The No. 19-ranked Barton Community College volleyball team made quick work of Garden City Community College Saturday evening at Fleske Fieldhouse, rolling to a straight-set victory (25-16, 25-15, 25-10) while reaching a pair of milestones in the process.
The victory marked the 170th collegiate coaching win for Jim Cartisser while setter Mileah Neal surpassed 1,000 career assists as the Cougars secured their ninth consecutive victory over the Broncbusters, improving to a commanding 54-2 in the all-time series.
The victory improves Barton to 11-4 in KJCCC play and 21-9 overall while Garden City falls to 3-11 in conference action and 5-18 on the season.
The Cougars close out the regular season Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. first serve against Hutchinson Community College at Fleske Fieldhouse, which will also serve as Sophomore Recognition Day. The matchup will determine third place in the KJCCC standings and seeding for the Region 6 Tournament, with Barton securing the No. 3 seed with a victory while Hutchinson would claim the spot with a win.
Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, Barton will host a first-round Region 6 Tournament match Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Milestone Moments
In his second season guiding the Cougars, Cartisser improved to 52-16 at Barton and 170-77 across eight collegiate coaching seasons.
Neal’s 24 assists Saturday pushed her career total to 1,014, reaching the 1,000-assist milestone while adding seven digs in the victory.
By the Numbers
Barton limited Garden City to just 23 kills on .041 hitting, including a negative .038 attack percentage in the final frame, while producing 38 kills on .310 hitting for its third consecutive match above .300. The Cougars committed just 11 attack errors on 87 attempts, hitting .324 in the second set before closing the night at a blistering .429 in the third.
The performance mirrored Barton’s first meeting with Garden City on Sept. 23, when the Cougars hit .306 while holding the Broncbusters to just .030 in another straight-set victory.
Kiera Loe paced the attack with 15 kills on .379 hitting, extending her streak to nine consecutive matches with at least 14 kills. Loe also contributed nine digs, a service ace and two block assists.
Irmak Navruz followed with seven kills, eight digs, a solo block and a service ace, while Brylynn Wicker added five kills on .308 hitting, two aces and six digs. Paola Batista chipped in four kills on .429 hitting and three block assists.
Defensively, Jaden Katsis anchored the back row with 13 digs, while Barton totaled 55 digs and five team blocks. The Cougars also served six aces against just three errors.
Set-by-Set Recap
First Set: Barton opened the night with consecutive points and never trailed, using a 7-2 stretch to build a 10-4 advantage. Following a Garden City point, the Cougars unleashed another 8-2 surge to stretch the margin to 18-7.
The Broncbusters mounted a late four-point run, but Barton claimed three of the final four points to secure the 25-16 opening-set victory..
Second Set: Barton picked up where it left off, breaking a 1-1 tie with three straight points before answering a Garden City tally with four more to build an 8-2 advantage.
The Cougars continued to pull away with an 8-2 stretch before the Broncbusters responded with three straight to trim the deficit to 16-9. Following an exchange of the next six points, Barton claimed consecutive tallies, only to see Garden City answer with three straight of its own.
That would be the Broncbusters’ final push, however, as Barton closed the frame with four unanswered points to claim the 25-15 victory and commanding two-set lead.
Third Set: Barton left little doubt about the outcome, scoring the opening eight points to seize immediate control of the final frame.
Continuing to rotate players throughout the set, the Cougars kept their foot on the gas with an 8-1 stretch to build a commanding 16-3 advantage. Barton maintained control the rest of the way, outscoring Garden City by two over the final stretch to complete the 25-10 victory and straight-set sweep.
