By Oaklee Fielder, Sports Editor
The Lady Ranger volleyball team went 2-1 this last week, losing to Southern Arkansas 3-0 and defeating Arkansas at Monticello 3-1 and McPherson College 3-0.
The wins against Arkansas at Monticello and McPherson are the first back-to-back wins of the year for the Lady Rangers.
The first set against Southern Arkansas was incredibly close. It ended 24-26, as teams must win by two. The second set was not as close. Southern Arkansas won 10-25, a large deficit.
The Lady Rangers gave it another charge in the third set, tying it at 24. Southern Arkansas scored two straight and won the set 24-26, and the match 0-3.
After seven straight losses, the Lady Rangers traveled to Monticello to play against the Cotton Blossoms.
The two teams battled hard in the first set, but the Lady Rangers found a rhythm and scored five straight points to take a large lead. The Lady Rangers kept the momentum rolling and won the first set 25-17.
To start the second set, Northwestern scored eight points versus Monticello’s one. With that lead, the Lady Rangers very well sealed their victory; they just had to keep pushing on. The Lady Rangers won the second set 25-15.
The Lady Rangers fumbled the third set, as they let the Cotton Blossoms get the upper hand early.
NWOSU scored the first point of the set, and Monticello responded with 10 straight points. Monticello didn’t look back, although they did let Northwestern catch up a bit, and they won the third set 25-15.
The fourth set was an incredibly tough fight between the two teams. They battled hard, not letting the other get just two points away from them. Inevitably, one team would find a winning point in the game.
Northwestern scored four straight to be four points up on the Cotton Blossoms late in the game, 22-18.
Monticello fought back, but there was not enough time for a comeback.
The boost in confidence was seen against McPherson. The Lady Rangers outscored McPherson 15-25 in the first set, giving them a large lead in momentum.
The second set was closer, but the Lady Rangers pulled through and won the second set 20-25.
The third set ended 21-25, but the Lady Rangers were able to win the final set, and shut out McPherson College.