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NWC Takes Title in Miami
By RANDAL HOROBIK
Tribune Sports Editor
The Northwest College Trappers won three out of four games - all against teams ranked in the top 13 of the latest national rankings - to return from Florida as the champion of the Miami Dade volleyball tournament.
The performance elevates the Trappers to a 17-7 season record. Given the nature of the competition, it almost assuredly guarantees that Northwest College will make its third top 20 appearance when the new weekly poll is released on Wednesday.
The Trappers opened tournament play with a 25-15, 25- 15, 25-17 loss to No. 8 Missouri State University-West Plains on Friday morning. From there, the team caught fire.
The Trappers swept sixth-ranked Miami-Dade College by a 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 final count. Northwest proved the win wasn't a fluke by dispatching 12th-ranked Pasco- Hernando College by an equally efficient 25-18, 25-20, 25-16 margin.
The Trappers' 2-1 record placed the team into the championship contest after Northwest came out atop a tiebreak scenario at the conclusion of pool play. Trapper head coach Flavia Siqueira's squad met No. 13 Hillsborough Community College, rallying back from an 0-2 deficit to pull out a 23-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-12, 15-9 victory.
Trapper freshman Paula Barros was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player for her performance in Miami. Sophomore teammate Irelis Ilarraza was also named to the all-tournament team.
The Trappers will look to maintain their Miami momentum when they return this week for games at Casper College on Oct. 15 and at Dawson Community College on Oct. 17. The Trappers fell to Casper College in four games in a match played in Cabre Gymnasium last month.