Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 SAN ANGELO, Texas – Northwestern Oklahoma State University split the second day of the Kathleen Brasfield ASU Invitational. The Black-and-Red now have a record of 1-3 but have continued to improve through their first tournament of the 2019 season.
Northwestern earned their first win of the season in three sets, dominating the Cowgirls of New Mexico Highlands University [25-14, 25-23, 25-21]. The Ranger's third loss of the season came in their second game of the day to the host team Angelo State University [14-25, 13-25, 15-25].
Game 1: New Mexico Highlands University
The Rangers came out swinging in the first set of their 10 a.m. game against the Cowgirls as they jumped to an early lead and hung onto it for most of the game. The Black-and-Red showed off with 36 kills to NMHU's 24.
Kaydee Honeycutt led the way with 10, while
Kate Deterding (7),
Jennifer Eubanks (6) and
Kiauna Clark (6) weren't far behind.
Northwestern went on a six-point run to take the lead 8-2 and never let off the gas. They took the first set with a score of 25-14.
The Cowgirls refused to go down without a fight as the Rangers trailed for the first half of the second set. NMHU stayed just out of reach until Honeycutt stepped in with two kills to start a five-point rally. Northwestern took the lead 14-13.
New Mexico Highlands rebounded and battled back to tie the game 21-21 but a huge block by Eubanks and
Kaitlyn Robinson gave NWOSU a jolt and allowed them to snag the second set 25-23.
The third set started with an 8-2 Ranger rally which gave the Black-and-Red a hefty lead and all the momentum. Robinson set an amazing match for her team with 28 assists total, which helped NWOSU to a 22-16 lead.
The Cowgirls stole the momentum as they took advantage of a few Northwestern errors which closed the gap to 24-21, but an error of their own gave the Rangers the final set with a score of 25-21. The Black-and-Red took the match in three sets to earn their first win of the season.
Sydnee Miller also had an amazing game with 17 digs during the match while Honeycutt had 15.
Game 2: Angelo State University
Northwestern came into the first set going back-and-forth with the Belles. Angelo State started to pull away after a few errors and took the first set 14-25.
The Rangers struggled in the second set to find any rhythm. The Belles showed off their arms with an early 14-4 lead. Northwestern continued to push back with some kills from Eubanks, who led the team in kills with six. However, Angelo State stayed out of reach after a five-point run and finished the set 13-25.
The Black-and-Red refused to go down without a fight in the third set. Both teams traded points for most of the first half with some key kills by senior Eubanks, and freshmen
Jessica Thompson and
Sydney Carvajal.
Unfortunately, the Belles scored 12 points to the Rangers three allowing them to pull away in the second half of the third set. Back-to-back kills by freshman
Courtney Russell wasn't enough to change the momentum.
Angelo State took the third and final set with a score of 15-25.
Miller and Honeycutt led the team in digs with nine each for the match while Robinson led the team in assists with nine.
The Rangers will move on to a record of 1-3 and are headed to Percefull Fieldhouse for their home opener against Newman University on September 10, at 7:00 p.m. in Alva, Oklahoma.
For the latest news and updates on NWOSU Volleyball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com.
