SENATOBIA - Saturday shaped up to be a historic afternoon at Howard Coliseum, as Northwest made its long-anticipated home debut with a doubleheader sweep of Bevill State, marking the program's first home victories.

Northwest won both matches by 3-0 scores, also marking the first time the Lady Rangers have earned straight-set victories.

With the wins, Northwest has won three of its last four matches, improving to 4-5 on the season. The Lady Rangers are scheduled to resume play on Wednesday, February 17 at Itawamba.


Northwest 3, Bevill State 0
(Set scores: 25-11, 25-18, 25-15)

Northwest got off to a scorching start in the day's opening match, as the Lady Rangers rolled to a three-set victory in their first meeting against Bevill State.

Northwest led 7-1 to start the first set and got off to a similar start in the second set, leading 8-1 before the Lady Bears called a timeout.

Bevill State came out of the break with some newfound momentum, as the Lady Bears took six of the next eight points to pull back within a 10-7 margin.

Although the Lady Bears continued to claw back, Northwest stayed out in front enough to earn the second set victory and claim a 2-0 match lead.

Bevill State got off to an early 5-2 lead in the third set, but the Lady Rangers quickly rallied to regain control and never looked back.

Julissa Soto led the Lady Rangers with 11 kills, while Alexia Davis returned to the lineup to provide a team-high 23 assists. 

Kapria Manning also provided nine kills with 10 assists and India Jeffries provided nine kills of her own.

Northwest also finished with 12 total aces, led by four apiece from Davis and Chariah Mabry.


Northwest 3, Bevill State 0
(Set scores: 25-20, 25-17, 25-23)

A short turnaround didn't seem to bother Bevill State to start the second match, as the Lady Bears took a sizable lead to open the first set, before Northwest rallied to claim the set and later, the match.

Despite another win in straight sets, Northwest fought off a feisty Lady Bears effort for the entirety of the match. Tied at 16-16 in the opening set, the Lady Rangers won three consecutive points to take a 19-16 advantage. From there, Northwest retained the lead and claimed the first set 25-20.

Bevill State never went away in the second or third sets either, making Northwest work for wins in both sets. Late in the third set, the Lady Bears tied the score at 23 apiece in hopes of forcing a fourth set, but the Lady Rangers earned back-to-back points to close out the set and clinch their second home victory.

Jeffries led the Lady Rangers with nine kills, followed by seven apiece from Mabry and Sydney Sides. Davis and Manning once again combined to lead Northwest in assists, with both players responsible for 23 of the team's 24 assists.

Northwest finished with seven aces, led by two apiece from Davis and Jeffries.