Your future, our focus
Marathon First Game Spurs NWC to 3-0 Win
Northwest College head volleyball coach Shaun Pohlman had never been a part of anything like it. The Trappers’ first game in Billings on Tuesday night was the game that seemingly would never end.
The Trappers and the Rocky Mountain JV squad played past the 25-point mark, went beyond the 30-point mark and into the mid-30s before the Trappers posted a 37-35 win in the game. They coupled that with wins of 25-23 and 25-17 to sweep the Bears’ reserves.
“Even when they used to play games to 30 points, I don’t remember ever being part of a game that went to 37,” said Pohlman. “It was pretty crazy.”
It was the second marathon game played in recent memory by the Trappers. On Nov. 4, 2009, the school opened a Region IX North tournament contest against Central Wyoming with a 43-41 victory in a game that, at the time, was considered a modern NJCAA record for the highest-scoring single game on the books.
Ana Jakovljevic had 14 kills in the first game alone on Tuesday night while libero Katie Burnett had 15 digs before the Trappers were able to secure the game one victory.
“Those are numbers you’re happy with for an entire match,” said Pohlman. “We had them in the first game.”
Jakovljevic finished with 27 kills overall and only seven hitting errors in 47 attempts as the Trappers swept the same Rocky Mountain JV team that had defeated them in four games early in the season. Burnett finished with 33 digs overall.
“It was all about effort tonight,” said Pohlman. “When we played them at home, we were still learning about what effort means. We’d just come home from an 0-4 weekend that was a bit of a wake-up call and we were still in the crosshairs from that. Defensively and offensively, we’ve developed and the effort behind those areas has grown tremendously the last couple of weeks.”
Northwest has now won its last nine straight games, its match record for the season sits at 13-10. The team is 4-1 and part of a three-way tie atop the Region IX North standings currently.
Ainsley Oates added 11 kills for Northwest College. Becky Downs finished with 10 kills in the contest. Triniti Taylor had a career-best 51 assists overall.
Defensive specialist Allyson Mahon had 15 digs and Kayla Van Hee also found her way into double figures with 10 digs to go along with three ace serves.
Burnett led the way with four ace serves for the Trapper team.
“I hope this is an indication of what direction we’re heading,” said Pohlman. “I still think we are an even better team than what we’re playing. I’m happy with where we’re at and I’m excited with where we’re at, but I don’t see us peaking yet. We’re still figuring some things out.”
The Trappers return to the road this weekend with games at Sheridan College on Friday and Casper College on Saturday.