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Northwest Trappers Top The Conference standings After Wins At EWC And LCCC
It took two inspirational comebacks, but the Northwest Trappers kept their conference record clean with a four-set decision over Laramie County Community College in last weekend’s volleyball action.
Coupled with a sweep of Eastern Wyoming, the match gives the 18th-ranked Trappers a 6-0 record in conference play and 14-5 overall. They stand alone at the top of the conference halfway through the conference schedule.
Laramie County’s Golden Eagles — a team ranked just two steps below the Trappers in last week’s national rankings — proved a stern test for NWC as the two squads traded wins in the first two sets. The Trappers rolled to a 25-17 win to open the match, but the Eagles came back in the second set, posting a 25-20 win.
The real fireworks began in set three. The teams battled on even terms in the early going before the Eagles opened a 21-16 lead. The Trappers fought back, but came to the brink of losing the set, trailing 24-20. With their backs to the wall, Lauga Gauta went to the service line and behind her serve, the Trappers erased four Laramie County attempts at set point. Gauta then served an ace that gave NWC the lead and a chance to score set point themselves. The Eagles fended off that set point, but Mikayla Sellers-Wiebe slammed down a kill to regain the lead and NWC followed up to win 27-25 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
But NWC’s comeback didn’t dampen the determination of the Golden Eagles, who once again worked their way to a late 24-19 lead in set four.
However, Trapper Reilly Baty stepped up with an effort that coach Shaun Pohlman called “inspirational,” and the team began another comeback. This time it was Alye Wagner who went to the service line and launched back-to-back aces, starting a five-point run that tied the set at 24. Holly Pittman, Sellers-Wiebe and Lauryn Dela Cruz all scored kills during the effort.
A side out gave Laramie County another set-point opportunity, but Dela Cruz and Gauta combined to score two points and put the Trappers ahead. The teams continued to exchange points, and both missed chances to score set point. Laramie County led 29-28, but a bad Eagle pass tied the set again and a Gauta kill put the Trappers back up by one. The Eagles were unable to return the next Trapper attack, giving the set and the match to the Trappers with a 31-29 win.
Pohlman said Baty’s play came at a crucial time for the team.
“We had our backs to the wall, and all of a sudden, she started going after everything,” Pohlman said. “It was not just one or two plays, but one after another. When others were just waiting for things to happen, she was making things happen.”
Pohlman said Baty kept balls in play after they bounced off the low ceiling in the LCCC gym and once “came from nowhere” to keep a ball in play that everyone else had given up on.
“Even I thought it was gone,” Pohlman said.
Statistically, Gauta led the Trappers with 23 kills. Dela Cruz and Sellers-Wiebe both finished in double figures with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while Olivia Jarvis finished with eight and Pittman with six. Dela Cruz led in digs with 14, followed by Gauta with 12. Wagner picked up 11 digs and Baty nine. Olivia Jarvis led the defense with four blocks, while Pittman and Dela Cruz had three each. Pittman served five aces in the match and Gauta served four. Maliyah Tela finished with 55 assists.
Sellers-Wiebe was injured while chasing a ball during the match; her head hit the wall and her knee was injured. Pohlman said play stopped while Sellers-Wiebe was tended to, but she later returned to the court and contributed to the team effort, showing no symptoms of a concussion. Pohlman expressed a little concern about her knee and hopes it won’t be a problem later.
In other action last week, the Trappers took down the Eastern Wyoming Lancers in three sets, 25-20, 25-9, 25-21. Pohlman said EWC’s hitters made 31 errors that contributed to the Trapper win. Dela Cruz led the team in both kills and digs, scoring 10 each and also contributed two blocks. Gauta’s four blocks led the team and she made nine kills, six digs and five service aces. Jarvis scored five kills and Wagner’s 10 digs tied her with Dela Cruz. Tela made six digs to go with 29 assists.
This weekend, the Trappers begin their second tour through the conference, traveling to Casper College and Sheridan College before coming home to close the regular season with four straight home matches.
Earlier this year, NWC defeated Sheridan in three sets: 25-14, 24-22, 25-16. Casper College, however, won the first two sets of their earlier match-up, 30-28, 25-21, and the Thunderbirds nearly swept the match before Northwest squeezed out a 27-25 win to stay alive. The Trappers tied the match with a 25-18 win and completed the comeback with a 15-7 victory in the fifth set.
“The conference is much tougher than it was last year,” Pohlman said. “We know we can beat everybody, but we’ll have to play our best to do it.”
Pohlman said he hasn’t had a full team for the last three weeks because of injuries, but he expects them all to be back — and he says his team can be better.
“We haven’t peaked yet,” he said. “We still have room to improve before the tournament.”