MERIDIAN – The Northwest Mississippi Community College volleyball team continues to let the good times roll, improving to 12-0 on the year with yet another sweep, this time taking down Meridian Community College 25-14, 25-17, 27-25 on Wednesday night at the Graham Gymnasium, holding off a charge from the Eagles in the third set to claim the win.

"It was a very active crowd, so that was fun to be in a hostile environment and overcome that," Head Coach Allison Burchyett said. "I was proud that we were able to come back and to see us going for the win at the end, being aggressive even when it was tight."

Northwest was in a fight early on as they found their footing in the opening set, taking a lead at 5-3, but they weren't able to shake Meridian as the Eagles kept it tight through the first 19 points.

That was when a five-point run from the Rangers, led by Reese McIntosh on the serve, started a surge that ended with Northwest closing the set on a 15-5 run, which was keyed by big kills from Sofia Gonzalez and Valerie Hurdle on the way to a 25-14 win.

Set two saw another big burst in the middle of the set with some déjà vu, falling behind 7-2 before rolling to seven straight points on Gonzalez's service rotation and another 7-0 run that came from Adalyn Callahan to flip the script from a five-point Eagles lead to a 19-11 Ranger advantage. The run saw the Rangers back line play extremely well, even when having to step in out of system, and Burchyett said that is a key for this team.

"We have confidence in all of our passers to be able to get the ball to our hitters when we are out of system."

"It's about being aware of where I am on the court, and who is on fire at the moment,"
 sophomore libero Jania Rose said. "Getting the ball in the air enough for them to have as many options as possible to hit from."

Northwest looked like they were on the verge of running away with the third set, jumping out to a 10-2 lead at the outset, but a rash of errors from the Ranger attack paired with some timely kills by Meridian not only got the Eagles back into the set, but gave them a 14-2 run and a 16-12 lead.

A timeout and some big kills by Ariana Woods and Hurdle steadied the ship, and they would eventually tie the set at 19, and again at 21, 22, and 23 before taking the lead for the first time since 12-11 at 24-23, setting up a chance at set and match point.

Rose said as a group, the focus was on the details during the fight back.

"We were trying to dig deep and control what we can control, and do the little things right, like high communication, heavy celebration, and the little things like that," Rose said.

Meridian fought off a pair of them, but eventually Northwest's attack wore down the home side, and back-to-back kills from Gonzalez would seal the win in the set 27-25 and the sweep to keep the perfect season going at 36-0 in sets played.

Full stats were not available at the end of the match, and we will update this story with them once they become available.

Unofficially, Gonzalez led the team with 13 kills, followed by Woods with six, and Hurdle with four. Chloe Rodriguez was the top passer for the team with 14 assists while Dallas White added 11.

The Rangers were strong at the net again, as has been a calling card for them. Woods picked up four block assists while Rodriguez added three more.

As for the Rangers, they will return home on Monday for a home battle with Northeast Mississippi Community College at Howard Coliseum at 6:00 PM in their final tuneup before conference play begins on Wednesday with a trip to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Monday's match will be streamed online on Ranger TV, with the pregame show beginning at 5:55. Follow along with the Rangers at nwccrangers.com or by checking out Northwest social media accounts.