Your future, our focus
Women Post Sixth Win
BY RANDAL HOROBIK
Tribune Sports Editor
The Northwest College women’s volleyball team remained unbeaten at home this season with a 25-19, 25-9, 25-10 victory over Dawson Community College on Tuesday night. Despite the lopsided nature of the score, the win did not fully impress Trapper head coach Flavia Siqueira.
“We started off completely unfocused,” said Siqueira. “There were way too many mistakes and we just played flat. We had just talked about it after the weekend tournament and how we supported ourselves and cheered and yelled. Then we got here in front of our fans and didn’t do it. Getting the win is important, but how we win is also important.
Just to be clear, there were very few moments on Tuesday night when it was even possible to question whether the Trappers would get that win. After a sluggish start to game one, Northwest broke away from a 16-16 tie to win by six. The second and third games were never in doubt as Dawson struggled to mount any sort of sustained offensive pressure at the net against a taller and more athletic Trapper lineup.
“We set some goals coming into the night, and in the second and third games, we were able to accomplish those things,” said Siqueira. “The first game though was disappointing. We talked about it afterwards and hopefully we can move on.”
The Trappers will move on, now sporting a 6-12 overall record and a 3-1 mark in Region IX North play. The team travels to Scottsbluff, Neb., this week for the Wyo-Braska Tournament.
Northwest will open that event with games against unranked McCook and Air Force Prep today (Thursday). After that, the competition ramps up in a hurry as the Trappers face No. 11 Northeastern, No. 19 Seward County and No. 3 Western Nebraska on Friday before wrapping up the tournament with a game against Yavapai, unranked, but 12-1 on the season.
For a Trapper team that has already faced 10 ranked opponents this year, that schedule is just another weekend at the office.
“I knew the schedule would be tough,” said Siqueira. “That’s why I told the girls not to focus on the record as much as on getting better and improving for the end of the year. The injuries we’ve had to deal with early certainly haven’t helped with our record, but what can you do?”
The Trappers begin a five-game home stand on Sept. 30 with Casper College coming to town. No. 6 Western Wyoming, Eastern Wyoming, Laramie County and Central Wyoming will also appear during the Trappers’ only extended home stand of the season.