Knights split matches on opening day of Southern Colorado Classic

Trinidad, Colo. – North Platte Community College volleyball splits a pair of matches to open the Southern Colorado Classic on Friday.

"I thought we started out really strong against Otero," said head coach Alexa McCall. "We never were able to gain control against Trinidad and we just ran out of steam."

North Platte 3 Otero 2

Jaelyn Dicke led the way with 16 kills on 47 swings against Otero. Aubrey Grant tallied 23 assists to accompany her two aces in the match.

The Knights faced adversity trailing 10-5 in the early stages of the first set. North Platte slowly chipped away at the deficit before a kill by Dicke capped off an 8-1 set changing rally. Rattlers continued to keep it tight knotting the game up at 20-20, but a pair of blocks from Ella Rotherham and a Fatima Gomez kill secured the set one win.

Knights and Rattlers traded points to open the second set. A four-point rally broke the deadlock, but North Platte countered to narrow to deficit to 17-16. Otero never surrendered their lead down the stretch and evened that match at one set apiece.

An early Rattlers run was answered by the black and gold in set three. A service error evened the set, before a short rally gave Otero a 12-8 advantage. Rattlers kept the Knights out of rhythm to take a 2-1 set lead.

The fourth set belonged to the Knights as they took a commanding 10-3 lead and never looked back. Back-to-back kills from Dicke and Jocelyn Cheek stretched the lead to eight. North Platte kept their foot on the gas in the set to force a decisive set five.  

In the final set, teams kept it tight until North Platte broke the deadlock. Leading 11-10, the Knights leaned on Dicke to secure the set. The sophomore outside hitter tallied the final four points to close out the five set thriller.

Trinidad 3 North Platte 0

Knights and Trojans traded points to open the first set. Trinidad used a short rally to stretch their lead to 18-14. A kill by Dicke halted the rally, but the home team went on to claim the opening set, 25-18.

The momentum stretched into the second set for the Trojans. Leading 17-14, the home team used an 8-2 run to take a two-set advantage.

Trinidad marched in the third set jumping out to a 7-1 lead. Knights were not able to settle into their rhythm offensively, while the Trojans closed out the match, 25-14.

North Platte (3-8) will return for the second day of the Southern Colorado Classic on Saturday. First serve against Western Nebraska Community College is set for 9 a.m.