TRAPPERS EARN FIRST CONFERENCE WIN

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

An extremely busy midseason week saw the Northwest College volleyball team playing three matches in six days, losing 3-1 to Central Wyoming College on Wednesday, Oct. 8, sweeping Western Wyoming Community College on Friday before losing to the Rocky Mountain College JV 3-0 on Tuesday night.   

CENTRAL WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 1
Still searching for their first win in Region IX on Wednesday the Trappers (9-10 overall, 1-5 Region IX North) welcomed in the Rustlers (10-15 overall, 4-2 Region IX North).
Both teams went point for point early in the match, as the Trappers and Rustlers were deadlocked at 10.
Central started pulling away late in the set as frantic play by the Trappers allowed the Rustlers to take a 19-16 and 22-18 advantage, with Northwest calling timeouts after both scorelines.
The Rustlers finished out the first set with a 25-21 win.
Central led early in the second 13-8 before Northwest brought it back to 13-12.
Northwest eventually tied it at 15 after the Rustlers couldn't handle Nevaeh Bell's serving, but Central regained its advantage and made it 18-15 and forced a Trapper timeout.
Northwest was down 21-15, but cut it to 21-18 after an Aidann Mottishaw ace.
The Trappers kept pushing and eventually had a chance to tie it at 23, but a hit just too long gave Central a 24-22 advantage and the Rustlers finished with a 25-22 win.
Northwest came out strong in the third, using strong blocking to help build a 15-10 lead.
The Trappers built that lead further before the Rustlers applied pressure at 18-14 and forced a Northwest timeout.
Northwest made it 23-16 after a hit out by Central, and saw out the final points for a 25-19 set win.
After the strong set the Trappers were unable to carry their momentum, trailing early and often in the fourth set.
The Trappers cut the lead down to five after it reached eight, but the Rustlers finished strong late and earned the 25-15 win to take the match 3-1.
"I was really proud of the girls during the Central game," coach Nicole Buck said. "Not only because they competed well, even taking a set. But especially because they played with great energy and togetherness, something we've been working extra hard on."
McKinlee Scammon led with eight kills, Mottishaw led with 22 assists, Shilah Arnold had 17 digs, Ellianna Baumstarck had six blocks, all solo, while Lexie Arnold added four aces and 10 digs.   

NORTHWEST 3, WESTERN WYOMING 0
Heading to Rock Springs on Friday the Trappers came up against the other winless team in the Region IX North, looking for a win against the Mustangs (2-22 overall, 0-6 Region IX North).
A close set throughout was just squeezed out by the Trappers in the end, taking it 26-24 for a 1-0 lead.
After the win in the first set, the Trappers came out stronger in the second and third sets and controlled throughout, earning 25-13 and 25-12 wins to complete the sweep of the Mustangs.
Taylee Carlson led with 10 kills, Mottishaw had 18 assists while Rylee Arnold added 15, Scammon had 11 digs, four Trappers recorded one block and Shilah Arnold had five aces.
"It was wonderful getting that win against Western Wyoming — especially because the first set was hard-fought and the next two were very commanding wins," Buck said. "The girls did a fantastic job of taking care of our side of the court. They hustled for every ball, covered very well for hitters and served the ball extremely well." 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN JV 3, NORTHWEST 0
The Trappers made a quick trip to Billings on Tuesday, taking on the Battlin Bears JV.
Northwest was shorthanded and unable to come away with the win.
Stats from the match were unavailable as of press time.

HOME GAMES
Northwest returns home this weekend to start the second half of Region IX action, needing wins in order to make a run at a postseason spot.
The Trappers start by welcoming in NJCAA No. 15 ranked Casper College (18-7 overall, 6-0 Region IX North) at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Northwest follows that up with a match against Gillette College (16-5 overall, 2-4 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
"I'm really hoping to take a huge step forward in this second round of conference," Buck said. "Struggling through some losses hasn't been easy but if we can show that we're improving, learning and becoming more competitive, then we can rest knowing that we're taking steps toward the team and program we want to be.

CENTRAL WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 1
(25-21, 25-22, 19-25, 25-15)
Total blocks then solo blocks in ()
Kills — McKinlee Scammon 8, Lexie Arnold 6, Ellianna Baumstarck 6, Aidann Mottishaw 4, Eva Murray 3, Vinaya Vanderploeg 1, Natalee Hayder 1
Assists — Aidann Mottishaw 22, Shilah Arnold 4, Lexie Arnold 1
Digs — Shilah Arnold 17, Lexie Arnold 10, McKinlee Scammon 9, Aidann Mottishaw 8, Trinity Frank 4, Natalee Hayder 1, Rylee Arnold 1
Blocks — Ellianna Baumstarck 6 (6), McKinlee Scammon 2 (2), Taylee Carlson 2, Lexie Arnold 1 (1), Vinaya Vanderploeg 1 (1), Aidann Mottishaw 1 (1)
Aces — Lexie Arnold 4, Aidann Mottishaw 2, Nevaeh Bell 2     

NORTHWEST 3, WESTERN WYOMING 0
(26-24, 25-13, 25-12)
Kills — Taylee Carlson 10, McKinlee Scammon 7, Eva Murray 6, Lexie Arnold 5, Aidann Mottishaw 5, Natalee Hayder 4, Nevaeh Bell 1
Assists — Aidann Mottishaw 18, Rylee Arnold 15, Shilah Arnold 4
Digs — McKinlee Scammon 11, Shilah Arnold 9, Aidann Mottishaw 8, Lexie Arnold 7, Trinity Frank 5, Rylee Arnold 3, Eva Murray 1, Vinaya Vanderploeg 1, Natalee Hayder 1, Taylee Carlson 1
Blocks — Eva Murray 1, McKinlee Scammon 1 (1), Natalee Hayder 1, Taylee Carlson 1, Lexie Arnold .5, Aidann Mottishaw .5
Aces — Shilah Arnold 5, Aidann Mottishaw 2, Lexie Arnold 1, McKinlee Scammon 1