Rebounding from a disappointing road trip the Northwest College volleyball team earned a big road win over Central Wyoming College on Wednesday, Oct. 7, as the Trappers defeated the Rustlers 3-1 in Riverton.

“I think the results speak for themselves. The girls did a really good job of putting that previous weekend behind us. I think we were confronted with a lot that Friday and Saturday previously, and it was a good wake up call for the girls and for myself honestly,” coach Nicole Buck said.

The team’s word of the week when they came to practice on Oct. 5, after two region losses the previous weekend, was “reset.”

“I came in prepared to get after them, but I didn’t even need to,” she said. “They came in ready to work so hard and so fast. They just kept an incredibly good pace and tone in practice and then transferred it over really well in that game.”

NORTHWEST 3, CENTRAL WYOMING 1

(25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 25-23)

Wrapping up the first half of the conference season, the Trappers (10-12 overall, 2-3 Region IX North) took on the Rustlers (4-15 overall, 3-2 Region IX North).

Northwest started strong, building a 12-7 lead before the hosts fought back and tied the match at 12 a piece.

The opening set continued to be close throughout and was tied at 21.

A block by Saige Kidd and Brakkin Larsen sparked a 4-0 run to finish the set, capped off by a hit into the net by the Rustlers to give Northwest a 25-21 opening set win.

The second set started back-and-forth between the two teams, before the Rustlers built an advantage midway through and took the second set win 25-19.

Northwest built a slight lead early in the third set, and maintained that lead until Central fought back and tied the match at 14.

The Trappers trailed 23-22 late, but two straight Rustler hitting errors and a kill by Jaylin Mills gave Northwest the 25-23 win.

Central jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth, but the Trappers rallied and trimmed the lead to 10-9.

The hosts did not allow the Trappers to surge into the lead, and maintained a 20-16 advantage late in the set.

Northwest finally completed the rally, and a hit out by Central tied the match at 21.

The Trappers then pushed ahead, and finished with a Jaylie Critchfield kill to earn the 25-23 win.

Torey Parker led with 15 kills, just ahead of Mills with 11.

Critchfield led with 35 assists, Ellee Summers had 16 digs, McKinlee Scammon added 15, Mills had 11, Critchfield had 11 and Maddie Mills added 10.

Larsen had 5.5 blocks, four of them solo, Kidd added 3.5 with one being solo, while Parker added three, two of them solo.

“It’s funny, we didn’t emphasize blocking any more than anything else really. We just had a really good film session where we just keyed in on some of their tendencies, and I would say the girls did a really good job of taking it all seriously,” Buck said.

Summers led with three aces.

FINAL ROAD TRIP

The Trappers had last weekend off, and carried that momentum into the short break before getting back on the court this upcoming weekend.

“We knew we didn’t have games last weekend, so we knew that a break was coming whether we earned it or not. Having those good practices, having a really good win, one in which we had to work so hard and focus so much in it, it helped the girls go into the rest weekend with a little more purpose,” Buck said.

Midway through the conference schedule the Trappers sit in a crowded conference standings, as four of the six teams have two or three wins. Laramie County Community College has only one win and Casper College the lone unbeaten team.

“Obviously we’ve got some big goals of making it to regionals, but we know it’s not easy because now we’re sitting in a position where our whole conference is tough. Our whole conference is gritty, so it can be anybody’s game,” Buck said. “It’s really crucial for us to take what we’ve been learning over the last two weeks and really apply it now. I think one of the biggest lessons we learned in those losses to LCCC and Eastern was not getting complacent or waiting for opportunities, taking advantage of the ones that are in front of you. That’s what I hope we do.”

Northwest starts with a game at Gillette College (13-8 overall, 2-3 Region IX North) at 6 p.m. on Friday, a team the Trappers rallied to defeat 3-2 on Sept. 25.

The Trappers then play their final road game of the regular season, taking on the top team in the Region IX North in Casper College (13-12 overall, 5-0 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

NORTHWEST 3, CENTRAL WYOMING 1

(25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 25-23)

Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — Torey Parker 15, Jaylin Mills 11, Saige Kidd 8, McKinlee Scammon 7, Brakkin Larsen 6, Jaylie Critchfield 2, Lexie Snyder 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 35, Ellee Summers 6, Maddie Mills 3, Jaylin Mills 1

Digs — Ellee Summers 16, McKinlee Scammon 15, Jaylin Mills 12, Jaylie Critchfield 11, Maddie Mills 10, Torey Parker 6, Brakkin Larsen 2, Saige Kidd 1

Blocks — Brakkin Larsen 5.5 (4), Saige Kidd 3.5 (1), Torey Parker 3 (2), McKinlee Scammon 1, Jaylin Mills 1

Aces — Ellee Summers 3, McKinlee Scammon 1, Jaylin Mills 1