In their final regular season match this year, the Pratt Community College volleyball team hosted Garden City Community College. The Beavers used the game to honor their five sophomore student-athletes who played in the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena for the final time. High emotions played a role in allowing the Beavers to gain an edge down the stretch. Pratt went on to defeat Garden City in the long haul 3-2 (25-14; 22-25; 25-20; 21-25; 15-11).
The Beavers dominated the game early on. A 6-1 run started to put the blue and white in a winning position. PCC earned their largest lead of the game at the culmination of set one, when they extended the score to 25-14 after a kill by outside hitter Stephanie Reichenberger on set point.
Set two began much like the first. A 15-9 advantage in favor of Pratt kept home fans excited and on their feet. A 3-0 sweep seemed to be in the future for PCC. However, the score started to go in a different direction after the Beavers' starting setter went down with a mild injury.
Freshmen setters Finehika Uhatafe (18 assists) and Morgan Bullinger (13 assists) took reign of the team's offense for the remainder of the match. Bullinger continued to play the outside hitter position when rotating into the front row, and then assumed setting duties while in the back row.
Pratt ended up losing the second set to an energized Garden City. PCC battled back in set three to give themselves the advantage on the scoreboard once again. This time around the Beavers adjusted to their new offense and produced the same scoring (12 kills) that helped them win set one.
In the fourth set both teams posted their best scoring numbers of the match. The Beavers had a game-high of 15 kills as a team with only two hitting errors to contrast with. The Broncbusters matched their opponent's intensity offensively with 11 kills that were offset by only three mistakes on the swing. Even hitting .351 as a team was not enough for Pratt to capitalize and win the set. Garden went on to even up the score with a 4-point margin of victory, 25-21.
After forcing a fifth set the Broncbusters became dormant as PCC cruised to a victory. Pratt opened up the flood gates to start set five with a 7-1 run. Garden City cut the deficit to 12-11 after switching sides of the court halfway through the set. Their efforts were short lived as they never scored again against the Beavers after coming within a single point of an even score.
During the span of five sets, Reichenberger earned 15 kills and scored the set-winning kill in each of the three that PCC was victorious in. Bullinger tied her teammate with 15 scoring-swings of her own while not even playing the outside hitter position the entire game.
Middle blocker Elise Baranco also fed into the game-winning atmosphere with 10 kills and only a single error. In the 5-set contest, Baranco swung .429.
Libero Naomi Warren earned a career-high in digs as she helped guide her team to a win. Warren dug up 27 balls against the Broncbusters. Her previous best (26 digs) came in a 5-set match against Garden City in the 2017 season.
The game was finished by a Reichenberger kill that erupted the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena. Spectators and fans applauded as the sophomore took her last swing in the Beaver Dome and earned a game-winning kill by doing so.
PCC volleyball is in action again in the Region VI Tournament where the Beavers will travel to take on a higher-seed opponent which will be named after the conclusion of all Jayhawk West conference matchups. Stay tuned to gobeaversports.com for all PCC volleyball action during the postseason.