The Northwest College volleyball team showed plenty of promise at the Garden City Community College Tournament in Kansas to begin the season. The Trappers defeated the hosts 3-1, and they also swept Trinidad State College and Pratt Community College before being swept by the NJCAA No. 8 ranked Snow College.

“Overall I was extremely happy with the weekend,” coach Nicole Buck said. “I kept saying it was a really enjoyable weekend, not just because we won a lot, but because it was just really fun to see the kids work through a lot and be challenged early. I just felt like they responded to every situation really well, so it was a weekend I’m very proud of.”

NORTHWEST 3, GARDEN CITY CC 1

(25-22, 17-25, 25-18, 25-22)

The Trappers (3-1) took on the host Broncbusters (1-3) to start the tournament.

Northwest got off to a winning start, as the Trappers defeated the Broncbusters 25-22 in the first set, recording 12 kills to only eight for the hosts.

In the second set Garden City responded, as the Broncbusters had their best hitting set of the day, recording 12 kills to only one error, while the Trappers had their worst hitting set of the day with the hosts taking the 25-17 win.

Northwest responded in the third, as the Trappers recorded 15 kills and a .314 hitting percentage, taking the 25-18 win.

Closing out the match the Trappers again had a strong hitting set with 14 kills, taking the narrow 25-22 win to finish with the 3-1 win.

McKinlee Scammon led with 15 kills and Brakkin Larsen added 10 as the two Trappers in double figures. Torey Parker added eight with a .667 hitting percentage.

“I honestly can’t think of a hitter that we had in the game that didn’t perform well at least at some point,” Buck said. “I can honestly highlight all of our hitters for different reasons, but McKinlee did a great job. She’s really just taken that year of experience, put it under her belt, and is really using it. Our team theme is ‘elevate’ and I would say that she’s been doing that in her physical abilities and just how hard she’s working.”

Jaylie Critchfield led with 21 assists and Piper Martin added 14.

Nevaeh Bell was the lone Trapper in double-figure digs as she had 15; Critchfield added nine.

Larsen led with two blocks as Parker added 1.5.

Critchfield led with four aces.

NORTHWEST 3, TRINIDAD STATE 0

(25-23, 25-16, 25-15)

The Trappers next took on a Region IX South opponent in the Trojans (1-3).

In a close first set, the Trappers just edged out a victory, as neither team had strong hitting with Northwest taking the 25-23 win.

Hitting continued to be a struggle for both teams in the second set, but Northwest, behind its strong serving, recorded a 25-16 win.

The Trappers closed out the day with a convincing third set win, recording 15 kills in the final frame to take the 25-15 win.

Scammon again led with eight kills, while Critchfield and Martin tied for the lead in assists with 11.

Ellee Summers led with 12 digs, Parker led with one block and Natalee Hayder led with five aces. Six different Trappers recorded at least two aces, as Northwest totaled 18 in the match.

NORTHWEST 3, PRATT CC 0

(25-22, 25-9, 25-18)

Taking on another team from Kansas on Saturday, the Trappers took on the Beavers (0-5).

The Trappers started slow, but pulled out the win 25-22.

Northwest responded in the second set by recording 12 kills and only one error, dominating with a 25-9 win.

In the third set a similar story followed, as the Trappers racked up 16 kills with only four errors, as they finished with a 25-18 win to complete the sweep.

Scammon led with 13 kills on a .579 hitting percentage, as Larsen added seven hitting .700 in the match.

Martin led with 16 assists just ahead of Critchfield with 14.

Summers led with 12 digs as Critchfield added 10.

Lexie Snyder led with a block and Critchfield had the lone ace in the match.

SNOW COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 0

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

Ending the weekend the Trappers took on their toughest competition in the Badgers (3-1).

In a fast-paced match the Trappers kept the score close throughout, but were unable to find a first set win in a 25-18 loss.

A similar story followed in the second and third sets as the Trappers fell 25-19 and 25-17.  Buck said there was plenty to learn in that match that they can take forward, and the team never once complained about taking on such a highly ranked opponent.

“I feel like I, as a coach, just learned about my team and their ability and willingness to respond in a really positive way to difficult situations. So that was a really cool thing to see and witness,” Buck said. “Some of these girls are coming from smaller high schools, and they have really good skills and abilities, but you just don’t learn how to play the fast game until you’re in the fast game. It was really fun to see them from even the beginning of the first set to the end of the third, how much they had improved in reacting to situations, getting balls up that they couldn’t even a few minutes prior, blocking some big hitters, and actually one of our servers got their best passer taken out of the game.”

