Crown clinched, No. 6 Barton Volleyball secures share of title with sweep of Garden City #GoBarton
Cougars claim at least a share of third straight KJCCC crown behind tenth consecutive victory
The sixth-ranked Barton Community College volleyball team took care of business Wednesday evening inside the Barton Gym, sweeping Garden City Community College 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 31-29).
Barton controlled the opening two sets with steady offensive rhythm before Garden City refused to go quietly in the third, trading blows through 18 ties in a back-and-forth finish. After fending off four set points, the Cougars finally broke through on their third match point to complete the sweep.
The win marked Barton's tenth straight and secured at least a share of its third consecutive KJCCC championship with one regular-season contest remaining.
Barton improves to 14-1 in league play and 27-5 overall, while the Broncbusters fall to 8-7 in conference and 11-13 on the year.
The Cougars close out the regular season Saturday with a 6:00 p.m. first serve against Cloud County Community College, ahead of next Wednesday's KJCCC postseason opener.
Caroliny Cristiny and Indigo Pruitt led a balanced Cougar attack with eight kills apiece, Cristiny adding three aces and 11 digs while Pruitt posted a team-best .467 hitting efficiency and team leading four blocks.
Stasa Stamenkovic and Aubrey Olander followed with seven kills each, Stamenkovic contributing 13 digs and two aces while Olander stuffed the stat sheet with three blocks and an ace.
Paola Batista chipped in six kills on .211 efficiency and four digs, while fellow freshman Brylynn Wicker supplied three kills and a pair of block assists.
Defensively, Mina Kaneko anchored the back row with a team-high 15 digs and two aces, continuing her climb among Barton's all-time dig leaders.
Alternating between its three setters, Ori Briger guided the offense with 16 assists, 7 digs, and two aces, Mileah Neal handed out 12 assists and six digs, and Janka Tolnai chipped in seven assists and a dig in third set action.
Record Book Watch
Mina Kaneko
- 7th Single Season Digs (546) – surpassed Hanna Miller's 546 (2022) – 3 shy of Cristin Haines' 564 (2006)
- 5th Career Digs (1003) – surpassed Mylena Testoni's 1,014 (2020-21) – 103 away from Tasiah Nunnery's 1121 (2020-2023)
Aubrey Olander
- 20th Single Season Total Blocks (143) – 12 shy of top ten
- 5th Career Total Blocks (264) – 3 shy of Julie Williams' 270 (1993)
- 5th Single Season Assisted Blocks (123) – 1 shy of Danielle Geronymo's 124 (1997) and 4 away from Sarah Schinstock's 127 (2005)