NWC VOLLEYBALL STUMBLES IN BUSY WEEK

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The Northwest College volleyball team came up short in a Region IX crossover tournament in Cheyenne, losing to North Platte Community College, Trinidad State College and Western Nebraska Community College, but the Trappers earned a win against Southeast CC to salvage one win.

Northwest also got on the court Tuesday night, falling in a difficult five set match to Miles CC on the road.        

CHEYENNE TOURNAMENT
Heading to Cheyenne the Trappers took on a number of Region IX South teams — potential future Region IX Tournament opponents — at the crossover event at Laramie County Community College.

"I would say we were very competitive over the weekend in Cheyenne," coach Nicole Buck said. "I didn't really know what to expect going in … We knew these were really high level teams with a lot more experience than we had on the court."

Northwest came up short in its first two matches on Friday, losing via sweep to both North Platte CC (4-8) via scores of 25-21, 25-18, 25-23, and to Trinidad State College (6-5) 25-21, 25-23, 25-14.

"I just tell the girls, obviously we don't like to lose, but we can live with a loss if we know that we left it all on the floor," Buck said. "I would say most of the time that was true for the weekend, we walked away feeling like we got better."

Lexie Arnold led the Trappers with eight kills against North Platte and McKinlee Scammon led Northwest against Trinidad with nine kills.

Aidann Mottishaw led in assists in both matches with 13 and 20 respectively. Shilah Arnold led in digs in both matches with five and 10.

Mottishaw led in blocks with 2.5 against North Platte, while Ellianna Baumstarck and Brakkin Larsen tied for the team lead against Trinidad with 2.5 each.

Mottishaw led with two aces against North Platte while Lexie and Shilah Arnold had one each against Trinidad.

The Trappers rebounded on Saturday with a 3-1 win, defeating Southeast CC (4-10) by scores of 25-18, 19-25, 25-14, 25-16.

Mottishaw led with 10 kills and five aces, Rylee Arnold led with 16 assists, Shilah Arnold had 10 digs while Baumstarck and Taylee Carlson had 3.5 blocks each.

Ending the weekend the Trappers came up just short against Western Nebraska (2-11) in a 3-1 match, losing 25-16, 21-25, 25-17, 25-21.

"I knew it was going to be tough, but I was really proud of the way our girls competed especially in the face of adversity," Buck said. "We were definitely the smallest and the youngest, but the girls just kind of took that challenge head on, and I felt like we walked away from that tournament a lot better. We grew a lot."

Mottishaw and Carlson tied for the team lead with nine kills each.

Rylee Arnold led with 16 assists, Shilah Arnold led with 19 digs, Baumstarck had 3.5 blocks and four different Trappers had an ace.

Buck felt like the Trappers improved defensively throughout the weekend which was a goal heading in, but the team will start to focus more offensively heading towards the end of the nonconference season.          

MILES CC 3, NORTHWEST 2
Northwest made a quick trip north on Tuesday evening, taking on the Pioneers (6-3) for the second time in the regular season and third time overall.

The Trappers took the first set 25-18, before the Pioneers took a close second set 26-24.

Northwest rebounded and took a 25-16 win, before a disappointing fourth set saw the Pioneers win 25-8.

A close battle ensued in the final set, with the Trappers ultimately falling 17-15.

"I said we were gonna find out which of us need to toughen up in various ways," Buck said. "Miles brings out an awesome student section … I told the girls that we're gonna figure out how we deal with this kind of pressure. Sometimes we handled it really well. Other times, I realized we could have a little bit more fortitude in those moments. It was good for us. The loss was hard, especially knowing that we've beaten them before."

Stats were not available for the games against the Pioneers as of press time.      

HOME TOURNAMENT
Northwest finally returns home for the first time in the regular season, hosting a tournament on Friday and Saturday.

The Trappers take on the Carroll College JV at 1 p.m. on Friday, before taking on Dawson CC (2-4) at 5 p.m.

Northwest wraps up the weekend with a match against Williston State College (5-3) at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Buck is thankful the Trappers are back at home, and has a lighter schedule over the next two weeks before beginning Region IX play the final weekend of September. 

