Making another long trip, this time to Tucson, Arizona, the Northwest College volleyball team faced some stiff opposition. The Trappers defeated Highland Community College out of Illinois 3-1, before three losses to Arizona’s Glendale, Scottsdale and Pima community colleges.

NORTHWEST 3, HIGHLAND CC 1

(25-18, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22)

Starting on Friday, the Trappers (4-4) took on the Cougars (3-6).

Northwest started out winning the first two sets 25-18 and 25-20 behind 30 combined kills.

The Trappers opened the door for the Cougars in the final set, losing 25-19 to make it a 2-1 match.

However, Northwest held off any hopes of a comeback in the fourth set, recording 16 kills to win 25-22.

Jaylin Mills led the team with 15 kills, Torey Parker was just behind with 14 on a .400 hitting percentage and McKinlee Scammon added 11.

Jaylie Critchfield led with 23 assists, while Piper Martin added 17 and Ellee Summers had 10.

“The setters [Critchfield and Martin] have done a good job at really trying to spread the offense. The hitters are doing a good job at staying ready for everything, not relying on one or two hitters,” NWC coach Nicole Buck said. “Our passing improved this weekend, so we were able to get our middles a lot more involved.”

Summers led with 18 digs while Critchfield chipped in 11.

Saige Kidd led with four blocks, just ahead of Brakkin Larsen who had 3.5, one of them solo.

Critchfield and Martin had three aces each.

GLENDALE CC 3, NORTHWEST 0

(25-17, 25-17, 25-19)

In a trio of games against Arizona opposition, the Trappers took on the Gauchos (3-2) who are the No. 23-ranked team at the NJCAA Division II level.

The Trappers only recorded 28 total over all three sets. They fell by identical scorelines of 25-17 in the first two sets before falling 25-19 in the third set, as the Gauchos completed the sweep.

Larsen and Parker tied for the team lead with six kills each. Critchfield led with 15 assists, ahead of Martin with 12.

Summers led with 12 digs, Parker had two blocks while Summers and Elayna Burrell each had an ace.

SCOTTSDALE CC 3, NORTHWEST 2

(25-23, 25-21, 15-25, 21-25, 15-11)

Starting out on Saturday, the Trappers took on a strong hitting Artichoke (4-2) team, the No. 17-ranked NJCAA Division II team.

“I wanted them to see really good, hard competition. Some fast paced volleyball and be able to figure things out,” Buck said. “That’s exactly what we saw. They [Scottsdale] are JUCO Division II, but if you’re in the top 20, I don’t really care what division you are, you’re very highly ranked.”

Close sets were the theme early, as the Artichokes inched ahead of the Trappers the first two frames, winning 25-23 and 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead.

Northwest responded with two strong hitting sets. The Trappers dominated the third set 25-15 and earned a close 25-21 fourth set win to force a decisive fifth set.

Scottsdale pushed just ahead of Northwest, recording a 15-11 win to take the victory and prevent the reverse sweep.

Scammon, Larsen and Mills had 11 kills each. Critchfield led with 23 assists while Martin added 20.

Summers led with 17 digs, Parker with 2.5 blocks (one solo) while Scammon paced the Trapper servers with seven aces.

PIMA CC 3, NORTHWEST 0

(25-18, 25-19, 25-17)

Ending the weekend against the host Aztecs (4-4), the Trappers hoped to end the weekend with a .500 record.

NWC came out hitting well, but the Aztecs hit stronger and Pima took the win, 25-18, 25-19, 25-17.

Parker led with nine kills, Critchfield had 17 assists ahead of Martin with 10.

Summers led with 10 digs, Eva Murray led with two blocks, one solo. Critchfield and Parker each had an ace.

“I feel like we learned a ton [over the weekend],” Buck said. “I keep saying, maybe we’re not as far down the road as I would like, but we’re on the right track. The lessons that we’re learning right now are being learned a lot sooner than we were learning them last year, so it’s very encouraging.”

FINAL ROAD TOURNAMENT

Northwest once again heads on the road this week — this time to Nebraska for the McCook Community College Labor Day Weekend Tournament.

