Your future, our focus
By SEAN THOMPSON
Powell Tribune Staff Writer
After a disappointing performance last Thursday evening against Miles Community College, the Northwest College Lady Trappers upped their level of play and almost knocked off a better opponent against Casper College Saturday.
But Northwest (11-23 overall) ultimately went 0-2 last week, losing 28-30, 21-30, 24-30 to Miles and 16-30, 30-27, 26-30, 30-27, 8-15 to Casper.
Head coach Sue Pollart was not pleased with the effort given by her players against Miles. The team was probably too wrapped up in playing on its own home floor, Pollart said, but whatever the reason, the Lady Pioneers took control of the match.
"We beat ourselves that night," Pollart said. "We sat back and let them dominate the net on us."
In the first game, NWC matched its largest deficit of five at 17-21 before scoring six of the next seven points behind a good attacking style to lead 23-22. Northwest led again at 28-26 off a serve from Jessica Fabrizio, but Miles took over at the net to score the next four points.
The Lady Trappers never led in the second game and again struggled getting blocks on Miles' attacks. It looked like more of the same in game three as NWC fell behind 1-13. But the Lady Trappers took 15 of the next 17 points to tie the game at 16 a piece. Good placement and hustle kept the Trappers alive, but after leading 23-22, Miles closed the door on the match with a number of good blocks.
Pollart went with a 6-2 alignment to try and set up her best hitters more easily, but the Lady Trappers were lacking in execution.
"You can change things as a coach but you still can't make them play hard and aggressive," she said. "That's something you have to bring every time to the floor."
Pollart said Whitney Kelsey adjusted well to playing libero with 20 digs. But no player had double-digit kills, and Northwest had only three aces compared to six service errors, which is a sign of a team not playing aggressively, Pollart said.
Against Casper, Pollart felt her team played much better and actually performed well enough to win. Casper came into the match as the second best team in the north subregion record-wise, and NWC hung with them until the final game.
"For our first subregion match, to play them competitive was good," Pollart said. "It's nice to see that at the end of September, we're competitive with some of the best teams in the north."
After splitting the first four games, NWC led 3-1 in the fifth and deciding game. But Casper scored eight in a row and Northwest couldn't come back before the T-Birds got to 15. Pollart said her team is still lacking the killer instinct needed to pull out the close victory.
"That's a difference between a team that knows how to win, and a team that doesn't," Pollart said. "Casper's won a lot of games and we haven't."
Pollart said the game was Northwest's best hitting game, with 53 kills. Whitnie McDonald led the team with 15 kills, followed by Jessica Fabrizio with 11, and Charcie Peabody, Shawna Sutherland and Heather Drick with 9 each. Pollart switched back to a 5-1 alignment, which helped setter Meggy Stephenson set up the hitters, Pollart said. Stephenson finished with 48 assists.
The Lady Trappers didn't dig the ball as well as they did against Miles, Pollart said, only averaging 9.2 digs a game.
"I think we let a lot of balls hit the floor," Pollart said.
Northwest has now lost six matches in a row, but subregion play has just begun, and Pollart says her players believe, as she does, that they are improving as the season progresses.
"I think they're really sold on the fact that we're getting better," Pollart said.
NWC has a good chance to stay in the thick of things on the road this weekend against Laramie County Community College (7-12) Friday and Eastern Wyoming College (7-20) Saturday.
"If we go to their court and play hard, we can get on track in the subregion," Pollart said.