.
Second Set: An early four-point run staked Barton to a 6-2 advantage, but Dodge City answered with four straight to pull even at six. The Cougars countered with three unanswered before service reception troubles opened the door for three consecutive Conquistador aces, sparking a five-point run.
Consecutive kills from Loe and Urazbakhtina brought Barton back even before Dodge City regained the lead with two straight points, aided by a Cougar attack error. Barton trimmed the deficit to 13-12, but that would be as close as the Cougars would get the rest of the frame as the Conquistadors strung together a pair of three-point runs during a 6-1 stretch to build a 19-13 advantage.
Barton mounted one final charge with three straight to pull within 20-17, but Dodge City answered with consecutive points to keep the Cougars at bay before securing the 25-21 victory and commanding two-set lead.
Third Set: Barton held just two brief leads in the final frame, scoring the opening point and later moving ahead 3-2 before the teams battled to their final tie at 10.
Dodge City took control with four straight points before another five-point run, highlighted by a pair of service aces, extended the margin to 22-15. The Cougars answered with consecutive points, but the Conquistadors claimed the final three to complete the 25-17 victory and straight-set sweep.
