Three five set matches in five days wrapped up the home schedule for the Northwest College volleyball team and, with two losses, eliminated the Trappers from postseason contention.

Northwest lost to Eastern Wyoming College 3-2 on Friday, defeated Laramie County Community College 3-2 on Saturday before falling to Central Wyoming College on Tuesday night 3-2.

EASTERN WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 2

(25-15, 23-25, 25-23, 19-25, 6-15)

Starting out the final home stand the Trappers (19-9 overall, 3-8 Region IX North) welcomed in the conference leading Lancers (22-8 overall, 10-0 Region IX North) on Friday.

Northwest came out strong in the first set, pulling ahead and earning a 25-13 win behind 14 kills and a .270 hitting percentage.

Another strong set followed for the Trappers, however the Lancers just edged out the hosts for a 25-23 win despite 13 kills by Northwest.

In the third set the Trappers rebounded, reversing their fortune from the previous set and earning a 25-23 win of their own.

Another poor hitting set in the fourth allowed the Lancers to tie the match, as they finished with a 25-19 win and forced a decisive fifth set.

In the fifth set the visitors came out strong and pulled ahead early, earning a 15-6 win to take the victory after the Trappers hit a negative percentage.

“We played well until set five,” coach Scott Keister said. “It’s kind of the mantra of our season. It’s a frustrating thing as a coach to watch players just cave and there’s nothing you can do about it. We tried everything we could think of. There’s something to be said for the mental aspect of the game.”

Brooke Larsen led with 11 kills and added 12 digs, Aidann Mottishaw led with 24 assists and seven aces while also adding 12 digs.

Sierra Kilts led with 27 digs and Jordynel Anderson led with 3.5 blocks, two of them solo.

Holland Stowe added 15 assists.

NORTHWEST 3, LCCC 2

(25-16, 25-22, 10-25, 14-25, 15-11)

Heading into Saturday the Trappers needed a victory over the Golden Eagles (10-18 overall, 5-5 Region IX North) to have any hopes at the postseason, and another long match followed.

Northwest came out strong, recording 13 kills in the first set and 16 in the second set to earn a 2-0 lead after 25-16 and 25-22 set wins, respectively.

After the strong first two sets, the Trappers fell behind quickly in the third and fourth sets, hitting negative in both as the Golden Eagles cruised to 25-10 and 25-14 set wins.

As opposed to Friday the Trappers got a stronger start in the fifth set, pulling away for a 15-11 win behind nine kills to earn the 3-2 victory.

“Our coaching staff, we challenged them to step up and to make a change and to learn from the night before,” Keister said. “What did we have to lose? At that point our season was on the line and they responded. They came out and they played hard and they played aggressively. It wasn’t perfect volleyball; that’s something we’ve talked about all year, it doesn’t have to be perfect, you’ve just got to keep going.”

Mottishaw led with 16 kills while adding 11 assists and 11 digs.

Stowe led with 36 assists and Kilts led with 30 digs.

Larsen had 13 kills, added 15 digs and tied for the team lead in aces alongside Stowe with two.

Kennedy Oman led with 2.5 blocks, one solo.

CENTRAL WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 2

(17-25, 26-24, 15-25, 25-21, 9-15)

After the win Saturday the Trappers turned their attention to the Rustlers (15-10 overall, 6-5 Region IX North) in their final home match of the season.

Central came out swinging, recording 14 kills in the first set to take it 25-17.

Northwest responded and stayed in the match after holding onto a 26-24 win behind 12 kills.

The Rustlers once again came out swinging in the third set, recording 11 kills with only four errors to earn a 25-15 win and put the Trappers on the backfoot.

Northwest came out and pulled far enough ahead to earn a 25-21 win, forcing another fifth set.

In that fifth set, a slew of hitting errors sunk the Trappers, ending their chances of advancing to the postseason for the second straight year after a 15-9 loss.

“We were not good the whole night. Our energy was bad, there was a funk in the air,” Keister said. “We couldn’t identify what it was. I don’t think Central played great either, they for sure earned the win so not taking anything away from them. But they didn’t play like they normally can play and neither did we. It was just a sloppy match.”

Larsen led with 12 kills as the only Trapper in double figures. She added 11 digs.

Stowe led with 21 assists, Kilts led with 21 digs.

Mottishaw had 18 assists and 12 digs, and Anderson led with 3.5 blocks.

Mottishaw led with two aces alongside Sadie Meier.

