By RANGER ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s volleyball team was defeated by Ouachita Baptist University by a final score of 3-0 on Oct. 21.
The game was at Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The first set started off with neither team establishing a big lead until the Tigers went on a five point run and opened up a 15-9 lead. The Tigers continued to build on their lead, extending it to as much as 11 points, but the Rangers came roaring back late in the set. At the 20-9 mark the Rangers gained some momentum and went on a roll to make the score 24-23 before the Tigers eventually scored the final point of the set.
After a comeback that came up just short in the first set, Northwestern couldn’t manage to pull ahead of the Tigers in the second set. The Rangers took a small lead at multiple points throughout the set, but the Tigers scored the final four points in the set to win 25-20.
The Rangers found it difficult to slow down the Tigers attack throughout the third and final set of action. The Tigers jumped out to an early lead and kept the Rangers at a comfortable distance, defeating them 25-19.
Some key players in the game were Natalie Fahey, a senior; Hannah Williams, a sophomore; Cassidy Hackett, a sophomore, and Jennifer Eubanks, a freshman. Fahey and Williams led the way for the Rangers with eight kills apiece. Hackett put in a solid effort throughout the match with 12 assists and seven digs. Eubanks had a season high of 0.462 hitting percentage.
On Oct. 22 the Ranger’s volleyball team competed against Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The Rangers took another loss with a final score of 3-1.
Henderson State jumped out to an 11-6 lead early in the set, but the Rangers answered the early attack with a run of their own to bring the score evened up at 11-11. The match went back and forth until the end when the Aggies went on a 4-1 set to win the set 25-21.
The second set was one to forget for the Rangers as the Reddies capitalized on a 13-3 run and defeated the Rangers 25-11. The black-and-red would hang tough however and play their best set of the weekend in the third set of action. An efficient offense and a few Reddie mistakes allowed the Rangers to jump out to 17-11 lead, and finished Henderson State off with ease, 25-20.
Early in the fourth set it looked as if a Ranger comeback would be impossible after the home team jumped out to a 15-7 lead. However, the Rangers wouldn’t go down without a fight as they chipped away at the Reddie lead, first with a 6-1 stretch of points to bring the differential within three, and then a 7-3 run to get within one point of Henderson State. However, Northwestern committed two costly errors late in the set to allow the Henderson State victory.
Key players of this game were Hannah Williams, a sophomore; Kiauna Clark, a freshman, and Carley Geer, a junior. Williams led the way for the Rangers with 10 kills. Clark filled up the statistic sheet with 26 assists as well as seven digs. Geer had 17 digs for the Ranger’s defense.
The Rangers will return to action on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. against Southern Nazarene in Bethany.