ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - A Sunday road trip yielded one win for the Northwest volleyball team, as the Lady Rangers split a 3-1 victory against Champion Christian College and a 3-1 loss to host Henderson State JV.
Jacia Hayes and
Kaley Rikard combined for 22 and 18 kills, respectively, while
Cristen Cleveland combined for 24 digs. With the split, the Lady Rangers improved to 14-13 on the season.
Northwest will have a quick turnaround, resuming play on Tuesday in a short road trip to Rust College. The Lady Rangers face Rust at 2 P.M., before taking on Lyon College at 4 P.M.
Henderson State JV 3, Northwest 1
(Set scores: 25-18, 25-22, 15-25, 25-17)
Though early indications seemed that Henderson State JV would run away with the match, Northwest rallied back to make things closer in the opening set, despite dropping the 3-1 decision to the Reddies.
Henderson State JV jumped out to an 8-3 advantage early in the first set, before eventually swelling the lead to 22-10. However, the Lady Rangers stormed back and closed the gap significantly, setting up a much closer second set.
Northwest kept biting away at the Reddies' lead throughout the second set, cutting the deficit to one on multiple occasions. However, Henderson State JV remained a step ahead and never relinquished the lead, earning the 2-0 match lead with the second set victory.
Determined to avoid the shutout, the Lady Rangers jumped out to a 7-2 advantage early in the third set and never looked back, earning the 25-15 decision and forcing a fourth set.
Although Northwest was able to carry some of the momentum over, a 9-7 lead was squandered with a long rally from the Reddies. Henderson State JV flipped the script and made it a 16-9 lead, paving the way for the home team to clinch the match.
Hayes led the Lady Rangers with 13 kills, followed closely with 11 from
Anna Lott. Rikard compiled eight kills and eight digs, while
Layla Dyer totaled 21 assists.
Northwest 3, Champion Christian College 1
(Set scores: 25-9, 20-25, 25-12, 25-10)
Aside from a close loss in the second set, Northwest dominated Champion Christian College in the other three sets, earning the 3-1 triumph.
Northwest jumped out to a quick and sizable lead on the Lady Tigers, cruising to the 25-9 opening-set win. The Lady Rangers would replicate this in the third and fourth sets, with Champion Christian College edging out the second set.
Rikard's 10 kills led Northwest in the victory, while Hayes accounted for nine kills and three total blocks.
Kaya Coleman led the Lady Rangers with four total blocks, with
Emma Norman chipping in three blocks of her own.
