By Logan Jones
Asst. Sports Editor
The Lady Rangers volleyball team opened the 2018 season with a bang, sweeping every opponent they played in the Oklahoma Panhandle State University Tournament.
On Friday, in their first match against the University of the Southwest, the Lady Rangers came out swinging, jumping to early leads in all three sets. Led by junior Jennifer Eubanks and freshman Kaydee Honeycutt, Northwestern won all three sets by the score of 25-14, 25-22 and 25-19 respectively.
Their second match against the University of St. Thomas was a little more of a nail biter.
St. Thomas had gone ahead with a 19-17 lead before the Lady Rangers rallied back, taking the lead and the set with the score of 25-23. The second set was more or less the same as both teams were neck and neck. That was until the Ranger offense opened up, allowing them to take the lead and the set, 25-18. Northwestern went on to win the final set of the day by the score of 25-17.
The Lady Rangers resumed play on Saturday when they took on the Univerity of Science and Arts (Oklahoma).
The red and black lost a close first set at 25-23, but then came back to dominate in the second, 25-16. They continued to overpower the USAO Drovers in the third set, winning with the score of 25-11. Brooklynn Hesson led the way for the Rangers in the fourth set, with three straight kills to give Northwestern the lead and ultimately the match. The final score was 25-15.
NWOSU finished up the tournament by taking on the hosts, Oklahoma Panhandle State.
The Lady Rangers continued to dominate like they had up to that point, sweeping the match in three sets with the scores 25-12, 25-12 and 25-9 respectively. As the Ranger volleyball team opens up its season with a 4-0 record, they look to keep the momentum going.
The Lady Rangers are back in action next weekend for a tournament in Pittsburg, Kansas.
They will open up against Cameron University on August 30, at 11:00 a.m. at the John Lance Arena.