NWC ends home stand with winThe Northwest College Trapper volleyball team wrapped up its longest home stand of the season with a 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 Region IX North victory over Central Wyoming on Tuesday night. The win improves the Trappers to 13-16 overall and 6-3 in Region IX North play.

“We started a little slow, but got better as the night went along,” said Northwest College coach Flavia Siqueira. “Our goal for tonight was to try and take away their top hitter and force them to use other options, and I thought we did a good job of that.”

Northwest looked to be heading for a comfortable win in game one when a no-call on an apparent tipped ball at the net transformed what would have been a six-point Trapper lead into a four-point margin. Central used the momentary shift in momentum to draw within two points before the teams traded out scoring to close the game.

Game two saw the Trappers jump to a comfortable lead before a late run by Central closed the gap. Northwest's scariest moment may have come when Gabriella Fabri went to the ground in pursuit of a tipped ball late in the game. The freshman frontrow player, who has played the entire season sporting a torn meniscus in her knee, remained on the ground for a while after the play before getting back to her feet.

“That's three games in a row she's gone down,” said Siqueira, whose bench has resembled a triage unit in recent weeks.

“She told me when we went in for the intermission after game two that she was all right, but I was going to keep her out the third game.”

But Fabri found a way back on the floor for the clinching third game anyhow.

“I was talking to one of my players, and I looked up and she'd run up as a sub,” said Siqueira. “Once she reaches the line, it's an illegal substitution if I call her back and I can't afford to give away one of my substitutions with how banged up we are.”

While Fabri's injury may have given the Trappers' coach and fans some nervous moments, Northwest also received a bit of a lift from the play of one of its other injured players. Sophomore Randi McInerney provided a spark from the right side of the net for NWC throughout the night.

“Randi's played a little more like the Randi before the injury,” said Siqueira, who has three players scheduled for knee surgery following the conclusion of the season. “She can't move like she could when she was healthy, but she's getting more comfortable with what she can do right now.”

Northwest College begins a six-match road trip this weekend with games at Sheridan (Friday) and Dawson (Saturday). Every game is important as the Trappers jockey with Casper College for the No. 3 spot in the North sub-region standings.

“It is important for us to be seeded as high as possible for the region tournament,” said Siqueira, whose team will face Casper on Tuesday.