By Cade Kennedy, Sports Editor
This was not a column I expected to write, but after what I saw Tuesday, I have just two words to say: Thank you.
By simply showing up and supporting our team, we were able to create the largest crowd for a volleyball game since Sept. 26, 2019. On that day, 502 Northwestern fans showed up for the game against Southern Nazarene and cheered the team to victory.
On Tuesday, Northwestern fans showed up once again for a game against Southern Nazarene, and both the crowd and the Lady Rangers delivered.
No matter whom I talked to at the game, everyone had something to say about how many people showed up.
One person was Jon Bingesser, the head coach of the Lady Ranger volleyball team. He agreed that the crowd played a part in the game.
“The crowd was awesome,” Bingesser said. “You could feel the energy in the arena.”
As for the game itself, the Lady Rangers did exactly what they hoped to do and got a 3-0 sweep over the Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene.
The Lady Rangers took the first set, 26-24, and never looked back. The second set was another tight battle between the two teams, but the Lady Rangers pulled off another victory, 31-29. In the third set, the Lady Rangers finally had some breathing room and pulled away to win the set, 25-18.
Now that we have proven that we can show up for these games, the only thing we have left to do is consistently show up.
There is no reason to turn back now, as we have provided a great foundation from which we can continue to build fan support.
Another subject that I want to bring up is the student section, as I was happy with how they showed up and stayed loud throughout the game. They helped bring the energy to the game, and I am excited to see how they can continue to keep that energy this year.
If you did not go to the game, that is OK. There is always time for more people to support the Rangers.