Your future, our focus
In a span of three days, the Northwest College volleyball team righted the ship.
Starting with a five-set victory over Northeastern Junior College on Sept. 11, and ending with a tournament victory at the Northeastern Junior College Pizza Hut Invitational in Sterling, Colo., on Saturday, the Lady Trappers reeled off five straight wins to move to 10-6 on the season.
NWC coach Shaun Pohlman expressed frustration last week when his team sat at a frustrating 5-6 and was struggling against seemingly weaker teams. The Lady Trappers had collected two wins over top 10 teams however, and Pohlman believed those glimpses of greatness would eventually become a mainstay.
Last week’s five-match performance may prove Pohlman’s faith was well-founded.
“We are playing closer to potential than we definitely were a week ago,” Pohlman said. “I think the results [last week] were a continuation, or reiteration, of what we finished up with last weekend (a win over then-No. 8 Salt Lake Community College).”
On Sept. 11, NWC took down NJC 14-25, 25-17, 25-15, 26-28 and 15-9. Aleksandra Djordjevic and Vera Horstmann led their team with 19 kills each. Kimber Call had a season-high 59 assists in the contest. Elisa Brooks led the defensive effort with 19 digs, and Nicci Bloomer had four blocks.
At the Pizza Hut invite on Friday, NWC opened with a win over Barton Community College, 23-25, 23-25, 25-10, 25-15 and 15-13.
Djordjevic led in kills with 24 while adding 14 digs. Djordjevic also notched three aces and two blocks. Horstmann, Teodora Tepavac and Krystalyn Sloan had 13, nine and eight kills respectively.
Tepavac fired out three aces and scooped up 10 digs. Elisa Brooks added 12 digs and Megan Huddleston had 10. Sloan earned five blocks to aid in the defensive effort. Huddleston led with 33 assists and Call had 18.
The Lady Trappers then worked past Otero Junior College in straight sets 25-15, 25-20, 25-21. The offense was led by setter Megan Huddleston, who dished out 49 assists. Huddleston spread the ball around, helping three hitters earn double-digit kills.
Djordjevic posted 17 kills and 11 digs. Tepavac put down 15 kills and committed only one error on 26 attempts while hitting .538. Horstmann was third on the team with 11 kills. The Trappers hit .440 as a team.
Brooks’ 13 digs led the Trappers’ defensive efforts. Horstmann and Huddleston had five apiece.
“A lot more people contributing to the result that was the big difference last week. It’s not just one or two people ... slowly but surely, we’re getting other hitters involved, and we’re passing it around more,” Pohlman added. “We’re becoming a lot more dynamic, and we continue to make progress.”
Saturday saw NWC earn four set victories over Garden City (25-10, 25-17, 22-25 and 25-14) and Seward County (18-25, 25-16, 25-12 and 25-10).
Djordjevic continued her strong season with 24 and 17 kills in the two matches, respectively. She also added 10 digs against both opponents. Huddleston dished out another 46 assists against Garden City, while Call had 37 against Seward.
NWC meets Butler Community in the opening match of the Wyo-Braska Tournament on Friday in Scottsbluff, Neb.
“Now, will we continue to make progress or will we let it get to our heads?” Pohlman asked hypothetically of his improving team. “Hopefully, the girls are still hungry.”