— HUTCHINSON CC SPORTS INFORMATION RELEASE —
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (BlueDragonSports.com) – The Hutchinson Community College volleyball team was picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the 2024 KJCCC Division I Preseason coaches’ poll released this week.
The Blue Dragons received 53 points in the balloting and were picked to finish fifth in the nine-team league this season.
Now in her fifth season, head coach Delice Downing returns one starter and four overall players from last year’s 24-15 team that placed fourth in the KJCCC last season.
The one returning starter is middle blocker McKenzie Murphy, a 6-foot-1, sophomore from Fort Scott. She is a returning all-conference performer who hit.293 on 1.26 kills per set. She also averaged 1.07 blocks per set.
Barton is the unanimous favorite to capture the 2024 league title, earning all nine first-place votes. Defending Region 6 champion Colby is second, followed by Dodge City, Butler and Hutchinson to round out the top five selections.
The Blue Dragons will have three sets of preseason scrimmages before opening the 2024 season at the Iowa Western Tournament on August 24 and 25.
The Blue Dragons travel to McPherson College on Thursday August 15, at the KJCCC scrimmages on Saturday in El Dorado and will have their only home preseason scrimmage on Monday at 4 p.m. (intersquad scrimmage) and 6 p.m. (Sterling College).
The Blue Dragons play Jefferson College, Iowa Western, Northeastern Junior College and Western Nebraska next weekend to open the season in Council Bluffs.
The Blue Dragons will play 15 matches before their 2024 regular-season home opener on September 18 against Cloud County.
The NJCAA National Preseason poll will be released next week.
2024 KJCCC DIV. I VOLLEYBALL COACHES’ POLL
1. Barton (9) – 81
2. Colby – 64
3. Dodge City – 58
4. Butler – 55
5. Hutchinson – 53
6. Garden City – 33
7. Cloud County – 32
8. Seward County – 19
9. Pratt – 10
