TRAPPERS STUMBLE ON THE ROAD
BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune
A narrow contest decided by a fifth set run and a poor day on Saturday set back the Northwest College volleyball team's quest for the postseason, losing to Western Wyoming 3-2 on Friday and to Casper 3-1 on Saturday to spoil the Trapper's momentum on the road.
WESTERN WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 2
(16-25, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 11-15)
Beginning the second half of the conference season the Trappers (18-7 overall, 2-6 Region IX North) made the trip to Rock Springs to start the weekend against the Mustangs (17-7 overall, 5-3 Region IX North).
Difficult hitting in the first set for the Trappers saw Western pull ahead and take the first set with a 25-16 win to take a 1-0 lead.
Northwest rebounded with 12 kills in the second set, hitting .184 and just edging out the Mustangs with a 25-22 second set win to tie the match.
That momentum carried over into the third set, with Northwest posting 13 kills to push past the hosts and take a 2-1 lead after a 25-21 win.
Despite poor hitting in the fourth set and having five less kills, the Trappers kept it close, falling 25-20 as Western forced a fifth set.
In that fifth set the Trappers held a lead midway through the set, before a six point run by the hosts gave them the lead for good and earned the Mustangs a 15-11 win to take the match 3-2.
"We played well for 99% of the match and we gave up a run of six points in the fifth set all at once," coach Scott Keister said. "Other than that run they played really well … The spirits were actually pretty good in the locker room after the match knowing that we came into a tough place to play on the road. It was their pink game, and there was a lot of hoopla around it. I think they walked out of there going 'hey, you know, we played pretty well, and man, just that little run of six did us in.'"
Aidann Mottishaw led Northwest with 17 kills as the only Trapper in double figures.
Holland Stowe had 24 assists to lead the team and Mottishaw added 16.
Sierra Kilts had 30 digs, Sadie Meier had 20, Brooke Larsen had 18 and Mottishaw added 15.
Kennedy Oman had three blocks to lead the Trappers and Kilts led with four aces.
CASPER COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 1
(17-25, 25-23, 12-25, 11-25)
After the loss Friday the Trappers continued their road trip to Casper to take on the Thunderbirds (7-21 overall, 4-4 Region IX North).
From the jump the Thunderbirds took advantage of a sluggish Trapper team, pushing ahead in the first and taking a 25-17 win and a 1-0 lead.
"I thought they were ready for Saturday. Then, I don't know. We just started warm-ups and we came out flat and we were awful, could never find our rhythm at all," Keister said.
In a close second set the Trappers were able to get just enough offensive production to pull ahead of Casper, recording 13 kills while hitting .312 to earn a 25-23 win.
"We battled to win that one," Keister said. "They had to grind it out a little bit."
Winning that set gained no momentum for the Trappers, as Casper took control in the third set and quickly buried the Trappers.
Building double digit leads early on helped the Thunderbirds pull away for 25-12 and 25-11 wins in the third and fourth sets for the 3-1 win.
"Once it started to go south, it went south. We couldn't hit the ball on the court," Keister said. "We couldn't pass the ball, our serving was OK. We hit negative three of the four sets. You can't win games like that, especially against a good team on their court."
Larsen led with nine kills, Stowe led with 18 assists and Mottishaw added 13.
Kilts had 21 digs as the only Trapper in double figures, and Oman led with two blocks.
Stowe and Mottishaw tied for the team lead with two aces each.
"We lost our mind on Saturday and just never could find it," Keister said.
MUST WIN MATCHES
The Trappers are in must win mode in their final stretch if they want to contend for the postseason and reach the Region IX tournament.
Only the top four teams advance to the postseason, and the Trappers will face the remaining four teams in the region over the next week, including three games in five days at home.
"If we want to make the tournament we have our backs against the wall," Keister said. "We need to win the next four. There's a scenario where we might be able to get away with three out of the four."
The Trappers sit sixth in the standings, and will start their final homestand against the top team in the Region IX North in Eastern Wyoming (20-7 overall, 8-0 Region IX North) at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Northwest will then take on Laramie County Community College (10-16 overall, 5-3 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The home slate will wrap up on Tuesday at 6 p.m. when the Trappers host Central Wyoming (13-9 overall, 4-4 Region IX North).
"If we beat them (Eastern Wyoming) it doesn't hurt them at all, and it doesn't really help us a whole lot," Keister said. "It's that middle group. Beating LCCC would be very helpful to us and then beating Central would be very helpful to us, and then we need a little help from other people too. We haven't been eliminated yet, but we have to have a good weekend."
The regular season will wrap up on Nov. 2 with the Trappers traveling to Gillette to take on the Pronghorns. The Region IX tournament will start on Nov. 6 in Cheyenne.
WESTERN WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 2
(16-25, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 11-15)
Total blocks then solo blocks in ()
Kills — Aidann Mottishaw 17, Jordynel Anderson 8, Burkelle Field 6, Brooke Larsen 5, Alexis Grgich 4, Taylor Wilson 3
Assists — Holland Stowe 24, Aidann Mottishaw 16, Sierra Kilts 2
Digs — Sierra Kilts 30, Sadie Meier 20, Brooke Larsen 18, Aidann Mottishaw 15, Jordynel Anderson 3, Kennedy Oman 2, Holland Stowe 2, Taylor Wilson 2, Burkelle Field 1, Alexis Grgich 1
Blocks — Kennedy Oman 3, Jordynel Anderson 2.5 (1), Brooke Larsen 1.5, Burkelle Field 1.5, Taylor Wilson 1, Aidann Mottishaw .5
Aces — Sierra Kilts 4, Brooke Larsen 2, Jordynel Anderson 2, Aidann Mottishaw 1, Sadie Meier 1
CASPER COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 1
(17-25, 25-23, 12-25, 11-25)
Kills — Brooke Larsen 9, Jordynel Anderson 7, Aidann Mottishaw 7, Kennedy Oman 5, Burkelle Field 2, Holland Stowe 1, Taylor Wilson 1, Taylee Carlson 1
Assists — Holland Stowe 18, Aidann Mottishaw 13, Burkelle Field 1, Sierra Kilts 1
Digs — Sierra Kilts 21, Holland Stowe 6, Aidann Mottishaw 6, Brooke Larsen 5, Burkelle Field 5, Jordynel Anderson 2, DanniKa Barfuss 1
Blocks — Kennedy Oman 2 (1), Brooke Larsen 1 (1), Burkelle Field .5, Aidann Mottishaw .5
Aces — Holland Stowe 2, Aidann Mottishaw 2, Brooke Larsen 1, Burkelle Field 1, Sierra Kilts 1, Tilli Danczyk 1