SENATOBIA - Playing in front of a passionate home crowd to open up an eight-match homestand, Northwest claimed the opening set but failed to hold off Itawamba in a 3-1 loss on Tuesday evening.

Despite the loss, the match turned out to be one of the closest the Lady Rangers have played all season, as Northwest took the first set, 25-15, before falling 26-24, 25-23 and 25-19 over the final three sets.

Feeling the home court energy, the Lady Rangers stormed out to a 15-9 advantage to start the match and continued to grow the lead to a 21-12 margin. Two Itawamba timeouts did little to restore the Lady Indians' momentum, as Northwest opened with a 1-0 match lead.

Momentum carried over into the second set for Northwest, as the Lady Rangers built an 11-5 advantage on ICC in the early stages. After an Itawamba timeout, both teams began trading points back and forth, before the Lady Indians eventually clawed back within a 22-20 margin.

Itawamba capitalized on a timeout from the Lady Rangers, earning its first lead of the match, 24-23. Despite the efforts of Northwest, the visiting team edged the Lady Rangers with a 26-24 second set, tying the match at 1-1.

Itawamba seemingly had the pendulum swing back in its favor to open the third set, but Northwest remained within striking distance throughout, eventually coming back to force a 15-15 tie. The teams traded points once more, until ICC gained two in a row late in the third set to earn the 25-23 decision and a 2-1 match lead.

With its back to the wall in the deciding fourth set, Northwest rallied back from a 14-5 deficit to trim the gap down to 16-11. The Lady Rangers continued to try and chip away at the Lady Indians' advantage, but ICC held on for a 25-19 clincher.

Sophomores Kapria Manning and Julissa Soto had a big night, combining for 35 kills. Soto also had 19 digs, finishing behind a team-high 22 digs from Taylor Smith.

India Jeffries and Sydney Sides carried the Lady Rangers with four total blocks each, followed by three from freshman De'Aisha Browner. Alexia Davis collected a team-leading 21 assists, while freshman Brinley Steed had 19. 

Additionally, freshman Kayla Beal had 18 digs, followed by 10 from Sides.

With the loss, Northwest fell to 8-14 overall as Itawamba jumped to 13-6 on the season. The Lady Rangers will continue its homestand with a pair of matches against MUW and Bevill State on Thursday, October 7 at 4/5 P.M. Northwest will also host Lawson State on Friday, October 8 and a round-robin with Henderson State and Frontier at 12/4 P.M. on Saturday, October 9.

All matches will be carried on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch) and Facebook Live.