GULF SHORES, AL – The #23 Northwest Mississippi Community College volleyball team improved to 26-0 on the year as they earned another two sweeps during the first day of the Alabama Gulf Shores Invitational on Friday at the Alabama Gulf Shores Invitational. The Rangers opened with a 9 a.m. match against Bishop State Community College (8-12) before wrapping up the day with Snead State Community College (10-15), taking down the Parsons for the second time this season.
"It was a good day one," Head Coach Allison Burchyett said. "We are making strides and making improvements. As a coach, I'm pleased we aren't just being in a rut. We are fighting through when things aren't working, pulling together as a team, and finding a way to win, which makes me proud."
NWCC 3, BSCC 0 – 25-12, 25-7, 25-15
Northwest didn't hold back in their opening set with the Wildcats, rolling out to a 19-3 lead, aided by a pair of impressive service runs from Adalyn Callahan and Jania Rose, including ten straight points on the latter's, to give the Rangers momentum in the match.
Bishop State would answer with a slight run late in the set that garnered them six straight points, but by then Northwest had the opening set well in hand for a 25-13 victory.
That continued into the second set, where the service runs would be spread around. No run lasted longer than five points in a row, but outside of an early 2-2 tie, the Wildcats never got back-to-back points, and the Rangers would finish the set using only seven total serving chances, closing it with a 25-7 victory to go up 2-0.
"We are having lots of service runs," Burchyett said. "Regardless of the player, anyone is capable of a service run. Serving aggressively is our bread and butter, and we have to be able to hold that serve."
The Rangers would open the door to their reserves in the third set, and they kept up the pace, growing the lead to as high as 19-10. A slight push back from the Wildcats closed the gap back to 19-15, but another service run from Rose would close the set 25-15 and, with it, the match for the Rangers 23rd sweep of the season.
Sofia Gonzalez led the attack for the Rangers with 11 kills in the match, hitting .345 with only one error, adding two aces and a block assist for 13.5 points for the team. Ariana Woods finished with eight kills, and Talley Taylor closed with six while committing no hitting errors for a .667 clip in the match.
The passing game was balanced between Chloe Rodriguez and Dallas White, with both picking up 15 in the match. Rodriguez added five kills on six attempts, while White finished with three aces and an additional kill.
On the defensive side, Rose continued her strong season with 10 digs to lead the team. Callahan added another nine and the team accumulated 43 in the match as a whole. They also combined for five blocks, all coming as assisted blocks, led by Taylor's three.
NWCC 3, Snead State 0 – 25-11, 25-21, 25-19
Match two on the day saw a rematch from an early contest this year against the Parsons, and the second time around, the Rangers saw another good start to their matchup after breaking free from a 7-6 score to reel off a 14-1 run for separation on the way to a 25-11 victory to set the tone.
The run was cued by another Rose service run where she picked up three of her four aces in the match.
Set two was a bit of a different beast. The Parsons rallied to keep the set close, tying it up multiple times on the way to a 7-7 score. They broke it open on a run led by the serve of Callahan, who finished with a pair of aces in the process to extend the lead to 12-8 for some breathing room.
The lead would never get bigger than that, and was shrunk back to one several times, but after closing it to 20-19, Snead State would run out of steam with a pair of errors giving Northwest some space before the Rangers closed it with kills from Gonzalez and Taylor for a 25-21 victory.
After a chance to regroup, the Parsons responded with a punch back, taking an early 3-0 lead in the third set and holding onto it with a vice grip. Northwest tied the set at seven, nine, and ten before finally taking the lead for good on a long run led by Reese McIntosh, who had four aces in the seven-point run to give the Rangers a 16-10 advantage.
From there, it became a matter of mathematics, and the Rangers closed the set with more good play at the net for a 25-19 win.
"They were blocking us well, and I thought we made some adjustments, found some corners, and went around the block," Burchyett said. "Our coverage was there; we just needed to continue to keep making adjustments. When they adjust to us, we have to continue to adjust to them."
Woods was the leading attacker for the Rangers, stacking up 13 kills with only three errors and hitting .370, adding a pair of block assists for 14 total points. Hurdle added seven kills and Gonzalez picked up six to go with an ace and a solo block.
Rodriguez finished the set with 17 assists to lead the charge, adding two kills along the way, and White also reached double figures in assists with 10 of her own. Rodriguez surpassed the 900 career assist mark in the match, moving up to 913 in her two seasons. White passed the 900 assist mark against East Central Community College on Wednesday, and the duo has combined for 1845 assists in their two years together with the Rangers. Both are on track to join Layla Dyer as the only other Ranger with over 1000 in a career.
The serving game was key for the Rangers, with 12 total aces as a team and only seven errors, with both Rose and McIntosh picking up four each. With her four, Rose surpassed the 100 career aces mark. She is currently second in program history for career aces.
On the back line, Rose added 14 digs, and Callahan finished with 12 to help the team to 43 in sweep.
Northwest picks action back up bright and early at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning with action against Gadsden State Community College (20-6), who replaced their match with #18 Lurleen B. Wallace Community College on the schedule after the Saints withdrew from the tournament field. They will close action out with a contest against Enterprise State Community College (18-6) at 1 p.m., who were receiving votes in the most recent NJCAA polls.
The matches will be streamed on the NWCC volleyball Hudl page, with information available both at nwccrangers.com and on Northwest social media accounts.
