Knights clear first round of postseason tourney

North Platte, Neb. - The North Platte Community College volleyball team was on fire Wednesday night – sweeping the Southeast Community College Bobcats 3-0 in the opening round of the NJCAA Region 9 Postseason Tournament. 

The Knights ran away with the first set – pulling out in front early on before shooting ahead to a score of 14-3. NPCC's offense was powered by strong kills by Vanessa Wood and Shamia Grandison and back-to-back aces by Aubrey Grant. Southeast attempted to mount a comeback toward the end, but it wasn't enough to catch the Knights who cruised to a 25-10 win. 

The Bobcats refused to go down easy in the second set. North Platte claimed the first point after an ace by Jaelyn Dicke. The frame would see four lead changes and seven ties after that until the Knights finally captured the lead for good at the 10-9 mark. NPCC used a run to widen the gap by five points. Another run later on helped to double the deficit to 10. Grandison used a kill to close out the set 25-14. 

North Platte jumped out to an early lead in the third set as well. Southeast managed to keep pace and tied the game 5-5 before back-to-back kills by Wood and Grandison returned the advantage to NPCC. Some confusion at the net resulted in a replay about halfway through, but it did little to slow the Knights' attack, and they continued on a seven-point run. 

Grandison managed a tip, kill then block to score three points in a row. The action stalled twice at match point, but a kill by Fatima Gomez ultimately sealed the victory for North Platte 25-17. 

"I was really pleased with how we served tonight," said NPCC Volleyball Head Coach Alexa McCall. "It allowed us to get them out of system, which helped us run our offense. I thought our middles did well in transition and had some nice swings. This will give us some momentum going into Saturday." 

Wood led the offense for the Knights with 10 kills, and Dicke followed that up with eight more. Grant had 18 assists on the night, and Elsie Ottun recorded 16. EmiLee Walnofer added 19 digs. 

The tournament continues Saturday in Columbus where the Knights will take on Central Community College in the championship round. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. A livestream will be available at: portal.stretchinternet.com/centralcccolumbus/.