"We're feeling pretty beat up, especially amidst injuries," Buck said. "We're been traveling a lot, it feels like. So everyone's just tired and beat up, and this weekend will be a big blessing … I just really want them to focus on being themselves. They all are here for a reason."    

NORTH PLATTE COMMUNITY COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 0
(25-21, 25-18, 25-23)
Total blocks then solo blocks in ()
Kills — Lexie Arnold 8, Aidann Mottishaw 6, Taylee Carlson 6, McKinlee Scammon 3, Brakkin Larsen 3, Elianna Baumstarck 2
Assists — Aidann Mottishaw 13, Rylee Arnold 12, Shilah Arnold 2
Digs — Shilah Arnold 5, McKinlee Scammon 4, Lexie Arnold 3, Rylee Arnold 3, Aidann Mottishaw 2, Ellianna Baumstarck 1
Blocks — Aidann Mottishaw 2.5 (2), Brakkin Larsen 2 (1), Ellianna Baumstarck 1.5 (1), Lexie Arnold 1 (1)
Aces — Aidann Mottishaw 2, Trinity Frank 1, Shilah Arnold 1       

TRINIDAD STATE COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 0
(25-21, 25-23, 25-14)
Kills — McKinlee Scammon 9, Lexie Arnold 7, Elianna Baumstarck 3, Aidann Mottishaw 3, Taylee Carlson 3
Assists — Aidann Mottishaw 20, Shilah Arnold 1
Digs — Shilah Arnold 10, Lexie Arnold 6, McKinlee Scammon 4, Aidann Mottishaw 4, Trinity Frank 3, Ellianna Baumstarck 1
Blocks — Ellianna Baumstarck 2.5 (2), Brakkin Larsen 2.5 (2), Taylee Carlson 1 (1), Lexie Arnold .5, McKinlee Scammon .5
Aces — Lexie Arnold 1, Shilah Arnold 1       

NORTHWEST 3, SOUTHEAST CC 1
(25-18, 19-25, 25-14, 25-16)
Kills — Aidann Mottishaw 10, Taylee Carlson 6, McKinlee Scammon 5, Lexie Arnold 4, Natalee Hayder 3, Ellianna Baumstarck 1, Vinaya Vanderploeg 1
Assists — Rylee Arnold 16, Aidann Mottishaw 13, Lexie Arnold 1, Shilah Arnold 1
Digs — Shilah Arnold 10, Lexie Arnold 9, McKinlee Scammon 4, Aidann Mottishaw 3, Natalee Hayder 2, Rylee Arnold 2
Blocks — Ellianna Baumstarck 3.5 (2), Taylee Carlson 3.5 (3), Aidann Mottishaw 2 (1), Natalee Hayder 1, McKinlee Scammon .5, Vinaya Vanderploeg .5
Aces — Aidann Mottishaw 5, McKinlee Scammon 4, Taylee Carlson 3, Shilah Arnold 2    

WESTERN NEBRASKA CC 3, NORTHWEST 1
(25-16, 21-25, 25-17, 25-21)
Kills — Aidann Mottishaw 9, Taylee Carlson 9, Lexie Arnold 6, McKinlee Scammon 6, Ellianna Baumstarck 6, Natalee Hayder 6
Assists — Rylee Arnold 16, Aidann Mottishaw 15, Shilah Arnold 4, Lexie Arnold 1, McKinlee Scammon 1, Natalee Hayder 1
Digs — Shilah Arnold 19, Lexie Arnold 13, Aidann Mottishaw 12, McKinlee Scammon 8, Rylee Arnold 4, Taylee Carlson 3, Ellianna Baumstarck 1, Natalee Hayder 1
Blocks — Ellianna Baumstarck 3.5 (2), Taylee Carlson 3 (2), Aidann Mottishaw 2.5 (1), Natalee Hayder 2 (1), McKinlee Scammon .5
Aces — Shilah Arnold 1, McKinlee Scammon 1, Aidann Mottishaw 1, Taylee Carlson