TRAPPER VOLLEYBALL STRUGGLES

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

A difficult week including a road game against a nationally ranked opponent had the Northwest College volleyball team on the wrong side of an 0-3 record. The Trappers were swept on the road by Laramie County Community College and Eastern Wyoming College before being swept at home by Central Wyoming College on Tuesday night.   

LCCC 3, NORTHWEST 0
(25-15, 25-20, 25-16)
A slow start was something the Trappers (9-21 overall, 2-9 Region IX North) could not afford against the No. 16-ranked Golden Eagles (28-4 overall, 10-0 Region IX North) but LCCC trounced Northwest from the start.

An early timeout could not stop the initial bleeding with Northwest trailing 9-1 early in the first set.

LCCC continued to push against the Trappers early, expanding the lead out to as big as 18-5.

Northwest earned points at the tail end of the set but it was not enough as the Golden Eagles won 25-15.

A stronger second set had the teams battling point for point early to a 6-6 tie, before LCCC gained a slight advantage up 9-6 and forced a Northwest timeout.

That run continued to 12-6 before the Trappers scored another point.

LCCC continued to grow its advantage out to 18-10, but Northwest did not go away and worked its way back within three at 18-15.

The Trappers continued to keep it within several points but the Golden Eagles reestablished a five point lead and forced a timeout from Northwest.

That gave LCCC enough breathing room to finish the set, winning 25-20.

Northwest had one of its best hitting sets this season with a .323 hitting percentage as a team, committing only two errors.

In the third set the two teams started close again with LCCC holding a narrow advantage early.

That lead quickly expanded, with Northwest needing a timeout before it got too big.

The lead continued to grow, hitting double digits at 14-4 and continuing to hold as Northwest took another timeout trailing 18-7.

Northwest eventually cut the lead down to single digits but was unable to mount a comeback with LCCC completing the sweep at 25-16.

"I think we may have played one of our better matches of the year against LCCC," coach Scott Keister said. "I thought they played pretty well but it just happened to be against a really good team."

Taylor Wilson led with 12 kills, Elsa Clark led with 12 digs and two aces, Kamryn Jenkins led with 20 assists and Kennedy Oman had two blocks.    

EASTERN WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 0
(25-13, 25-20, 25-19)
A short jog north of Cheyenne to Torrington had the Trappers taking on the Lancers (10-18 overall, 4-6 Region IX North) Saturday afternoon.

Eastern Wyoming came out strong early and gained a 5-0 advantage.

The lead continued to hover around five points before it got pushed to 13-6 and Northwest called a timeout.

Eastern continued to maintain the lead and extended it out to 20-11 to force another Northwest timeout.

The Lancers finished the set with a 25-13 win to take a 1-0 lead.

In the second set the Trappers came out with a stronger start, holding an early lead before the Lancers tied the match 8-8.

Both teams continued to battle back and forth, with Northwest gaining a small advantage up 13-10.

Northwest maintained the lead until 19-16, before the Lancers scored five of the next six points and took a 21-20 lead and forced a Trapper timeout.

The Lancers kept pushing, finishing with a 25-20 second set win.

Both teams battled early in the third, going point for point before the Lancers created a little separation between the teams with a 13-8 lead to force a Trapper timeout.

Northwest responded out of the timeout, closing the gap and tying the set before taking the lead 16-15.

The lead continued to hold before the Lancers pushed past and took the lead 19-18 — not looking back and finishing the match with a 25-19 win.

"Everything we did right on Friday we did wrong on Saturday," Keister said. "Inconsistency even from set to set and that's something we need to work on is being consistent … I think it's our youth and a lot of these kids are from small towns and haven't played big time volleyball before … It just comes with experience and boy are they getting a lot of it."

Sierra Kilts and Kennedy Oman tied for the lead with 16 assists each, Clark had 16 digs and Mikey Pilila'au had five blocks, four of them solo. 

CENTRAL WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 0
(25-21, 25-20, 25-11)

Tuesday night brought another Region IX challenger, this time in Powell as the Trappers returned home to take on the Rustlers (8-19 overall, 6-5 Region IX North).

Northwest came out strong and took a 5-1 lead, before Central went on a run to take a 10-8 lead and force a Trapper timeout.

