Knights Volleyball advances to Region IX Championship

North Platte, Neb. - The North Platte Community College volleyball team is headed to the NJCAA Region IX Championship after defeating Southeast Community College 3-1 Wednesday night in the opening round of the tournament. 

The Knights jumped out early, stretching their lead to four midway through the opening set, 11-7. North Platte maintained the momentum for the remainder of the set and took the early one set advantage, 25-20.

The second set was a mirror of the first, as the Storm stayed within three to four points early. A kill by Morgan Ramsey helped extend the deficit to seven, but the Storm quickly closed the gap late in the set. The Knights were able to regain their momentum and sealed the second set victory, 25-19. 

Southeast regrouped and came back strong in the third set, creating the biggest deficit faced by either team up to that point. The Storm led by 11 (21-9) until a service error gave the Knights a reprieve. 

North Platte used the error to their advantage and battled their way back, tying the game 24-24. Back-to-back attacking errors by the Knights halted the comeback, as the Storm claimed set three, 24-26. 

With the pressure mounting, the teams stayed neck and neck through the start of the fourth set. North Platte recaptured the momentum they had early in the match and took a commanding 11-point lead midway through. Unable to switch the momentum, Southeast fell in set four 25-16. 

Morgan Ramsey led the action with 14 kills and three blocks. Vanessa Wood had 12 kills, and Tyrah Woods and Alexis Becerra each added eight more. Becerra also contributed 20 digs. 

Emily Johnson had five kills and two blocks in the game. Amauri Browning went for 21 digs, Tessa Metschke tallied 13 digs and Avah Steggall notched 40 assists. The team as a whole had nine serving aces.

"I'm proud of the whole team," said NPCC Volleyball Head Coach Alexa McCall. "They worked their tails off in practice the last two days, and that's why we were successful. They pushed each other and made each other better. We played awesome defense and served well, which allowed us some good opportunities offensively." 

The Knights (8-26) will look for revenge against Central Community College (16-19) in the championship. Action begins at 3 p.m. Saturday in Columbus. 

A livestream can be found at: cccraiders.com. An audio feed will also be available at northplattepost.com and on radio stations FM 98.1/1410 AM.