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NWC Starts Region IX Play At Home Friday
Northwest Trappers collected three more wins over the weekend, but lost to Western Nebraska for the second straight tournament.
The Trappers (13-4) swept their other three opponents, Williston State (North Dakota), Garden City (Kansas) and Northeastern Junior College (Sterling, Colorado) to finish 3-1 for the fourth consecutive weekend.
In NWC’s first meeting with Western Nebraska, the Trappers were on the verge of a sweep when the Cougars came back from a 2-0 deficit to take the match.
Playing at home in the WyoBraska Classic, the Nebraska squad was even tougher. The Trappers took the first set 25-23 before the Cougars won the next three 25-23, 25-22 and 25-20 to hand the Trappers their fourth loss of the season.
“(This loss) was another missed opportunity, a worse missed opportunity than the last one,” NWC head coach Shaun Pohlman said. “Losing that close match should have generated some fire to not let that happen again, but that didn’t happen.”
He said the Trappers were nervous before the match and “were not ready to play,” but they recovered and on Saturday “we played some of the best volleyball we’ve played, consistency wise.”
Williston State pushed the Trappers in the first two sets before surrendering in both 25- 20 and 25-22. In the third set, though, NWC stepped up their game and coasted to a match win by a double-digit margin, 25-13.
For the second time in two weeks, the Trappers faced off with Northeastern Junior College, and for the second time, the Trappers prevailed. When they met on the Plainswomen’s home court, the Trappers surrendered the first set before coming back to win 3-1. This time, the Trappers took care of the Colorado squad right off the bat, taking the first set 25-16. Northeastern put up a battle in the second set before NWC pulled out a 26-24 win. The Trappers won the third set 25-23.
NWC had an easier time against Garden City, and opened by winning the first two sets 25- 15, 25-17. The Trappers held off the Busters’ challenge and finished the match with a 25-23 win.
Pohlman said it never seemed as though the Trappers were in trouble.
“Even in the close matches, we felt like we were in control,” he said.
Pohlman said it would have been nice have a 4-0 weekend.
“Every tournament we’ve gone to has been 3-1,” he said. “That shows we aren’t perfect and we have things to work on. But that’s OK in the middle of the season.”
Still, Pohlman said the Trappers need to step up their play, beginning this week when Central Wyoming and Western Wyoming invade Cabre Gym.
“We’re going into region play. It’s time to get serious,” he said. Central’s record is 3-13, but Pohlman said he looks for a competitive game with the Rustlers.
“It’s hard for me to believe Central is not going to be competitive,” he said. “I’ve always respected Central and I think they’ll be a challenge.”
Western Wyoming sports a 6-9 record after forfeiting six matches due to an ineligible player, but are traditionally a top team in Region IX.
“We’re fairly well matched with Western. It’s going to be a good match to watch and a tough one for us,” he said.
For just the second time this season, the Trappers will play at home.
“It will be good for the kids to sleep in their own beds seven days in row,” he said.
Aleksandra Djordjevic and Teodora Tepavac continue to be the big guns for the Trappers offense. Djordjevic finished the weekend’s competition with 53 kills, and Tepavac contributed 37. Lauga Gauta was in double digits against Williston State with 10 kills and Garden City with 11. Djordjevic also led the defense with 49 digs in the four games. Aimee Molina was the leader in the Williston State and Garden City matches with 13 and 14 digs respectively.
The team will take the court on Friday at 7 p.m., while Saturday’s match is set for 3 p.m.