Garden City rolls Frank Phillips; improves to 2-2
Image courtesy of Garden City Community College Athletics
Garden City, KS-It took a couple of matches, but Garden City appears to have figured some things out.
On Saturday night, Jacob Sander’s team saved their best performance for last.
Gaby Santos tallied 10 kills, Vitoria Reis added 18 assists and 11 digs, and Garden City swept Frank Phillips 25-16, 25-18, 25-12 in the final game of the 2024 Scooter’s Invitational.
The Broncbusters won all six sets on Saturday by an average of nearly seven points, erasing their first 0-2 start to a season since 2021.
“We saw it really building in the second set vs. Navarro,” Sander said. “It’s about confidence and getting to know each other. Learning everyone’s spots and position on the floor is really important.”
Kinley Flower had 10 assists and Vitoria Stedile recorded a game-high 19 digs for the Broncbusters, who evened their record at 2-2.
This match was never particularly close. Santos spearheaded a 15-5 assault in the opening set that gave the Broncbusters a 21-8 lead. The sophomore then deposited a Vitoria Reis’ assist into the middle of the Plainsmen rotation, and Katarina Miscevic added a kill and a block that put Garden City up, 1-0.
“This was probably our best game as a team so far,” Sander explained.
The Broncbusters trailed for less than 30 seconds in the second. Santos and Camila Pereira teamed up for a pair of spikes, Carly Lang landed a successful power swing, and Duru Kaagoz dunked the ball over the net with two hands for a 15-9 advantage. They pushed the lead to nine following a backwards set by Flower, who setup Pereira beautifully for a kill.
“You have to feel pretty good going into our tournament next week with the way we played the last two matches,” Sander said. “I think it would have been nice to play these two matches before Eastern Wyoming and Navarro, but the schedule is what it is.”
Garden City was never challenged in the third utilizing an 11-3 surge to put things out of reach. Reis added an ace and an assist on another Santos kill; then she found Andrea Djordjevic for a right-handed spike, and the Broncbusters won their sixth consecutive set.
