Rallying from a 2-1 deficit on Friday, the Northwest College volleyball team earned a Region IX opening split, as the Trappers defeated Gillette College 3-2 on Friday before being swept by Casper College on Saturday.

NORTHWEST 3, GILLETTE 2

(25-19, 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10)

Back home after a brief road trip the Trappers (9-10 overall, 1-1 Region IX North) opened up Region IX action against the Pronghorns (11-7 overall, 0-2 Region IX North).

Northwest hit .250 in the first set with 13 total kills, pulling away for a 25-19 win.

Gillette responded in the second set, with a number of hitting errors committed by the Trappers leading to a narrow victory by the visitors 25-23.

In the third set the Trappers got back to hitting well, but the visitors once again pulled out a 25-23 victory and the hosts trailed 2-1.

Northwest did not panic.

“It was a big deal [to respond] because we had a goal this year to start conference off strong, so it wasn’t just about winning the game — it was about setting the right tone for regional play,” coach Nicole Buck said. “I was really proud of the way they handled it.”

The Trappers responded with a 25-20 fourth set win, and forced a deciding fifth set between the two squads.

Northwest put on a clinical fifth set, pulling away for a 15-10 win while only committing one hitting error to take the match 3-2.

“It was a big deal [getting the win]. Last year we had two conference wins … it was just a good sign of the work that we’ve been putting in, not just in recruiting, but work in training, being able to get a win off a team that we just couldn’t quite beat last year,” Buck said. “It just shows the improvement and that we’re heading in the direction that we’ve been trying to go. It’s just good to have that as a
measuring stick.”

Torey Parker led the Trappers with 17 kills, and tied for the team lead in blocks with 2.5 and aces with two, with Buck noting Parker’s consistency  being a nice spark for the Trappers offense.

“In a perfect world you spread out the offense and you can rely on everybody. It doesn’t always work that well. So when that’s not working when we were up against both Gillette and Casper with really good blockers, sometimes your outsides are just getting covered like crazy despite their best efforts,” Buck said. “It’s nice to have at least that one (attacker) that can find their way around and be the one that can find the points when the blockers are really keyed in on other people.”

McKinlee Scammon chipped in 10 as the other Trapper in double-figures for kills.

Jaylie Critchfield led with 31 assists and 19 digs, tying alongside Parker with two aces.

Maddie Mills added 24 assists, as Nevaeh Bell had 18 digs, McKinlee Scammon had 16, Jaylin Mills had 14 and Parker added 10.

CASPER COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 0

(26-24, 25-15, 25-23)

Welcoming in another conference opponent the Trappers took on the Thunderbirds (9-11 overall, 2-0 Region IX North) on Saturday.

The Trappers led in a close fight throughout the first set, but the Thunderbirds pulled out points late to take the opening set win 26-24.

“They’ve [Casper] been competing on the national stage, so we knew it was going to be tough, and we knew the expectations for us were pretty low. When we came in that first set and we’re fighting and we actually look up and see we have the lead. Then just to know that we barely lost it in the end, it was tough,” Buck said. “It was tough, and it was kind of like there was this ‘oh well, we couldn’t get it done then I wonder if we could do that again’ kind of mentality that we definitely lost that second set and that showed.”

Dealing with a difficult block the Trappers did not have a productive hitting percentage in the second, as the visitors won a comfortable set 25-15.

Northwest fought point-for-point against Casper in the third, as the Trappers again came up just short 25-23.

“I was proud of the girls for not allowing that mindset to stay and then making the third set another really close one just by sheer effort and incredible work ethic,” Buck said. “We had talked a lot before the game, we don’t have the same power they do, so we have to be creative. We have to find different shots. We have to mix up where we hit, and the girls did a great job of actually applying that.”

Scammon and Parker tied for the team lead in kills with eight, Critchfield led with 19 assists and 12 digs, Ellee Summers chipped in 10 digs alongside Jaylin who led with 1.5 blocks. Parker had the lone ace for Northwest.

“I told the girls, I don’t care if you were on the floor or on the bench. Our team got better playing a team like that because we saw the ball hit at us harder and faster. We saw bigger blocks. We had to figure it out,” Buck said. “We got better as a team, which was great and we can take that away. But I told the girls that I hope they took away some confidence from that. Hold your shoulders back and know we competed well with a very tough team.”

ROAD TRIP BEGINS

After the brief home weekend the Trappers now head on the road, spreading out five conference games over a two week span.

That starts with a trip southeast, heading to Torrington at 6 p.m. on Friday to take on Eastern Wyoming College (6-13 overall, 1-0 Region IX North).

“They’re very big, so it’s going to be very important to come out playing them the same way we did Casper,” Buck said.

Northwest then drops down to Cheyenne to take on Laramie County Community College (2-16 overall, 0-1 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The action doesn’t stop there, as the Trappers head to Riverton at 6 p.m. on Wednesday to take on Central Wyoming College (2-14 overall, 0-1 Region IX North).

NORTHWEST 3, GILLETTE 2

(25-19, 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10)

Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — Torey Parker 17, McKinlee Scammon 10, Brakkin Larsen 9, Saige Kidd 8, Jaylin Mills 8, Chaney Reish 7, Jaylie Critchfield 2, Lexie Snyder 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 31, Maddie Mills 24, Nevaeh Bell 2, Torey Parker 2, Ellee Summers 1, McKinlee Scammon 1

Digs — Jaylie Critchfield 19, Nevaeh Bell 18, McKinlee Scammon 16, Jaylin Mills 14, Torey Parker 10, Maddie Mills 9, Ellee Summers 7, Lexie Snyder 2, Brakkin Larsen 2, Saige Kidd 2

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

Aces — Jaylie Critchfield 2, Torey Parker 2, McKinlee Scammon 1, Maddie Mills 1, Nevaeh Bell 1, Jaylin Mills 1

CASPER COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 0

(26-24, 25-15, 25-23)

Kills — McKinlee Scammon 8, Torey Parker 8, Brakkin Larsen 7, Lexie Snyder 2, Jaylin Mills 2, Eva Murray 1, Saige Kidd 1, Chaney Reish 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 19, Maddie Mills 6, Torey Parker 2, McKinlee Scammon 1, Nevaeh Bell 1

Digs — Jaylie Critchfield 12, Ellee Summers 10, Jaylin Mills 10, Nevaeh Bell 8, McKinlee Scammon 4, Elayna Burrell 4, Torey Parker 2, Maddie Mills 1, Saige Kidd 1

Blocks — Jaylin Mills 1.5 (1), Saige Kidd .5, Torey Parker .5

Aces — Torey Parker 1