Northwest Tops Casper in Five
The Northwest College Trapper volleyball team scored a dramatic five-set victory last Thursday over Casper College. The team also dropped a three-set decision to No. 3 Western Wyoming.
After winning the first set with relative ease, 25-14, the Trappers watched as the visiting T-Birds recovered to take the next two sets. That reversal of momentum sparked a simple discussion between Trapper head coach Shaun Pohlman and his team.
“I told them if they wanted to give Casper the fourth game, to just go ahead and not listen to anything I was saying,” Pohlman said. “But they listened. They made the adjustments that we’d been needing to make, and we were able to pull even.”
In the tiebreak fifth set, Northwest College jumped on Casper early and often to put the final touch on a 25-14, 21-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-5 victory.
In the tiebreak fifth set, Northwest College jumped on Casper early and often to put the final touch on a 25-14, 21-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-5 victory.
“It’s an important win,” Pohlman said. “Even though it didn’t change anything as far as the tournament seeding, it helps with our confidence and there’s still some volleyball left to play, so it’s a win that could become important down the line.”
Flavia Oliveira finished with 20 kills in the contest. Becky Downs and Cailey Washington each chipped in with 11 as the trio accounted for 42 of Northwest’s 61 kills in the game.
Leah Schaal finished with 53 of the Trappers’ 56 assists while sister Danielle Schaal led the way with 38 digs. Danielle Schaal also produced a trio of ace serves in the game, as did Katie Burnett.
One night later, the Trappers dropped a 25-20, 25-14, 25-16 decision to Western Wyoming. Western entered the contest ranked No. 3 nationally. Stats for the game were unavailable.
The Trappers, 13-15 on the season and 6-7 in Region IX North play, wrapped up their regular season on Wednesday night by hosting No. 20 Central Wyoming. The team competes at the Region IX tournament in Sheridan starting Nov. 2.