Buffs’ Roundup: Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019
VOLLEYBALL
The Garden City High School Lady Buffs volleyball team prepped for its mid-season run against its toughest schedule to date by sweeping past Western Athletic Conference opponents Liberal and Dodge City on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in Dodge City.
The Lady Buffs, now ranked No. 5 in Class 6A by the Kansas Volleyball Coaches Association’s latest poll, improved their season record to 14-0 and are the only unbeaten team in the 6A top 10 rankings.
Head coach Trista Bailey’s squad defeated Liberal, 25-22, 25-21 in their opening match and then dispatched rival Dodge City, 25-15, 25-11, in the second and concluding match.
“I knew Liberal was going to be a tough opponent and they certainly proved to be a tough out for us,” Bailey said.
In the Liberal match, Gisselle Gutierrez recorded three aces while Reagan Karlin and Remi Vargas notched two each as the Buffs served at a 95.9 percent efficiency. Karlin had 12 kills and Julie Calzonetti 9. Vargas recorded 25 assists. Kelbi Richter led the team with 13 digs and Karlin added 10.
Against Dodge City, the Lady Buffs upped their service percentage to 98 percent, recording six aces, spread out amongst five different players. In the Kills category, the Buffs had 22 with six different players getting in on the action there, with Karlin’s 6 and Calzonetti’s 4 leading the way. Vargas, the team’s setter, had 21 assists while Richter again led the team in digs with 12.
“We had big leads in the Liberal match and then found a way to make it a little more interesting,” Bailey said of her team’s effort Tuesday. “With our big matches coming up, it was a bit difficult to get focused at the start. I thought we improved as the evening went along.”
Now, the Lady Buffs will have their biggest tests of the season, beginning Thurs., Oct. 3, when they travel to Wichita Heights for a quadrangular where they will face Heights, Wichita South and Maize South. Maize South was 19-0 and ranked No. 6 in Class 5A.
On Saturday, the Lady Buffs travel to Lawrence where they will compete in the Lady Lions 6-team round-robin tournament. Five matches for the day, including meeting the host Lions, who captured the 2018 Class 6A state championship. Other teams in the tournament include Blue Valley, Blue Valley West, Olathe Northwest and Manhattan. Blue Valley is currently ranked No. 3 in Class 6A.
BOYS SOCCER
Three goals in the second half propelled the GCHS boys soccer team to a 3-0 shutout of Western Athletic Conference foe Great Bend on Tuesday in a match at Great Bend.
Tuesday’s victory improved the Buffs’ overall record to 6-3 and they are now 3-2 in the WAC.
Marvin Fierro scored the game-winning goal in the 46th minute when he took an assist from Hassan Ismail. Rodrigo Oropeza scored on an unassisted goal in the 58th minute and Emiliano Garcia closed out the second-half outburst with a free kick goal in the 60th minute.
The Buffs had 8 shots on goal compared to 7 for the Panthers. Freshman goalkeeper Chris Barragan recorded 3 saves. Great Bend’s Daniel Cervantes had 4.
Continuing their busy mid-season schedule, the Buffs will host rival Dodge City on Thurs., Oct. 3, at Buffalo Stadium, in a 6:30 p.m. pitch. The JV will play at 5 p.m. Dodge City won a 1-0 weather-suspended game on Sept. 24 in Dodge City.
Garden City High School 