NPCC volleyball team splits road doubleheader

McCook, Neb. - The North Platte Community College Knights split their matches Friday on the first day of the McCook Community College Volleyball Tournament. 

NPCC fell 3-1 to Barton Community College, of Great Bend, Kan. before winning a match 3-2 against Frank Phillips College, out of Borger, Texas. 

Barton 

It was the second trip to McCook for Barton this year, and the second time in a week for the Knights to play them. 

It took a while for either team to gain momentum in set one. The two sides rallied back-and-forth until the board was 6-5. The Cougars surged ahead at that point with the Knights unable to slow the charge. Barton would claim a 25-8 victory.   

NPCC then scored the first point in set two. With the game tied 13-13, the Cougars got their second wind and leapt forward to a 24-17 lead. The Knights snatched one more point before Barton closed out the frame 25-18. 

North Platte started out strong in the third set as well, forging ahead to a four-to-nothing lead and, with the exception of a brief tie early on, holding it until the 23-23 mark. The Knights finished out the set 25-23. 

NPCC also took the lead in the fourth set but was unable to keep it. The Cougars caught up 9-9 and didn't slow down on their way to a 25-16 win. 

"I was pleased with how we played in set three against Barton," McCall said. "I thought we controlled the pace of the game well. I think we got too complacent to take the next set from them." 

North Platte outside hitter Jaelyn Dicke tallied 11 kills and 14 digs in the match. Vanessa Wood added seven more kills, and Aubrey Grant and Elsie Ottun each contributed eight assists.   

Frank Phillips 

North Platte played Frank Phillips next, with the Lady Plainsmen scoring the first point in set one. NPCC tied things up a couple times by the five-point mark but fell behind after that – unable to stop FPC's momentum in a 25-21 set closeout. 

The second set started out much the same with Frank Phillips jumping out to a five-point lead. North Platte tied the score at the six-point mark then briefly overtook the Lady Plainsmen. The teams remained neck-and-neck throughout the rest of the game, trading kills until the 16-point mark when FPC pulled ahead and ultimately won 25-22. 

It was the Knights who went on a run following a 3-3 tie in the third set. They stayed about four points ahead of the Lady Plainsmen, powering through to a 25-20 win. 

It looked as if the odds were turning in favor of NPCC as the Knights jumped out to an early lead in set four. They hit a snag upon tying 9-9 and were unable to catch up until better than halfway through. 

The two teams fought down to the wire with the Knights inching past the Lady Plainsmen 24-23. FPC tied the game with a kill then hit the next ball out, setting North Platte up again for a win. Dicke scored the winning point with a kill on the service line for a final score of 26-24. 

There were four ties in the nail-biting fifth set. In the end, it was North Platte that came out on top, 15-10. 

"I'm really proud of the fight we showed against Frank Phillips," McCall said. "I thought we stepped up our blocking game, which allowed our defense to play well. It's hard to come from down two sets, but we pulled together and got it done." 

Wood had 13 kills in that match while Dicke had nine and Sydney Spillane had seven. Grant and Ottun recorded 18 and 15 assists, respectively. Wood went for 16 digs, Grant had 12 and EmiLee Walnofer tallied 11. As a team, the Knights had 12 blocks. 

North Platte is now 2-9 on the season. 

The tournament continues Saturday as the Knights take on Gillette College at noon and follow that up with a match against Laramie County Community College at 4 p.m.