Ada, Okla.- Northwestern volleyball continued their road trip on Friday evening for game two of the five-game road trip. East Central used a strong second set comeback to help lead to a 3-1 match victory over the Rangers Friday.
Addison Wimmer led the Rangers with 15 kills on the evening, followed by Kaydee Honeycutt with 13 on the day. Ravyn Burns led the team with three blocks, Abigail Burns with 19 assists, and Abby Davis with 14. Wimmer led the team in digs with 11 for her eighth double-double of the season.
On Friday, history was made for senior Kaydee Honeycutt when she reached the 1,000 career kill mark during the third set. Honeycutt becomes the third Rangers player in history to reach the 1,000 career mark joining Jennifer Eubanks (1111) and Asia Pipkin (1102).
Set 1:
The opening set started strong for the Ranges opening the match with three straight points, including back-to-back kills from Ravyn Burns and Courtney Russell. The teams would trade 2-0 runs each before the Tigers would go on a 3-0 run to even the score. Northwestern would respond later in the set with a 3-0 run to regain the lead and take a 10-8 lead into an East Central timeout following a Wimmer kill, one of her eight in the opening set. After Northwestern would slowly start to pull away, the Tigers got back into the set with a 6-0 run bring the score even. A Honeycutt kill would not only stop the Tigers' run but start a 5-0 run for Northwestern to regain the lead once more in the set. Northwestern would close the set on a 4-1 run on back-to-back Wimmer kills followed by a Tigers error gave the Rangers a 25-23 set win.
Set 2:
The second set opened evenly with the two teams' trading point for point to as set two opened with the score even 3-3. The score would remain tied to 5-5 before a 3-0 run pushing a Rangers lead to 8-5 from Abby Davis and Wimmer kills. The Rangers followed two Tigers points with a 4-0 run to make their lead to 12-7 behind three Tiger errors and a kill from Wimmer. East Central then went on a 6-1 run to bring the fourth tie of the set, this one at 14-14. Northwestern answered back with three consecutive points to get their lead back to 17-14, but the Tigers went on a 5-0 run to regain the lead at 19-18 for the home team. The set would be locked at 20-20 for the sixth tie of set two before East Central would close the set on a 5-2 run to win 25-22.
Set 3:
After the Rangers took the first point of the set on a Honeycutt kill, the home team in the Tigers would respond with four straight points to take a 4-1 lead early in set three. The Tigers would continue to build their lead as it was pushed to 10-4 on back-to-back Tiger kills. East Central would continue on their run with a 5-0 run building a 16-7 lead in the third set. An attack error would end the Tigers' run as the Rangers tried to start a comeback. East Central however would answer with a 5-0 run before winning the set at 25-11 and taking a 2-1 match lead. Honeycutt will pick up her 1000th career kill during the third set on her seventh kill of the match.
Set 4:
Northwestern looking to force a fifth set, jumped out with the first point in the set on a kill from Russell before the two teams would battle trading points for three ties and lead changes in the first 10 points of the set, building a 5-5 tie. East Central would then go on a 4-0 run to take a lead that they would not let go in the set. Following two Ranger kills, one from Austyn Pine and Wimmer each, the Tigers would answer with a 5-0 run. The Tigers would then go on a 7-2 run to extend their lead. Rangers would rattle off two straight on a service error followed by a kill from Ravyn Burns. The Tigers ended the match on a 9-0 run to win the set 25-10 and the match 3-1 over the Rangers.
Northwestern will be back in action Tuesday evening on the road as they take on Oklahoma Christian. The Rangers will conclude their 5-game road trip next week on Thursday and Saturday in Arkadelphia against Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist.
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