The 5th-ranked Barton Community College volleyball team weathered an afternoon of momentum swings Sunday at Fort Hays State University’s Gross Memorial Coliseum, clawing back from multiple deficits to outlast 13th-ranked Colby Community College in a five-set classic (14-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 20-18).
With the victory, Barton claimed its second straight Region 6/Plains District Championship, improving to 31-5 while securing an automatic berth to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, November 19–22 in Clarksville, Tennessee — marking the program’s 25th national appearance. Colby slipped to 24-7 and will await a possible at-large selection when bids are announced Wednesday.
The Cougars will now await their official seeding and first-round opponent, which will be revealed during Wednesday’s NJCAA Division I Volleyball National Championship Selection Show at 1:00 p.m. The 16-team national bracket will determine Barton’s opening match date and time in Clarksville.
In a gritty offensive battle that saw Barton hit .179 overall, the Cougars found timely production in the final two sets.
Aubrey Olander produced a huge second double-double of the year, posting a dominant .520 efficiency on 13 kills and 10 blocks as the program’s career leader reached double-digit denials for the third time this season, moving into a tie for the single-season record.
KJCCC Freshman of the Year Stasa Stamenkovic once again proved she is among the region’s elite two-way players, tying for the team lead with 13 kills while defensively adding three blocks and 20 digs for her 17th double-double of the year.
Bolstering the second wave of middle attack, the region’s top efficient hitter, Indigo Pruitt, provided a major spark with nine kills on .562 hitting and seven total blocks, while fellow freshman Caroliny Cristiny contributed 10 kills and six digs. Brylynn Wicker and Paola Batista combined for eight kills and nine blocks in support.
Setters Ori Briger and Mileah Neal evenly distributed the offense with 22 assists each, with Briger adding seven digs and Neal collecting 11 for the freshman’s fifth double-double effort.
Mina Kaneko anchored the defense with 22 digs, Janka Tolnai with four and Kailyn Follis with three, adding to the Cougars finishing with 17 total blocks, including two solo efforts from Pruitt.
Set-by-Set Recap
The opening set was all Trojans, as Colby erased an early 4–1 Barton lead with an 11–1 surge to take control. Stretching the margin to as many as nine, the Trojans kept the Cougars off balance and closed on a four-point burst to seal the frame while holding Barton to its lowest set output of the season.
Colby again jumped out early in the second, building a 7–2 cushion and maintaining the five-point edge until Barton began to find rhythm behind a three-point spurt. Still trailing 17–14, the Cougars took five of the next six points — capped by a Stamenkovic kill — to grab their first lead since the opening serve. Tied twice down the stretch, Barton’s net defense, led by Pruitt and Wicker, helped close out the set on a 4–1 run to even the match.
Carrying that momentum into the third, Barton built a 9–5 advantage and later reclaimed a 15–13 lead with a four-point rally. The Trojans answered immediately, rattling off nine straight across a pair of Cougar timeouts to seize control at 22–15. Barton clawed back to within five and staved off set point with three straight, but Colby held firm to take a four-point decision and a 2–1 match lead.
In the fourth, the Trojans flipped an early deficit into a series of three-point cushions, the last coming at 17–14. Undeterred, Barton roared back with six straight to surge ahead and never looked back, countering every Colby push with timely kills from Stamenkovic and Pruitt to force the deciding fifth.
Trading points to open the final frame, Colby appeared poised to close it out behind runs of four and three straight to go up 9–4. With their backs to the wall, the Cougars’ front line delivered, as a pair of assisted blocks reignited the energy and sparked a comeback that pulled Barton within one. Consecutive Cristiny kills capped a 3–0 spurt that flipped the scoreboard to 13–12 in favor of the Cougars.
Barton twice reached match point only to see Colby fend them off and earn a match point of its own at 16–15. Refusing to fold, Olander and Batista combined for yet another crucial block before Stamenkovic’s clutch kill swung momentum back Barton’s way. After trading tallies through the eighth tie of the set, Pruitt rose to the moment — playing a part in each of the final two points — as the Cougars capped their comeback and clinched a return trip to the national tournament.
Record Book Watch
Mina Kaneko
– 5th – Single Season Digs (622): six shy of Giselle de Moura’s 628 (2011); 50 from Hanna Miller’s 672 (2021)
– 5th – Career Digs (1,079): 42 away from Tasiah Nunnery’s 1,121 (2020–23)
Aubrey Olander
– 1st – Career Assisted Blocks (256)
– T-1st – Single Season Assisted Blocks (144): ties Laura Macek’s program record (2008)
– 7th – Single Season Total Blocks (165): Surpassed Danielle Geronymo’s 157 (1998), Mengya Wang’s 159 (2008), and Kara Robeson’s 163 (2007); 12 shy of Christi Ensz’ 176 (1988)
– 3rd – Career Total Blocks (289): Surpassed Kara Robeson’s 284 (2006–07); 13 from Danielle Geronymo’s 302 (1997-1998)