Scammon led with seven kills, Critchfield led with 15 assists as Martin added 13, Summers led with 17 digs, Saige Kidd led with 2.5 blocks and Parker led with two aces.

ARIZONA TOURNAMENT

The Trappers continue on the road this weekend, making the longest trip of the season for the 4th Annual Aztec Classic Tournament in Tucson, Arizona.

Northwest starts with a match against Highland Community College (2-2) out of Illinois at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, before taking on Glendale Community College (0-2) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

The Trappers then take on Scottsdale Community College (2-2) at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday before ending with the hosts Pima Community College (2-4) at 7 p.m.

“We’ve seen a faster game, now I want to maintain it,” Buck said. “We saw the girls adjust and speed up the game while still maintaining power, and I just want to make sure that we continue building on that instead of sinking backwards a little bit. I’m just really excited and encouraged, it was a really fun weekend.”

NORTHWEST 3, GARDEN CITY CC 1

(25-22, 17-25, 25-18, 25-22)

Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — McKinlee Scammon 15, Brakkin Larsen 10, Torey Parker 8, Jaylin Mills 6, Saige Kidd 4, Linsey Talfili 2, Jaylie Critchfield 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 21, Piper Martin 14, Nevaeh Bell 3, Jaylin Mills 1

Digs — Nevaeh Bell 15, Jaylie Critchfield 9, Ellee Summers 6, McKinlee Scammon 4, Jaylin Mills 2, Brakkin Larsen 1

Blocks — Brakkin Larsen 2, Torey Parker 1.5, Eva Murray 1, Lindsey Talfili .5, Saige Kidd .5, Jaylin Mills .5

Aces — Jaylie Critchfield 4, McKinlee Scammon 1, Nevaeh Bell 1, Torey Parker 1, Jaylin Mills 1

NORTHWEST 3, TRINIDAD STATE 0

(25-23, 25-16, 25-15)

Kills — McKinlee Scammon 8, Brakkin Larsen 7, Torey Parker 6, Natalee Hayder 3, Chaney Reish 3, Saige Kidd 2, Lindsey Talfili 1, Piper Martin 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 11, Piper Martin 11, Ellee Summers 4, Torey Parker 1

Digs — Ellee Summers 12, McKinlee Scammon 5, Jaylie Critchfield 4, Nevaeh Bell 3, Natalee Hayder 1

Blocks — Torey Parker 1, Brakkin Larsen .5, Lindsey Talfili .5, Saige Kidd .5, Chaney Reish .5

Aces — Natalee Hayder 5, Ellee Summers 3, Torey Parker 3, Piper Martin 3, Jaylie Critchfield 2, McKinlee Scammon 2

NORTHWEST 3, PRATT CC 0

(25-22, 25-9, 25-18)

Kills — McKinlee Scammon 13, Brakkin Larsen 7, Lexie Snyder 6, Torey Parker 6, Jaylin Mills 5, Eva Murray 3, Chaney Reish 3

Assists — Piper Martin 16, Jaylie Critchfield 14, Ellee Summers 7

Digs — Ellee Summers 12, Jaylie Critchfield 10, McKinlee Scammon 8, Nevaeh Bell 5, Lexie Snyder 1, Jaylin Mills 1

Blocks — Lexie Snyder 1, Eva Murray .5, Brakkin Larsen .5, Torey Parker .5

Aces — Jaylie Critchfield 1

SNOW COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 0

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

Kills — McKinlee Scammon 7, Brakkin Larsen 6, Torey Parker 6, Chaney Reish 6, Jaylin Mills 4, Jaylie Critchfield 2, Saige Kidd 2

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 15, Piper Martin 13, Ellee Summers 2, Torey Parker 1

Digs — Ellee Summers 17, Piper Martin 9, McKinlee Scammon 7, Jaylie Critchfield 5, Jaylin Mills 5, Torey Parker 2, Brakkin Larsen 1, Saige Kidd 1

Blocks — Saige Kidd 2.5 (1), Chaney Reish 1.5, Jaylin Mills 1 (1)

Aces — Torey Parker 2, Jaylie Critchfield 1, Jaylin Mills 1