The Lady Saints forced a fifth set against Barton County Community College after trailing 0-2 during the Region IV championship match on April 2. Too many blown leads in the first two sets came back to haunt them as they lost 3-2 to the Cougars. 

“I kind of felt in the first two sets we had opportunities to win [those sets] and it wouldn’t have never come to this,” Geno Frugoli, SCCC head coach, said. “When you’re up four points like in the first or second set, you have to close, and we just didn’t close.”

Late in the first set Seward held a comfortable 21-16 lead over the Cougars, but Barton would come back and outscore them 10-3 to take the set. Even in the second set, Seward held a decent lead they let slip away which would result in the game being tied up eight times before Barton won it.

By the time the Lady Saints were able to gain their composure, the lead seemed insurmountable. Still, they took Barton to a fifth set with a chance to win it, but early on in the fifth set, it was clear Seward had run out of gas to dig out of the hole they created earlier in the match.

The Lady Saints reached the championship match after beating the Colby Trojans in straight sets while Barton did the same to the Hutchinson Blue Dragons after Seward’s game.

A loss means Seward loses out on advancing to nationals. 

“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and just hope we get an at-large bid for nationals and if not, we’ll just work on those things for next season,” Frugoli said.