Since arriving in Powell, Northwest College volleyball coach Scott Keister has made community involvement a priority for his team. His student-athletes find ways to be involved in town on an almost-weekly basis, and Trapper faithful have shown up loud and proud to every home match in response. 

But in last week’s 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-15) loss to Central Wyoming, Keister said the girls let down anyone who has supported the team.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘It’s so fun to watch this team.’ Well, it wasn’t fun to watch this team on Thursday, [March 18],” Keister said. “You don’t want people to ever leave your gym and say, ‘Well what are we doing here?’ If I was someone in the crowd, I would’ve been pissed.”

The majority of set one was close, with the teams knotted at 14-14 at one point. But the Rustlers sustained a run and capitalized on NWC’s offensive mistakes. 

CWC clinched the point on a ball that hit Northwest’s side — one that none of the Trappers dived for. A lack of effort plagued NWC in the rout, the coach said. 

“That was terrible,” Keister said. “In a match like Thursday, as a coach, it’s hard to coach a team when they don’t bring what they need to on the court.”

Despite falling into a hole early in the second set, NWC showed fight and rallied, taking a 23-22 lead. But CWC ultimately prevailed 26-24. That disappointing ending to set two carried into the third, where the Trappers didn’t compete, losing by 10.

NWC failed to hit above .100 in any of the sets, displaying the Trappers’ offensive woes. While CWC is a quality opponent, Keister still believes the outcome may have been different if his squad didn’t commit so many errors.

And as the Trappers head into their final regular-season week, the goal will be to polish their attack.

“Reducing errors,” Keister said. “In practice, all week we’ve been working on how to put a ball away. To their credit, they’re working hard.”

Two days prior to the dismal outing against CWC, on March 16, Keister saw a different side of his team: The Trappers cruised to a three-set road win over Rocky Mountain College’s junior varsity squad (25-14, 25-16, 25-17).

Keister admitted that RMC isn’t quite at the same caliber as Central Wyoming, but he noted how much better the Trappers played in the non-league match.

Both of Northwest’s final regular-season matches will be played in Cabre Gym, facing Western Wyoming at 7 p.m. Friday and Casper at 3 p.m. Saturday. After a poor performance in their last home match, the Trappers will focus on not taking any points off. 

“We put our best effort possible forward,” Keister said. “If we do that, we’re going to beat the teams that we’re better than. It’s a mental thing.”

Northwest 3, Rocky Mountain JV 0

Kills — Mollee Krum 11, Shante Falslev 9, Baylee Peterson 6, Karli Steiner 6, Sayler Larson 3, Sabree Adams 3;

Assits — Steiner 23, Jacie Walker 13, Aubrianne Crosby 2;

Digs — Falslev 22, Peterson 20, Crosby 13, Steiner 6, Walker 6, Larson 6, Adams 1

Central Wyoming 3, Northwest 0

Kills — Peterson 9, Falslev 6, Krum 3, Larson 1, Emma Teichert 1, Emily Baumstarck 1, Adams 1;

Assists — Walker 11, Steiner 11;

Digs — Paige Weimer 15, Steiner 13, Peterson 8, Walker 7, Crosby 6, Falslev 5, Teichert 5, Larson 2, Krum 2, Baumstarck 1;

Blocks — Baumstarck 1