Your future, our focus
BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune
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At the regional tournament, the Northwest College volleyball team was looking to capitalize on an improved season and as the No. 2 seed in the north by earning a bid to the national competition.
The tournament started well for the Trappers (24-7 overall, 7-3 Region IX North), but they would ultimately stumble in the consolation quarterfinals seeing their promising season come to an end in Scottsbluff.
NWC 3, Otero 1
The Trappers’ first matchup came Wednesday against south No. 3 seed Otero (13-26 overall, 5-5 Region IX South) — and the first set could not have started out better for the Trappers.
Jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead allowed Northwest to control the flow of the match early on. The squad maintained that lead into the first timeout from Otero, going up 17-10.
Four consecutive points by the Trappers eventually finished off the set at 25-15 to give them a 1-0 advantage.
Otero came out firing in the second set, however, as they took an early 7-3 advantage and forced a timeout from Trapper coach Scott Keister.
Trailing 11-10, Northwest rattled off four straight points — including an ace from sophomore Aubrianne Crosby — to put the Trappers up 14-11 and force a timeout from Otero.
A quick three points evened the match at 14 and the two teams continued to battle back and forth to the final point. Otero pulled out the victory with a 25-23 win, evening the set count at 1-1.
Knowing they needed a fast start to the third set, the Trappers came out with a 9-3 advantage. Northwest then extended that lead to 18-9, staving off any comeback attempts by Otero. The Trappers won the set 25-10 and took a 2-1 lead.
With a semifinal berth in sight, the Trappers jumped out to an early lead again in the fourth set at 7-2, but Otero would not go away.
A quick rally tied the match at 10, and the two teams then went point-for-point, with the match tied late at 22.
The Trappers grabbed a one-point advantage, but a service error led to a tie at 23, and a kill gave Otero the lead at 24-23.
A hit out by Otero tied the match, and a net violation would give Northwest the lead at 25-24, but a kill by Otero answered the call to tie it at 25.
However, two final hits by NWC sophomore Baylee Peterson finished off the set 27-25, and gave the Trappers a 3-1 win heading into the semifinal on Thursday.
Northeastern 3, NWC 0
On Thursday, the Trappers matched up with south No. 1 seed Northeastern (23-10 overall, 10-0 Region IX South) with a berth in the regional championship game on the line.
The two teams battled early, playing to an 8-8 tie. The Trappers took a 15-14 lead, then trailed 22-21 before ultimately falling 25-23.
“They are a good team, they are really good in every position,” Keister said of Northeastern. “That is a hard team to defend.”
Despite dealing with some injuries during the week, Northwest continued to battle hard against the eventual tournament champions.
The Trappers trailed only 12-9 in the second set before Northeastern scored six of the next seven points to put things out of reach and take a 25-15 set two victory.
NWC led early in the third set, but Northeastern battled back once again, taking the lead mid-set and finishing with a 25-14 win.
Northeastern rode hot hitting through the match, hitting .205 in the first set, .349 in the second and .262 in the third set to sweep the Trappers.
Eastern Wyoming 3, NWC 1
Heading into Friday, the Trappers faced Region IX North foe Eastern Wyoming (15-14 overall, 5-5 Region IX North) in the consolation quarterfinal. The Trappers were greeted with a tough match.
A back-and-forth first set saw Eastern pull away for a 25-15 victory. However, the Trappers evened the contest at one set a piece, pulling away late for a 25-20 victory.
In the third set, however, the Lancers led early and often and won the set 25-10 for a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was tightly contested until Eastern pulled away from a 14-14 tie to take a 25-19 victory and advance to the consolation semifinals. Eastern went on to beat Western Nebraska before losing to Central Wyoming in the consolation championship.
“We came up against a team that got hot at the right time and they had a great tournament,” Keister said. “I always thought they had a lot of talent and they ended up third.”
Wrap up
With the Trappers’ season coming to an end, they will be losing 10 sophomores from a team that vastly improved from their near .500 record last year.
In 2021, the Trappers earned four All-Region IX North honors, with freshman Sidney Parker, sophomore Paige Weimer, sophomore Jamie Walker and Peterson being named to the team. Northwest tied with Central Wyoming for the most players on the team. Parker and Peterson were also named to the Region IX tournament team.
Keister said he’s been thankful for this group of players and all they have done to help build a winning program over the last couple of years. He’s hoping this is just the beginning as he looks to push for a regular season and tournament title in the coming years.