The Trappers returned the favor and took the lead 13-11 and forced a Rustler timeout.

Both teams battled until Central had a 21-18 lead and forced a Northwest timeout.

Northwest responded and cut the lead down to 22-21 and forced the final timeout of the set, but the Rustlers scored three straight out of the break to take a 25-21 set win.

In the second set, the Trappers trailed and called an early timeout, with the game remaining within a couple points throughout.

Central created separation late in the set, forcing Northwest's second timeout down 22-17. The Rustlers finished with a 25-20 win and took a 2-0 set lead.

In the third set, Northwest trailed out the gate 9-4 and 16-7 with both score lines leading to timeouts.

Central continued to pour it on late, finishing with a 25-11 win to complete the sweep.

"We did not serve well, and the ones that we did get in, they passed them perfectly," Keister said. "We had moments here and there … I felt like the whole match, all the skills and rallies we were just a hair off."

Kilts led with 10 kills, Jenkins led with 16 assists, Clark led with eight digs and Jordynel Anderson led with three solo blocks.    

LAST MATCH FRIDAY
After the results of this past week the Trappers have been eliminated from postseason contention, but have a chance to end the season on a high at home on Friday.

Northwest will take on Gillette College (7-20 overall, 0-10 Region IX North) at 6 p.m. for sophomore night.

"The kids are still staying positive. They were back in the gym, the energy was good and they will be ready for Friday," Keister said.   

LCCC 3, NORTHWEST 0
(25-15, 25-20, 25-16)
Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — Taylor Wilson 12, Sierra Kilts 8, Burkelle Field 2, Kennedy Oman 2, Mikey Pilila'au 1, Jordynel Anderson 1
Assists — Kamryn Jenkins 20, Sierra Kilts 6
Digs — Elsa Clark 12, Taylor Wilson 8, Burkelle Field 6, Sierra Kilts 6, Kamryn Jenkins 5, DanniKa Barfuss 3, Jordynel Anderson 1
Blocks — Kennedy Oman 2, Burkelle Field 1.5, Sierra Kilts 2, Jordynel Anderson 2, Tilli Danczyk 1
Aces — Elsa Clark 2, Taylor Wilson 1    

EASTERN WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 0
(25-13, 25-20, 25-19)
Kills — Taylor Wilson 8, Jordynel Anderson 4, Burkelle Field 2, Kennedy Oman 2, Kamri Hutchings 1, Sierra Kilts 1, Tilli Danczyk 1
Assists — Sierra Kilts 16, Kennedy Oman 16, Elsa Clark 2, Kamri Hutchings 1
Digs — Elsa Clark 16, Sierra Kilts 5, Kamryn Jenkins 5, Burkelle Field 4, Taylor Wilson 4, DanniKa Barfuss 1, Mikey Pilila'au 1, Jordynel Anderson 1
Blocks — Mikey Pilila'au 5 (4), Kennedy Oman 2 (1), Burkelle Field 1.5, Jordynel Anderson 1, Taylor Wilson 1, Sierra Kilts .5
Aces — Elsa Clark 1, Sierra Kilts 1, Kennedy Oman 1, Kamryn Jenkins 1  

CENTRAL WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 0
(25-21, 25-20, 25-11)
Kills — Sierra Kilts 10, Alexis Grgich 4, Jordynel Anderson 4, Kennedy Oman 3, Taylor Wilson 2, Kamri Hutchings 1, Tilli Danczyk 1
Assists — Kamryn Jenkins 14, Kamri Hutchings 10, Burkelle Field 1
Digs — Elsa Clark 8, Kamryn Jenkins 7, Burkelle Field 5, Taylor Wilson 4, Sierra Kilts 3, Alexis Grgich 3, DanniKa Barfuss 2, Kamri Hutchings 1, Trinity Frank 1, Mikey Pilila'au 1, Kennedy Oman 1, Jordynel Anderson 1
Blocks — Jordynel Anderson 3 (3), Kennedy Oman 1, Burkelle Field .5, Taylor Wilson .5
Aces — Kamri Hutchings 1, Elsa Clark 1, Sierra Kilts 1, Kamryn Jenkins 1