Your future, our focus
Trappers 5th In Nation
The NWC Trappers volleyball team almost had a perfect weekend in Sterling, Colorado, but had to settle for a 4-1 record after a tough loss to Western Nebraska on Friday.
The Trappers opened the action by defeating Northeastern Colorado 3-1 on Thursday. After struggling through the first set and losing 25-14, the Trappers fought their way to close wins in the next two sets, taking them 25-23 and 26-24 before ending the match with a 25-18 win.
The win was an important one for the Trappers, especially because they pulled it off on the Plainswomen’s home court.
“It’s one of the toughest places to win on the road,” head coach Shaun Pohlman said. “It’s a good one going into conference play. It can mean confidence when we go on the road to Western Wyoming or Casper. It was a good experience.”
Friday, the Trappers met the perennially tough Western Nebraska Cougars, who are ranked fourth in the nation. After taking the first two sets 26-24, 25-16, and building an 8-0 lead in the third set, Northwest appeared to be sailing toward another win. But the Trapper attack stalled at that point, and the Cougars rallied to take the third set, 26-24. Western Nebraska’s momentum carried over into the fourth set, and they tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-20 win before building a big lead on their way to a 15-6 final score in the fifth set to take the match.
Pohlman said the Trappers relaxed when it appeared they were on their way to a win in the match, and that led to the defeat. Turnarounds such as this one are common in volleyball when a team loses its intensity when they think the match is in the bag, he said.
“If it ever crosses your mind that ‘we got this,’ you start sitting back. Then you miss a point or two and you lose your edge,” he said. “It happens quickly. You lose two or three points and that’s all it takes. You get back on your heels and can’t recover. We need to work on keeping our edge.”
Barton Community College, another team of Cougars, was Northwest’s first opponent on Saturday, and proved no match for the NWC squad. The Powell crew opened with a double-digit win in the first set and closed the match with another big win in the third to get back on track. The Trappers won 25-10, 25-17, 25-9 in what Pohlman called his team’s best effort of the weekend.
NWC closed out the weekend with a hard-fought win over Cloud County Community College. The Thunderbirds, who had taken Western Nebraska to five sets before losing on Friday, did the same to the Trappers. As in the earlier match, the Trappers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of 25-20 set wins, only to see Cloud County bounce back and force a fifth set by winning the next two sets, both by 25-21 scores.
This time, though, the Trappers recovered. In the deciding set, they put the game away with a 15-7 win. Pohlman credited inspiring play by sophomore Kaite Johnson and clutch serving by Reilley Baty for the win.
“Kaite made a very inspiring play in the fifth set.” Pohlman said. “I put Reilley in as a serving specialist. That’s not what she usually does, but she made four serves when we really needed them.”
Johnson totaled eight kills, five digs and two block assists in four sets. Baty also added a kill.
A pair of sophomore middles also contributed to the tournament- closing win.
“Casey Rich also did some good things,” Pohlman said, “and Tuiana Filiaga showed some very good leadership.”
The Trappers’ fourth win in the tournament came on a forfeit when Trinidad State failed to arrive by game time.
This week, the Trappers will travel to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, for the Wyo-Braska Tournament, where they will get another shot at Western Nebraska and Northeastern Colorado. Region IX teams Laramie County and Casper will also be there, but will not face Northwest. It will be the Trappers’ last competition before conference play begins next week.
“It’s the final weekend to work out the kinks in our game,” Pohlman said. “I hope we get to finalize any kinks we might have before we start playing conference games.”