SENATOBIA - After a month away from the friendly confines of Howard Coliseum, the Northwest volleyball squad finally returned to play in front of the home crowd, taking two victories against MUW JV and Frontier on Friday evening.

Northwest concluded the weekend with a hard-fought loss to Pensacola State on Saturday morning, moving its overall record to 11-12.

After the weekend, the Lady Rangers improved its home record to 4-4. Northwest will travel to Frontier Community College on Monday, October 10 to face the Lady Bobcats and East Central College. The Lady Rangers will conclude the regular season on Friday, October 21 against Region 23 foe Itawamba and Henderson State.


Northwest 3, MUW JV 0
(Set scores: 25-12, 25-13, 25-9)

Facing MUW JV for the second time this season, Northwest had little trouble against the visiting Lady Owls, earning the shutout win in its first match of the day.

Northwest took a quick lead in all three sets and pulled away from the Lady Owls quickly.

Cristen Cleveland and Kailey Gooch finished with seven kills apiece to lead the Lady Rangers. Cleveland also added seven digs, trailing only nine from Kayla Beal. Jacia Hayes also finished with six kills and two blocks, while Beal and Brinley Steed add three service aces.


Northwest 3, Frontier 0
(Set scores: 25-17, 25-18, 25-17)

Although Frontier stayed within striking distance for all three sets, Northwest never faced a serious threat of dropping any set, as the Lady Rangers scored another shutout win to sweep Friday's action.

Freshman Kennedy Smith tallied a team-high 12 kills, along with eight digs and two service aces. Cleveland also added seven kills and five digs, while Beal and Kaley Rikard combined for 25 digs. 

Sophomore Lia Ramos also added 13 assists, followed by seven assists from Brinley Steed. 


Pensacola State 3, Northwest 1
Set scores: 25-22, 24-26, 17-25, 19-25)

Northwest started out with all the momentum in Saturday morning's match against Pensacola State, but the Lady Rangers dropped the next three sets to fall to the Lady Pirates in the weekend finale.

Although the Lady Rangers rallied back late in the second set to make it close against the Lady Pirates, Pensacola State jumped out to quick leads in the final two sets to build sizable leads.

Gooch led Northwest with eight kills, followed by seven from Smith. Additionally, Hayes also accounted for six kills, followed by five apiece from Rikard and Micah Swift.

In blocks, Hayes led the Lady Rangers with three total, with Swift and De'Aisha Browner finishing with two apiece. Ramos totaled 15 assists, followed by 11 from Steed, while Beal totaled 12 digs in the loss. Read Full Article