By RANGERS ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
The Northwestern volleyball team walked away from the MIAA Great American Conference Challenge this past weekend with their first victory of the season. The Rangers had lost 11 games prior to the first win against Southwest Baptist on the first day of the tournament.
Natalie Fahey led the rangers with an impressive hitting performance tallying 16 kills while recording a team high .444 hitting percentage against the Bearcats. Not to be outdone by Fahey, Jennifer Eubanks pitched in 16 kills of her own to the Ranger offensive attack. Carley Geer provided the spark on the defensive side for the Rangers with 23 digs.
The Rangers first set victory didn’t come without a test, having to come back from a 20-14 deficit to win their first set of the tournament 28-26.
The second set was all Northwestern. The Rangers got out to an 11-3 lead that saw five different players record a kill. The Rangers never looked back from that start, riding the momentum to a 25-19 victory.
The third set, however, would prove to be trouble for the Rangers. Northwestern struggled all throughout the set with attack errors plaguing the offensive attack. The Rangers would wind up dropping the set to the Bearcats 25-21
Northwestern was able to close it out in the fourth set, but not without a fight. The Rangers held a 22 to 18 lead late in the set but the Bearcats rallied back four straight points. The two teams went back and forth from there, but three straight Northwestern points from Fahey and Eubanks sealed the set and the match for the Rangers with a final set score of 28-26 and match score of 3-1.
The Rangers will be in action next on Thursday at 7 p.m. as they look to avenge their conference tournament loss against rival Southwestern Oklahoma State at Weatherford.