No. 16 Colby set to host No. 10 Barton tonight

Two nationally ranked rivals will meet tonight when No. 16 Colby Community College hosts No. 10 Barton Community College at the Colby Event Center.

First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Colby enters the match 7-3 overall and 2-0 in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play. The Trojans have won three of their past four matches, including consecutive conference sweeps of Pratt and Garden City.

The Trojans opened conference play Sept. 2 with a commanding 25-13, 25-15, 25-13 road victory over Pratt. Colby finished with 48 kills and only nine attack errors, producing a .481 hitting percentage.

Ella Dridi led the Trojans with 12 kills and a .435 hitting percentage. Marta Cherubini added nine kills without an error on 13 swings, while Bianca Caputi recorded nine kills in one set. Setters Priscilla Salas Moreno and Melis Yanikoglu combined for 42 assists, and Colby served 10 aces.

Colby returned home Saturday and defeated Garden City 25-21, 25-23, 25-11. The Trojans hit .306 for the match and held the Broncbusters to .074.

Dridi again led the attack, finishing with 16 kills. Cherubini delivered 10 kills without an error on 12 attempts, good for an .833 hitting percentage. Aubree Richardson contributed five kills on eight swings, and Isadora Carrareto supplied four kills in five attempts during the third set.

Salas Moreno directed the offense with 34 assists, while Anita Ferri and Lena Mihaljica each collected 12 digs.

The two sweeps followed Colby’s five-set loss to Casper College on Aug. 29. Caputi led the Trojans with 19 kills in that match, while Mihaljica recorded 15 kills and Dridi added 12. Ferri finished with 19 digs and Salas Moreno distributed 48 assists.

Colby’s balanced offense has been one of its strengths. Dridi and Mihaljica entered the week with more than 100 kills apiece, while Caputi and Cherubini have provided additional options at the net. Colby was averaging 13.22 kills per set entering tonight’s match.

Barton entered the week 8-3. Outside hitter Caroliny Christiny led the Cougars with 117 kills through their first 11 matches, while Brylynn Wicker, Mariam Urazbakhtina, Amanda Reipe and Kiera Loe had each recorded at least 50 kills. Reipe also led Barton with 122 digs.

Tonight’s match renews a closely contested rivalry. All three meetings between the teams last season went five sets. Colby won the first matchup at the Event Center before Barton captured the next two, including a 3-2 victory in the NJCAA Division I Plains District Tournament championship match.

Following tonight’s contest, Colby will travel to Sterling, Colorado, for four matches Friday and Saturday at the Sheila Worley Tournament. The Trojans’ next conference game is Monday at Hutchinson.