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NWC Falls to WWCC in Epic Contest, Defeats CWC
The match between NJCAA Division I’s No. 13- and No. 9-ranked teams went the distance on Saturday.
And then it kept going.
Thirteenth-ranked Northwest College battled back from a 2-1 set disadvantage to force a decisive fifth game against Western Wyoming Community College, and once the two teams got there, it became a question of endurance.
“I don’t think anyone could have predicted this,” NWC coach Shaun Pohlman said of the tense final set.
The Trappers and WWCC fought back-and-forth to score 44 combined points in the final set, which only needed 15 to decide a winner.
The Mustangs finally prevailed to secure a 14- 25, 25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 23-21 win at Cabre Gym in Powell.
The battle between the two Region IX foes had major implications on the conference, as NWC came into the match 9-0 in region play while the Mustangs sported a 9-1 record. WWCC’s victory gave it sole possession of first place.
“On paper, I guess we were technically supposed to lose because we were No. 13 playing No. 9, but the girls didn’t buy into that,” Pohlman said. “We really played hard and showed a toughness that’s really reassuring with the [Region IX] Tournament right around the corner.”
The wild finish came as a surprise after the first set saw NWC (23-8 overall) dominate the visitors. Midway through the set, the Trappers led 15-8, and after Jenna Sawatzki scored a kill for WWCC, Megan Huddleston paired a kill with Vera Horstmann’s block to make it a 17-9 NWC advantage. Sawatzki then collected another kill, but Aleksandra Djordjevic and Krystalyn Sloan posted consecutive kills moments later to push the Trapper lead to 19-11 and keep NWC in control for the rest of the set.
“We just came out with a good mindset and a lot of fire,” said Huddleston, who notched a triple double with 12 kills, 41 assists and 15 digs. “This one hurts, but we played our hearts out and still have a lot of positive to take away from this.”
Some of that positive came immediately after WWCC (22-8 overall) won the next two sets. The Trappers looked headed for a 3-1 match defeat after the Mustangs registered a 6-3 lead early in set four. But a Horstmann block and three straight WWCC errors suddenly had the Trappers in the lead at 7-6.
The Trappers and Mustangs began trading blows, exchanging leads seven times until the game reached its conclusion on a Mustang error. Huddleston and fellow sophomore Jamila Biglow came up big down the stretch, as Huddleston’s backto-back blocks brought the Trappers back from two points down, and Biglow’s two blocks gave NWC a lead and later tied the set again.
WWCC led 24-23 late, but Horstmann planted a soft spike into an open area in the Mustang court, and Teodora Tepavac followed with a kill through a pair of WWCC blocks to make it 25- 24 NWC. A Mustang error then pushed the match into a fifth set.
“We just didn’t want to lose in four sets,” said Biglow, who had nine kills in the match. “One thing about this team is that we aren’t going to give up. And I think we showed that when we fell behind two sets to one, and again in the last set.”
In the fifth game, neither team could gain the upper hand. The largest lead early in the set came on a Huddleston kill, which gave NWC a 6-4 edge. But when one team would attempt to gain ground, the other would respond. The Mustangs were in position to secure the victory when Lauryn Dela Cruz’s kill made it 14-11 WWCC to set up match point for the visitors. But Horstmann’s kill extended the set, and another from the sophomore from Germany had the Trappers within a point before a WWCC error tied the match. Another Dela Cruz kill again gave the Mustangs match point, but Horstmann fooled WWCC with another soft spike for another tie.
NWC faced match-point three more times, but responded each time to extend the match. The Trappers had opportunities to earn the win when it led 17-16, 19-18 and 20-19, but couldn’t close the deal.
“Knowing we were so close but not getting it done, that’s tough,” Huddleston added. “But we were right there, and that’s a reason to be happy.
“We kept fighting and kept pushing,” she said. “We were right there.”
NWC’s loss was only its second in 20 matches, and first since Sept. 20. The Mustangs ended the Trappers’ 10-game winning streak. At certain times during the season, Pohlman has been less than upbeat after NWC victories. So Pohlman’s pleasant attitude following the tough loss was a complete 180 for the coach.
“There are times where you play bad and win, and times where you play great and lose,” Pohlman said. “Maybe we didn’t play great-great today, but we were definitely playing more to our potential. If this is where we are as the region tournament gets closer, I feel a lot better about our chances.”
Djordjevic led NWC in kills with 22 and scooped 20 digs for a double-double. Tepavac finished with 21 kills and 19 digs. Kimber Call earned a double-double after collecting 32 assists and 10 digs. Elisa Brooks was the co-leader with Djordjevic in digs with 20 as well.
On Friday, the Trappers defeated Central Wyoming in 25-18, 25-21, 27-25 sweep, also in Powell.
Sloan dominated at the net with five blocks and six kills with no errors. Horstmann had an error-free 10 kills on 16 attempts. Djordjevic led in kills with 14, Tepavac had nine and Biglow had eight. Tepavac and Brooks each had 10 digs to lead the defensive effort while Djordjevic and Huddleston had eight and seven, respectively. Huddleston also led in assists with 26 while Call had 20.
NWC returns to action on Thursday when it hosts Eastern Wyoming C.C. at 7 p.m. before a Friday home match against Laramie County C.C. at 3 p.m. The NJCAA Region IX North Tournament then begins on Nov. 5 in Casper.