HAYS, Kan.– Northwestern Oklahoma State University swept the first day of the Tiger Classic. The Black-and-Red now have a record of 4-3 and continue to show that they should be a team to be talked about.
Northwestern showed incredible fight in their first two matches of the weekend as both games went to five sets. Their rematch against Newman was a similar showing to their first match as both teams went point-for-point throughout most of the match [25-19, 20-25, 18-25, 25-16, 15-12]. The Rangers took the first two sets of their second match against Western Colorado and then lost the next two before finishing it in the fifth [25-21. 25-23, 17-25, 18-25, 15-10].
Kaydee Honeycutt had a weekend with a team leading 29 kills on the day with 40 digs of her own.
Jennifer Eubanks was not far behind with 24 kills with a hitting percentage of .450 in match one and .438 in match two while also earning a team leading 14 blocks and one service ace.
Kiauna Clark had 19 kills of her own with three service aces.
Kaitlyn Robinson lead the team with 66 assists and three aces while
Sydnee Miller had three aces of her own and a team leading 49 digs on the day.
Game 1: Newman University
The Rangers had a rematch on their hands with just recently playing Newman last Tuesday and the match going to four sets. Each team was able to see the other's strengths and weaknesses and with a rematch so soon the Jets wanted the win. There were an incredible 37 ties and 15 lead changes throughout the match showing how close the game was.
The first set was a back and forth battle until the end with no large runs between either team until the end of the game. Four kills by Eubanks allowed the Rangers to push ahead in the last half of the match with a 5-1 run to secure the set 25-19.
The second set was very similar to the first with both teams fighting to keep the lead. The Jets take the only large lead of the game going up 21-16 but the Rangers weren't done yet. A kill by Honeycutt got the Rangers to within four but could not hold on and Newman took the second set 25-20.
The Jets, riding their set win, pulled out to an early lead with a score of 14-6. Newman took advantage of some Northwestern miscues throughout the set that allowed them to keep the lead for most of the game.
The roles changed in the end of the set as the Rangers started to take advantage of some Newman errors as Honeycutt also continued to earn kills to come back 20-18. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and NU took the third set with a 5-0 point run. The final set score was 25-18.
The Rangers came screaming back the fourth set as they refused to back down. Northwestern took an incredible lead through the middle half of the game 19-11 with the help of Clark and Honeycutt who had four kills each. A final blow from Eubanks secured the fourth set for the Black-and-Red with a score of 25-16
The Rangers rode their momentum into the fifth tie-breaking set. They received kills from five different players with two kills each to secure their win. Northwestern took the lead 13-12 and never let up with back-to-back kills from Eubanks and a final kill from Robinson to win 15-12 which took the match.
Game 2: Western Colorado University
Colorado Western was another five-set battle for the Rangers but only had seven tie scores and one lead change. Once a team took charge it was hard stopping either one.
The Rangers had a back-and-forth battle with Western Colorado as well but took the lead early and hung onto it even through all the battling that the Mountaineers brought to the table. Eubanks led the set with four kills to prevent Newman from taking the lead and Northwestern took the first set 25-21.
The second set was like the first as Northwestern took the lead and never let go. Eubanks had another amazing set with six kills. Honeycutt was not far behind with four of her own. Even as WCU fought back, the Black-and-Red stayed just out of reach and took the second set 25-23.
The Mountaineers answered with a 6-1 run in the beginning of the third set and continued to dominate the rest of the set. Even with five kills by Honeycutt the Rangers couldn't catch-up and Western Colorado took the third with a score of 25-17.
WCU rode their momentum from the last set into the fourth again pulling out to an early 7-3 lead. Two kills at the end of the match from Clark weren't enough and the Mountaineers took the fourth set 25-18 and tied the match 2-2.
The Rangers dominated their second tie-breaker match of the day as they started with back-to-back kills from Eubanks. Those first two kills rallied the Black-and-Red into a frenzy as they held the lead and never let go. Honeycutt had the last two Northwestern points of the set to finish the game 15-10.
The Rangers will move on to a record of 4-3 and are scheduled to play Chadron State College on day two of the Tiger Classic in Hays, Kan. At 9:00 a.m.
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