Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Game 1
The Northwestern Oklahoma State volleyball team kicked off their 2017 season in dominating fashion, completing the sweep of the University Of Science and Arts of Oklahoma 3-0 in the first game of the OPSU Tournament in Goodwell, Okla.

The Rangers posted a hitting percentage of .416 as a team while committing just eight attack errors throughout the contest. Head coach Jeremy White earned his first victory in his Ranger coaching debut.

The dynamic duo of Jennifer Eubanks and Hannah Williams began their 2017 campaigns in impressive fashion, with Eubanks providing the team with 13.5 points and Williams chipping in 12.5. Eubanks also led the squad with 12 kills while Williams was right behind her on the final stat sheet with 10.

Redshirt sophomore Kiauna Clark led the way with 23 assists while senior Carley Geer opened up her season with her usual consistent defensive effort with 11 total digs. Northwestern also took advantage of the Drovers struggling defense and executed seven service aces throughout the contest. 

The Rangers got off to an explosive start thanks to the combination of Williams and Eubanks, who combined for eight kills to lead the Rangers to a 12-6 lead early in the set, forcing a USAO timeout. Northwestern kept the pedal to the medal and extended their lead to 18-8 following a kill from senior Liz Dwyer.

Northwestern continued their consistent play and kept USAO at a safe difference in the scoring differential, and took the first set of the 2017 season in quality fashion, 25-15.

USAO opened up the second set with a 4-1 run before the Ranger offense got back on track and went on a 14-3 run of it's own. Three separate Rangers in Williams, Kaitlyn Robinson, and Clark each had service aces during the run as USAO continually struggled with controlling the serves from the Rangers.

The Black-and-Red continued their attack throughout the remainder of the set and allowed the opposing squad just five more points before taking the second set 25-12 to take the 2-0 advantage in the match.

With an opening season sweep in mind, the Rangers kept the pressure on and opened up a quick 10-4 lead in the third set thanks to two straight errors by USAO. The Ranger offense then took advantage of the mistakes by the opposing squad and ended the game on a 7-1 run and opened the season with their first victory of 2017.  

Game 2

GOODWELL, Okla.- The Rangers continued their solid play to open the 2017 season and took home their second sweep of the day, besting the host Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies on their home court 3-0.

The Rangers posted their second straight solid hitting percentage of the tournament with a .316 in the second match of the day. Eubanks led the way with 12 kills as the Rangers bested the Aggies in the kill category 37-to-24.

Junior college transfer Brooklynn Hesson and Williams provided eight and nine kills respectively as well as the Ranger continued their efficient offense throughout the match. Northwestern capitalized on 20 attack errors by the Aggies, while committing just 10 of them as a team.

Coming off of their impressive performance earlier in the day against USAO, the Rangers jumped out to an early 9-3 lead thanks to three early kills from the combination of Williams and Eubanks. However, the Aggies showed their grit and answered the Rangers early run with a run of their own and brought the Ranger lead back to just 9-7.

A few adjustments by coach White after the Aggie comeback sparked an 11-2 for the Black-and-Red, as Hesson got the squad rolling with three points throughout the run. A Panhandle timeout failed to slow the Rangers momentum, as four Aggie errors and a thunderous kill from Eubanks capped off the first set victory for Northwestern, 25-10.

After a dominating first set for the Rangers, both teams traded blows throughout the early stages of the second set, with neither team gaining more than a three point advantage until Hesson provided another key point to extend the Ranger lead to 21-17. The Aggies evened the tally back up at 22-22, but another key adjustment from coach White coming out of a timeout thrusted the Rangers ahead 25-23 for their fifth straight set victory of the tournament.

The red-hot Rangers got off to another good start in the third set with a 16-7 lead and never looked back as they finished off the second straight sweep of the tournament, 25-13.

Up Next
The Rangers will continue tournament play in Goodwell, Okla. with an early 9 a.m. start against Jarvis Christian College and then finish up play with a 3 p.m. match against Fort Lewis College.