By OAKLEE FIELDER
Sports Editor
Last week, the NWOSU volleyball team traveled to Rolla, Missouri, and played four teams.
They first played the Missouri Southern Lions, then the Missouri S&T Miners, the Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks, and the Christian Brothers University Buccaneers.
Match One, 0-3
The first match, against Missouri Southern, did not go very well for the Lady Rangers. They lost 3 sets to 0. Although they were shut out, the Lady Rangers were somewhat competitive in the first two sets. They had 19 in the first and 21 in the second. It seemed that they lost momentum in the third set and lost 14-25.
Ivanny Blackwood had nine kills in the match. Ece Ozdemir had five. Mikayla White and Jadyn Padilla had nine digs themselves.
Match Two, 3-0
The second match of the weekend, against Missouri S&T, went better for the Lady Rangers. They were able to defeat the Miners 3-0. The first set was intense, as the Miners were able to score 24 points to only lose by two points.
The second set wasn’t as close, as the Miners only lost by four points.
The third set wasn’t a competition. The Lady Rangers scored 25 and the Miners only 12.
Naya Danenburg had 12 kills, and Blackwood had 11. Ece Ozdemir had 11 digs, and Danenburg had 10.
Match Three, 0-3
The third match, against Minnesota State, Mankato, did not go the way they wanted. They were shut out for the second time of the weekend. This time, the games weren’t incredibly close. The first set was 25-22. The second set ended at 25-14. The third ended 25-16.
Blackwood had the most kills in the match with 7. Ozdemir was second with 6. Padilla had the most digs with 9, and Danenburg had 6.
Match Four, 2-3
The fourth and final match was incredibly competitive and came down to the final possible set. The Lady Rangers and the Buccaneers had a long, hard fight in this match. NWOSU took the first set, winning 25-13. The next set was taken by CBU 25-19. The Lady Rangers took the third 25-14. In the fourth, the Buccaneers won 25-20.
After trading four sets, the two teams headed to the fifth and final set. The two teams traded points a few times, with no team getting more than two points away from each other. It all came to the end, where the Buccaneers won 15-13.
Ozdemir led the Lady Rangers in kills as she had 17. Danenburg was just behind with 16. Ozdemir led NWOSU in digs as well with 19. Padilla was a close second with 18. White has a total of 52 assists in the match.
This week, the Lady Rangers will travel to Hays, Kansas, to face four more teams.
First is Augustana University, then Bethel College, Fort Hays State University, and then New Mexico Highlands University.
Then on Tuesday, they will be in Ada to face East Central University in the first conference game of the 2025 season.