CONCORDIA, KAN. – For the third time this season, the Cloud County Community College volleyball team would play host to a nationally-ranked team as the T-Birds would drop a three-set decision to number-seven ranked Butler Community College inside of Arley Bryant Gymnasium on Wednesday, September 22nd.
With the loss, Cloud County is now 8-9 overall and 0-6 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while the Grizzlies improve to 18-2 overall and 4-0 in the KJCCC while having won 42 of their last 44 sets played.
Falling behind by an early 3-0 score to open the first set, the T-Birds would get on the board following an overpass from Butler that would allow
Lakyn Tenbrink to send the ball back over the net and onto the hardwood as Tenbrink would play a role in each of Cloud County's first four points of the match. A
Camryn Wessel service ace would give CCCC their first lead of the set at 5-4 as Cloud County would grab their largest lead of the set at 8-5 and again at 11-8 following a kill from
Hollie Stewart. Butler would then 7-1 run to reclaim the lead at 15-12 and force the T-Birds to use a timeout as the Grizzly lead would grow to as many as seven which is where the final margin of the first set would come to a close with BCC taking a 25-18 decision.
Butler wouldn't waste any time jumping out to another quick lead in the second set as a block and service ace would kick off the set with the Grizzlies eventually taking a 5-2 lead. The three-point deficit for Cloud County would hold until back-to-back kills from Tenbrink would pull CCCC within one at 7-6, but Butler would be quick to push their lead back out to three which is where it would stay until a Cloud County attack error and kill from ivy Fink would make it 15-10. Needing to try and put together a rally, the T-Birds would use their first timeout of the set trailing 17-12 before seeing Butler extend their lead with four straight points to force another CCCC timeout at 21-12. The nine-point deficit would ultimately prove to be too much for the T-Birds as Cloud County never would recover in what would become a 25-15 set win for Butler with CCCC facing a 2-0 deficit in the match.
Keeping within striking distance to open the third, Cloud County would use a 4-0 run sparked by a
Geraldyn Palacios kill to grab their first lead of the set at 7-6 following back-to-back service aces from freshman
Mariah Janda. The T-Bird lead would hold for the next four points of the set before a kill and block from Butler would allow the Grizzlies to reclaim the lead at 10-9 as the two teams would trade the next four points. A mini 3-0 run from Butler would then get Cloud County to use a timeout trailing 15-11 as things would start to unravel for the T-Birds with Butler doubling up CCCC 10-5 to close out the match and win the third set by a score of 25-16.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Two of Cloud County's next three matches will come on the road which begins on Saturday with a trip to Pratt to take on the Beavers at 2 PM. Pratt has lost four of their last five matches including a road match at Hutchinson in three sets on Wednesday evening to fall to 7-12 overall and 0-5 in the KJCCC. The match between CCCC and PCC will be the first between the two teams since October of 2019 as Cloud County has won their last three matches against the Beavers and 11 of their last 12 matches against Pratt dating back to the 2013 season.