“We’re just working on the little things … We just have a lot of little, bad habits that are costing us a few more points than they should,” Buck said. “We get better at those things by having it exposed in faster-paced volleyball, and that’s what’s happening. We didn’t have that luxury of having those weaknesses exposed early last year, but they’re being exposed. It’s not just me telling them — it’s them actually seeing it and learning it in real time and being able to adapt, which is exactly what I wanted out of the preseason.”

The Trappers start with a match against a Region IX South opponent in North Platte Community College (3-1) on Friday at 4 p.m. That will be followed by a contest with Iowa Western Community College (5-3) at 6 p.m.

On Saturday, the Trappers take on Butler Community College (2-4) at 9 a.m. before hosting McCook Community College (5-2), another Region IX South opponent, at 11 a.m.

This will be the final tournament on the road before the Trappers finally open their home campaign next weekend.

“I think it’s going to be another hard weekend where we’ll be able to battle some really good teams again,” Buck said.

NORTHWEST 3, HIGHLAND CC 1

(25-18, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22)

Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — Jaylin Mills 15, Torey Parker 14, McKinlee Scammon 11, Brakkin Larsen 5, Saige Kidd 5, Jaylie Critchfield 1, Eva Murray 1, Piper Martin 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 23, Piper Martin 17, Ellee Summers 10, McKinlee Scammon 4, Torey Parker 4, Nevaeh Bell 2

Digs — Ellee Summers 18, Jaylie Critchfield 11, Piper Martin 6, Nevaeh Bell 5, Jaylin Mills 5, Brakkin Larsen 3, Lindsey Talfili 3, Lexie Snyder 1

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

Aces — Jaylie Critchfield 3, Piper Martin 3

GLENDALE CC 3, NORTHWEST 0

(25-17, 25-17, 25-19)

Kills — Brakkin Larsen 6, Torey Parker 6, Natalee Hayder 5, McKinlee Scammon 5, Saige Kidd 2, Chaney Reish 2, Eva Murray 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 15, Piper Martin 12

Digs — Ellee Summers 12, McKinlee Scammon 8, Jaylie Critchfield 6, Nevaeh Bell 6, Piper Martin 5, Elayna Burrell 4, Torey Parker 3, Natalee Hayder 2, Jaylin Mills 2, Chaney Reish 1

Blocks — Torey Parker 2 (1), Saige Kidd 1.5 (1), Eva Murray .5, Brakkin Larsen .5, Chaney Reish .5

Aces — Ellee Summers 1, Elayna Burrell 1

SCOTTSDALE CC 3, NORTHWEST 2

(25-23, 25-21, 15-25, 21-25, 15-11)

Kills — McKinlee Scammon 11, Brakkin Larsen 11, Jaylin Mills 11, Torey Parker 8, Chaney Reish 4, Jaylie Critchfield 3, Saige Kidd 3, Piper Martin 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 23, Piper Martin 20, Ellee Summers 1, McKinlee Scammon 1, Torey Parker 1

Digs — Ellee Summers 17, McKinlee Scammon 9, Jaylie Critchfield 8, Jaylin Mills 8, Torey Parker 7, Piper Martin 6, Saige Kidd 3, Nevaeh Bell 3, Maddie Mills 2

Blocks — Torey Parker 2.5 (1), Brakkin Larsen 1.5, Saige Kidd 1.5, Chaney Reish 1.5, Jaylin Mills .5

Aces — McKinlee Scammon 7, Ellee Summers 4, Jaylie Critchfield 3, Torey Parker 2, Jaylin Mills 2, Nevaeh Bell 1

PIMA CC 3, NORTHWEST 0

(25-18, 25-19, 25-17)

Kills — Torey Parker 9, McKinlee Scammon 5, Jaylin Mills 5, Chaney Reish 5, Eva Murray 4, Lexie Snyder 2, Lindsey Talfili 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 17, Piper Martin 10, McKinlee Scammon 1, Torey Parker 1

Digs — Ellee Summers 10, Piper Martin 8, McKinlee Scammon 6, Jaylie Critchfield 4, Torey Parker 4, Lindsey Talfili 2, Lundyn Murray 2, Eva Murray 1, Chaney Reish 1

Blocks — Eva Murray 2 (1), Lindsey Talfili 1.5, Torey Parker 1, Chaney Reish .5

Aces — Jaylie Critchfield 1, Torey Parker 1