GULF SHORES, AL – For the first time since 2023, the Northwest Mississippi Community College volleyball team (22-4) took down a ranked opponent, defeating #20 Lurleen B. Wallace Community College (12-7) in straight sets, 25-21, 26-24, 27-25, as part of two wins on Friday afternoon in tournament action, following up the win with a sweep of Reid State Technial College (2-11).
The Rangers came out strong in their match with Lurleen B. Wallace, jumping out to a 10-4 lead over the Saints thanks to a strong attack that featured multiple Northwest attackers. The Saints closed the gap with a 5-1 run out of a timeout to trim the gap to three, but that was the closest they would get as the Rangers answered every run with one of their own on the way to a 25-21 set win.
Set two was a different story as LBWCC took the opening lead to go up 3-0 out of the gate. Ties would follow at 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 until it seemed like a 5-1 run by the Saints gave them the separation they needed. Northwest didn't waver though, fighting back to tie the match at 24, and using that momentum to take the set in extra points 26-24.
The third set was even more tense for Northwest as the Rangers looked up early and found themselves in a 10-3 hole out of the gate to the Saints. A timeout by Head Coach Allison Burchyett rallied the Rangers to a five-point run and the two sides both traded long runs over the next 20 points.
Still down by six points late, Northwest found their groove again, reeling off five straight points and winning eight of the next ten to send the match to extra's again. This time trading points at 25 before closing it 27-25 to take the tense three-set match.
It was the Rangers first win against a ranked opponent since the defeated NJCAA DIII Dallas College-Brookhaven in straight sets on September 15, 2023. It also marks the first time the Rangers have taken down an NJCAA DII ranked opponent in program history.
The win was paced by a balanced attack which was led by a nine-kill match from Ariana Woods, who added four total blocks and an ace for a team high 12.5 points. Adalyn Callahan and Aven Mathis both tallied eight kills and Daylin Johnson had one of her strongest matches of the season with seven kills while hitting .217 in the match.
Dallas White and Chloe Rodriguez finished with 19 and 17 assists respectively as almost every offensive rotation was productive for Northwest.
Northwest's defense also shown brightly, with 68 digs as a team in the sweep, led by Jania Rose's 17 and Callahan's 12. Hassie Clare Thurman added another nine.
Match two on the day saw the Rangers ride the momentum into an over matched Reid State, taking down the Lions in a very convincing 25-12, 25-15, 25-12 sweep, hitting .235 as a team with Mathis registering her first match with double-digit kills since August 30th.
Mathis led the attack with ten kills and was the only player on either team to do so. Even with that, balance was still evident for the Rangers with Callahan being joined by Ava Robbins with eight kills each and Woods picking up another seven.
The Rangers served incredibly well, picking up 14 aces including four from Callahan and three from both Reese McIntosh and Rose.
White led the setting attack for the Rangers with 16 and Rodriguez split time with Saylor Bryant as a setter with the former getting ten and the latter picking up nine.
Northwest moves to 18 games above .500 on the season with the win and will be back in action with two more matches on Saturday beginning at 9:00 AM against Snead State Community College before closing out the tournament with fellow MACCC foe Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at 1:00 PM.
More information on the Northwest schedule can be found at nwccrangers.com or by following along with the Rangers on social media.
