PERKINSTON – The Northwest Mississippi Community College women's volleyball team kept their winning streak rolling as they set a new program mark with their 14th consecutive win to open the season, taking down Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (7-3, 0-1) in four sets, 25-20, 25-16, 18-25, 26-24, to open MACCC play and remain undefeated this season.
"It's good to pull out a win on the road against a team that was playing really well," Head Coach Allison Burchyett said. "They forced us to get out of our comfort zone a little bit, so I was very proud of our team for playing gritty and coming through at the end of the fourth set."
The Rangers started on their back heels in the opening set as the Bulldogs charged out to a 9-4 lead, but a service run of four straight from Jania Rose helped to settle the team, closing it to a one-point set, and eventually taking the lead at 15-14, and again at 18-17, keeping it the second time around thanks to a 5-0 run that pushed the lead to 23-18. They would close it out on a kill by Sofia Gonzalez, who finished with six kills in the set.
Set two was much more of a run through for the Rangers, rolling to a 19-9 lead thanks to big runs that were keyed by Kylee Garcia, who had five kills through the set. Gulf Coast tried to fight back late, closing it back to 23-16, but the Rangers finished the set with back-to-back points to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-16 win.
"I was just trying to see what was open," Garcia said of her career best night. "My teammates did a good job on setting me up for what was open and being behind me in case I got blocked, and I just had a lot of trust in my teammates to be able to swing big tonight."
The Bulldogs woke up in the third set, putting themselves in a prime position with a 6-0 lead out of the gate. Twice the Rangers were able to close the gap, once on a 5-0 run from Laney Wier's serve to make it 12-10, and again on a 4-0 run from Reese McIntosh to close it to 16-15, but each time Gulf Coast had an answer. They would finish the match with a convincing 9-3 run on the way to a 25-18 win, becoming the first team this season to take a set from the Rangers.
After that set, Burchyett said no one got down, and the team was able to remain level going into the fourth.
"We stayed in the moment and played each point a possession at a time and played within ourselves, but took each opportunity to swing aggressively, knowing that your back line has your back," she praised, adding the Bulldogs' strong play was a factor as well. "They served well against us and got us out of system, so kudos to them for serving tough against us."
That was enough to wake up Northwest, and the Rangers rallied back to take a 9-4 lead at the start of what would be a very tight set. The lead remained five at 16-11 when Gulf Coast began their move, closing the set to an 18-16 score before eventually tying the match at 21.
Ties would follow at 22, 23, and 24 with a lead change mixed in, but Northwest dug in after a timeout down 24-23, closing out with a pair of kills from Ariana Woods and Valerie Hurdle, and finishing it with a block from Gonzalez and Talley Taylor, taking their second set of the year in extra points with a 26-24 victory.
"I told them to believe in themselves," Burchyett said. "Believe in all the work you put in and what got you here, and let's push through and finish this in four and not go on to a fifth set."
Gonzalez led the way for the Rangers in the attack with 18 kills, her second-highest total of the year. She was joined in double figures by Woods, who picked up 10. Hurdle was just behind with nine and was joined by Garcia's nine, with all nine of hers coming without any errors on the attack.
Chloe Rodriguez led the team with 26 assists, and Dallas White added 20 as the team finished with a season-best 52 assists in the win. Five more assists came from Rose.
Rose also led the way in aces with four, followed by McIntosh, who had three. Adalyn Callahan was able to add two, as did Wier and Woods. Rose also led the way for the team in digs, picking up a season-best 17 in the match as the number one libero.
With their 14th win of the season, and their 14th straight as well, the Rangers have set a program record for the longest winning streak, breaking the mark set last season of 13. That is something that Garcia said they have a lot of pride in.
"It means a lot. It's one of the best starts that Northwest has ever had, but we talk a lot about how we have to stay hungry and humble," she said. "We were very glad to come up with a win tonight to get us ready, and I think we just have to keep trusting each other and playing our game."
The Rangers head into a busy weekend as they will head on the road to Cullman, Alabama for the Wallace State Tournament. Northwest will have matches against Lawson State Community College (2-5) and Northwest Shoals Community College (3-6) on Friday at noon and 6 p.m. before turning around for a pair of matches with Roane State Community College (2-6) and Wallace State-Hanceville Community College (11-2) at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to close the four-pack.
Keep up with the Northwest volleyball schedule at nwccrangers.com or by following along on Ranger social media accounts.
