Your future, our focus
NWC Coach Getting Through to Players as Trappers Continue to Roll
Whatever the message may be, it’s getting through to the No. 17-ranked Northwest College volleyball team.
For the second straight match, the Lady Trappers rebounded to win in four sets at home after losing a chance for a sweep in the third. And for the second straight match, NWC coach Shaun Pohlman’s mid-set pep talk seemed to spark his team to victory. This time, it came in the form of a 25-12, 25-19, 20-25, 25-20 defeat of Region IX foe Casper College on Saturday at Cabre Gym.
“I’m not sure what it is, but in that third set tonight, we seemed to lose some emotion, maybe a little passion,” Pohlman said. “Sometimes we get ahead 2-0 and we back off a bit. I don’t think it’s arrogance, but at the same time, I really don’t know what it is.”
Pohlman and the Trappers may get a pass on an explanation as long as momentum continues upward. After sitting at 5-6 on Sept. 6, NWC is on an impressive 13-1 run and has started 4-0 in region play.
The Trappers’ win over Casper also pushed their winning streak to five contests, and the fifth started impressively.
Sophomore Kimber Call started things at the service line with an ace for NWC, and the hosts raced out to an 8-2 lead behind kills from four Trappers. Teodora Tepavac collected two during the quick burst and finished with five in the first game. Aleksandra Djordjevic sandwiched two kills around a Casper block to push her team’s advantage to 22-10. Moment’s later, the Thunderbirds committed a serving error to give NWC the first set.
“We just needed to stay focused,” said Trapper sophomore Megan Huddleston, who finished with a team-high 35 block assists. “We tend to start strong, and it was good to continue that momentum in the second set.”
Casper attempted to seize that momentum in game two, preventing NWC from gaining an advantage greater than six. Huddleston became clutch down the stretch, helping the Trappers maintain their lead with two points following Casper tallies. One came on a block to keep NWC ahead at 20-15, and her block after consecutive Thunderbird points made it a 21-17 lead. Casper committed an error on the next volley, Djordjevic spiked a kill and Huddleston collected an ace. Another serve into the net from the Thunderbirds put NWC ahead 2-0.
“Again, we started strong but let things cool off in that third set,” Pohlman added. “We need to find a way to keep our intensity going and not let teams back in.”
Like Sheridan College did to the Trappers four days earlier, Casper raced out to an early lead and never looked back. Kristina Seidel’s ace followed by an NWC hitting error had the Thunderbirds ahead 7-3, and seemingly every time the Trappers attempted a rally, an error snuffed it out.
When Djordjevic’s spike cut the lead to 7-4, a hitting error went in the favor of Casper. When Huddleston’s spike made it a 9-8 Thunderbird advantage, a set into the net stalled NWC again. Late in the set, another Djordjevic spike gave her team life at 23-20, but the next Trapper serve sailed out of bounds, and Casper’s Madison Legerski scored an ace to keep the Thunderbirds alive.
After Casper seemed to suck the life out of NWC, the fans seemed to go silent as well. During the break between sets, Pohlman huddled his team on the sidelines, and said he addressed his players with words he hoped would work. They did, and woke up a quiet crowd.
NWC started game four with a 5-1 lead capped with a Djordjevic block. And although Casper managed to climb within two points on nine occasions, the Trappers kept their cool on their way to the match victory.
“The girls are coachable, let’s just hope they stay coachable,” Pohlman added. “Right now they’re recognizing when there’s a drop in intensity and effort, and they correct it when it’s called out. Right now, that’s working in our favor.”
Djordjevic earned eight kills in the final set and finished with a game-high 21. Tepavac knocked down 14 and led her team with 16 digs. Elisa Brooks had 14 digs.
The Trappers resume play when they travel to Billings, Mont., tonight (Tuesday) for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Rocky Mountain College junior varsity team. NWC swept RMC on Sept. 22.