FINAL MATCH

After the home loss on Tuesday the Trappers will head out on the road for their final match of the season, heading to Gillette to take on the Pronghorns (10-12 overall, 0-10 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

“It’s a tough thing as a coach because you get in this conundrum of, well we can’t make the tournament now and so do we keep going as normal, or do we put the focus on the freshmen to start next year and get them experience? And I don’t know what to do,” Keister said. “It’s a tough thing as a coach because you don’t want to slight the sophomores. You want to give them that last match, but at the same time you want to move forward also. More importantly, we want to end on a high note, win or lose … it will probably be a game time decision, and maybe it flows throughout the match.”

Keister added that he wants the team to have learned more than just volleyball from this season, moving forward with better knowledge of life thanks to their time as a Trapper.

“It's learning life lessons. It goes beyond volleyball, and I am a firm believer that life throws you a curveball, and sometimes you can do the best you can, and it still doesn’t come out the way you want it,” Keister said. “How do you handle it? So we’re teaching that method right now of relating this to life, school, work, career and family one day. It’s a beautiful thing in the sports world that we can learn those lessons, and I have no doubt that if they will take the time to look inward and to learn from these lessons, they’re going to have growth.”

EASTERN WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 2

(25-15, 23-25, 25-23, 19-25, 6-15)

Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — Brooke Larsen 11, Jordynel Anderson 8, Taylor Wilson 7, Aidann Mottishaw 7, Burkelle Field 4, Sierra Kilts 3, Kennedy Oman 1

Assists — Aidann Mottishaw 24, Holland Stowe 15, Sierra Kilts 2

Digs — Sierra Kilts 27, Brooke Larsen 12, Aidann Mottishaw 12, Holland Stowe 9, Sadie Meier 8, Jordynel Anderson 4, Kennedy Oman 3, Burkelle Field 2, DanniKa Barfuss 2, Taylor Wilson 1

Blocks — Jordynel Anderson 3.5 (2), Kennedy Oman 3 (1), Aidann Mottishaw 2 (1), Taylee Carlson 1.5 (1), Brooke Larsen 1, Burkelle Field .5, Taylor Wilson .5

Aces — Aidann Mottishaw 7, Brooke Larsen 4, Sadie Meier 4, Sierra Kilts 3

NORTHWEST 3, LCCC 2

(25-16, 25-22, 10-25, 14-25, 15-11)

Kills — Aidann Mottishaw 16, Brooke Larsen 13, Jordynel Anderson 6, Burkelle Field 5, Kennedy Oman 4, Taylor Wilson 3, Alexis Grgich 1, Tilli Danczyk 1

Assists — Holland Stowe 36, Aidann Mottishaw 11, Sierra Kilts 2

Digs — Sierra Kilts 30, Brooke Larsen 15, DanniKa Barfuss 14, Aidann Mottishaw 11, Holland Stowe 8, Jordynel Anderson 6, Kennedy Oman 1

Blocks — Kennedy Oman 2.5 (1), Jordynel Anderson 2.5, Burkelle Field 2, Taylor Wilson 1, Aidann Mottishaw 1

Aces — Brooke Larsen 2, Holland Stowe 2, DanniKa Barfuss 1, Jordynel Anderson 1, Aidann Mottishaw 1

CENTRAL WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 2

(17-25, 26-24, 15-25, 25-21, 9-15)

Kills — Brooke Larsen 12, Taylor Wilson 9, Aidann Mottishaw 9, Sierra Kilts 5, Jordynel Anderson 4, Burkelle Field 2, Kennedy Oman 1

Assists — Holland Stowe 21, Aidann Mottishaw 18, Brooke Larsen 1, Sierra Kilts 1

Digs — Sierra Kilts 21, Aidann Mottishaw 12, Brooke Larsen 11, Sadie Meier 10, Holland Stowe 9, DanniKa Barfuss 3, Taylor Wilson 2, Jordynel Anderson 2, Burkelle Field 1, Alexis Grgich 1

Blocks — Jordynel Anderson 3.5 (1), Aidann Mottishaw 3 (1), Burkelle Field 2 (1), Tilli Danczyk 2 (1), Brooke Larsen 1.5 (1), Taylor Wilson 1.5 (1), Sierra Kilts 1 (1), Kennedy Oman .5

Aces — Aidann Mottishaw 2, Sadie Meier 2, Brooke Larsen 1, Holland Stowe 1, Sierra Kilts 1, Jordynel Anderson 1