The Barton Community College volleyball team had a tall task in taking down conference leader Hutchinson Community College and lost in four games Tuesday night at Kirkman Activity Center.
In close battles in the match’s first two sets, Hutchinson pulled away late in the first to win 25-19, then fought off a set point to win the second, 28-26.
The Lady Cougars led throughout the third game before winning, 26-24, but the Lady Dragons responded with their strongest set of the night, cruising to a 25-13 victory.
Despite the loss, Barton remains in third place in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division and Region VI standings at 9-4, while slipping to 12-17 overall.
Hutchinson, which wrapped up regular-season play, improves to 21-6 on the season. It wins the conference title under first-year and former Lady Cougars head coach Patrick Hall with a 13-1 record. Hall left for Hutch after one season with Barton.
Barton travels to Colby for a 6:30 p.m. match on Thursday. The Lady Cougars lead Colby by one match in the conference race, having defeated the Lady Trojans in four sets back on Sept. 26 at home.