ALVA, Okla. – Ranger standouts Jennifer Eubanks, Hannah Williams and Brooklyn Hessonn all notched 12 kills as the Northwestern Oklahoma State volleyball team took the first home match of the season inside of Percefull Fieldhouse, 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-20).

The sweep over Newman University (3-2, 0-0 Heartland) moves the Rangers to 5-0 on the season and eclipses their win total from last season. Head coach Jeremy White utilized multiple well-timed timeouts to keep the opposing squad guessing with the three-headed monster of Eubanks, Williams and Hesson on the offensive attack.

Eubanks converted 12-of-20 total attacks to post a season-high hitting percentage of .500. The Copperas Cove, Texas native accumulated 14 points while also chipping in on three blocks and one solo block.

Williams and Hesson both reached double digits in the dig category as well with 10 and 11 respectively.

Redshirt sophomore Kiauna Clark filled up the stat sheet with eight kills, 11 digs and 22 assists. Libero Carley Geer led the way with 18 digs for the defensive effort as well.

 The opening set opened with four unforced errors on the Rangers as the nerves of the opening home match took some time to wear off. Three kills from Eubanks netted the score back up after the home squad settled in at 11-11.

Those three were followed up by two more kills from Williams and Hesson as the Jets continually failed to find an answer for the varying attack. The four straight points forced a Newman timeout as the Rangers gained their first lead of the ball game at 13-11.

Both squads traded blows through the midway point of the game before a timeout by coach White with the Rangers down 21-19 set up the adjustments needed to go on a three-point streak late in the set to regain the lead 24-23. Back-to-back kills from Hesson and Williams put away the Jets in the opening set 26-24.

Northwestern got off to a much better start in the second set as both teams battled to a 10-8 score early in the set before opening up their largest lead thus afr of the match at the time, 17-12. Coach White once again called a timeout and made the necessary adjustments that subsequently led to four straight Ranger points, visibly rattling Newman.

Another run of three points catalyzed by kills from Williams and Clark evened the set up at 20-20. Eubanks then provided another highlight-reel kill to finish off a 4-0 run to take the second set 25-21.

Four separate errors for Northwestern allowed Newman to take the 9-4 advantage to open up the third set of action. The continued shaky play from the Black-and-Red led to a 14-7 deficit, their largest of the contest, still looking to find the rhythm needed to put away the Jets in sweeping fashion.

That rhythm finally seemed to flow as five straight points narrowed the Newman lead back down to 14-11. An 8-3 run from the Rangers forced a Newman timeout as the electricity inside Percefull Fieldhouse reached the highest it saw all night.

Northwestern kept the pressure on the Jets and closed out the third and final set of the match with a kill from Williams, 25-20.

Up Next
The Rangers will hit the road to Kearney, Neb. to compete in the New Victorian Inn and Suites/Runza Fall Classic hosted by the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Sep. 8-9. Matches for the Rangers are set to begin on 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday and 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday.