Season ends for Knights Volleyball

Columbus, Neb. - The season came to an end Saturday afternoon for the North Platte Community College Knights Volleyball Team. The Knights fell 3-2 after duking it out with Central Community College in a down-to-the-wire match for the NJCAA Region 9 championship. 

The nail-biting action got started in set one. The Raiders jumped out to a three-point lead but didn't hold it for long. The Knights crept back and evened things up 5-5 – the first of 14 ties that would happen over the course of the game. The teams remained neck and neck from then on – with the lead switching hands 10 times. The score was tied 25-25, 26-26, 27-27 and 28-28 before Central finally clinched the win 30-28. 

The back-and-forth action continued with the opponents remaining within a point or two of each other throughout the second set. The game had tied eight times by the 8-8 mark. The Knights were finally able to use a four-point run to distance themselves, but the Raiders caught back up and tied the score again 14-14. 

Central took the lead on the next volley and clung to it, with North Platte trailing by two. The Knights stopped the Raiders at set point twice, but ultimately it was Central that closed out the frame 25-23. 

The third set started out as a repeat of the previous two with the Raiders pulling out in front early on. The Knights refused to go away quietly and turned the tide – pushing past Central to a four-point advantage.

The Raiders chipped away at the deficit and tied things up 12-12. North Platte answered by pulling ahead and going on a four-point run. NPCC's Vanessa Wood would finish out the game with a kill, 25-20. 

North Platte made a case for a fifth set in the next frame. Central grabbed an early lead, but the Knights overtook them 11-10. North Platte lost the advantage on the next volley then mounted a comeback with a four-point run. NPCC would eventually pull ahead 21-16, the biggest deficit of the game. The Knights went on to claim a 25-20 victory and forced the Raiders to set number five. 

The Raiders got their second wind in the final frame. They snapped up the lead right out of the gate and didn't look back. Central secured the win and the Region 9 title 15-9. 

Wood notched 33 kills and 23 digs in her final match with the Knights. Jaelyn Dicke came through with 16 kills and 25 digs, and Shamia Grandison had nine kills. Elsie Ottun recorded 33 assists, and Aubrey Grant added another 27. EmiLee Walnofer tallied 27 digs. 

"Coming up short in a game like this is really tough, especially coming back from being down two sets," said NPCC Volleyball Head Coach Alexa McCall. "Vanessa played a great game today, and offensively we played really well. All of the sets came down to tiny errors, but I'm proud of how we competed." 

The Knights finish out the year 14-21. Central moves to 21-10 overall.