SENATOBIA - A fun, incredible season for Northwest volleyball came to a heartbreaking end on Saturday morning, as the Lady Rangers fell 3-1 to Jones College in the NJCAA Region 23 Championship.
Northwest dropped the opening set by a 25-14 margin, but stormed back to capture the second set, 25-20. With the match tied at 1-1, Jones College narrowly took the third set, 25-21, and the Lady Bobcats pulled away down the stretch to clinch the match with a 25-12 fourth-set victory.
Sophomore
Layla Dyer led the Lady Rangers in both assists (25) and digs (13), while
Maddie Smith provided a team-best nine kills.
Rachel Stegall finished with seven kills and 12 digs, followed by six from
Anna Lott.
Claire Roberts paced Northwest in total blocks, finishing with three, while Smith and Stegall were credited with one apiece.
Sailor Cole had a pair of service aces, followed by one each from Stegall and
Kaya Coleman.
Abbey Swift also contributed seven digs and one assist.
Jones College was led by 18 kills from Harmony Jackson, while Mamie Fromdahl finished with a team-high 41 assists. Emily Boudreaux tallied a team-high 16 digs, while Hanna James finished with four blocks. Sara Akins added a team-high five service aces for the Lady Bobcats.
Despite the loss, Northwest had a lot of positives for the season. The Lady Rangers finished with their second consecutive 20-win season, concluding with an overall record of 25-9 and an 8-2 conference record. Coach
Allison Burchyett's squad also captured the MACCC Championship and finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record on the Howard Coliseum floor.
Several members of the 2024 squad also cemented their places in the program's record books. Dyer surpassed her record-breaking assist totals from last season, finishing with 1,127 for this season and 2,038 for her career. The Lafayette, La. native also ranks first in career digs with 710, while finishing tied for third with
Kaley Rikard's 2023 total of 371. (Dyer also ranks fifth in single-season digs after compiling 339 as a freshman.)
Other notable records for Dyer include career matches played (76; 1st) and career service aces (70; 4th). She also remains tied in the single-season matches played category after joining Rikard,
Sarah Bolin and
Jacia Hayes with action in 42 matches during the 2023 season.
Redshirt sophomore
Kaya Coleman also leaves Northwest with the single-season blocks record, finishing with 111 for the season. The Cobden, Ill. native concludes her Lady Ranger career ranking fifth in career blocks (129). Teammate and fellow sophomore
Anna Lott also finished highly in the blocks category, earning 142 for her career and finishing tied for third with
Kailey Gooch. The Bartlett, Tenn. product also compiled 77 blocks this season, moving into fifth in the program's single-season rankings.
Lott also finished with 75 career matches played, ranking second all-time only behind Dyer. Lott also ranks fifth in single-season matches played, tying
Cristen Cleveland for 41 matches played in 2023.
In her lone season at Northwest, sophomore
Rachel Stegall also leaves Senatobia in the Lady Rangers' record books. The former William Carey University transfer finishes second in both single-season and career service aces, notching 75 this season. Stegall also ranks third in single-season kills with 314, trailing record-holder
Jacia Hayes (367) and teammate
Maddie Smith (348).
Freshman
Aven Mathis finished her debut season at Northwest ranking third in single-season service aces (51), while sophomore
Abbey Swift finishes fifth with 48. Swift also finishes fourth in career matches played (69), with fellow sophomore
Ally Grimes ranking third in the same category (73).
