Pittsburg, Kansas- The Northwestern Oklahoma State Volleyball team returned to action on Friday morning to open the Pittsburg State tournament with two matches. In the first one, the Rangers fell 3-0 to Pittsburg State and 3-1 in the second match to St. Mary's. 

Match 1: 

In the opening match of the day, the Rangers were led by Addison Wimmer in kills with 16, followed by Kaydee Honeycutt with eight. Carmen Jones with three blocks and Austyn Pine with two were the Rangers blocks leader. Abby Davis led the team in assists with 18, and Tarra Parks led in digs with 14. 

Set 1: 

The opening set proved to be good as teams would trade points to begin the set with a 3-3 tie. That streak would continue as a kill from Wimmer would even the score at six. Pittsburg State would try to pull away with a 6-1 run with the one point a kill from Jones, but the home team opened a 13-8 lead. Northwestern responded with five of the following six points with kills from Jones and Madison Dehlinger. Rangers would climb back to even the score at 18-18 following a 3-0 run with two kills from Wimmer. Northwestern would use a 4-0 run to take a 24-23 lead led by kills from Honeycutt and Dehlinger. However, Pitt State responded with a 3-0 run to win the opening set 26-24 over the Rangers following a timeout. 

Set 2:

In the second set, the home team started fast with five of the first six points of the set. After Pitt State would take an 8-4 lead, the Rangers would tie the set back at 8-8 with four straight points on three straight Honeycutt serves and kills from Wimmer. After the Rangers took a 10-9 lead over the home team, they would respond with a 5-0 run to open a 14-10 lead over the Rangers. Northwestern would get as close as one point with a 17-16 deficit and a 23-24 losing following four consecutive points. However, the home team would close the set with a 25-23 victory and a 2-0 match lead. 

Set 3: 

The final set of the match went to Pittsburgh stay, winning the match 3-0. They would open the third set with a 6-2 run. Two straight kills from Honeycutt and a kill from Jessica Thompson would push the Rangers back within one. However, a 6-0 scoring run for Pittsburg State would open a 13-6 lead. Northwestern would keep it as close as seven before Pittsburgh State would hold onto win the set at 25-18. 

Match 2: 

Addison Wimmer led the Rangers with 22 kills, followed by Kaydee Honeycutt with 18 in the match. Carmen Jones and Ravyn Burns led the team in blocks with three and two, respectively. Abby Davis led the team in assists with 31 on the afternoon. Maggie Peterson led the team in digs with 16. 

Set 1:

In the opening set of the match, neither team could find any type of rhythm to start as the game was tied 4-4 after trading points to open the set on a kill by Jones. St. Mary's tried to open a large lead rattling off the next three points of the match to take a 7-4 lead. They would build their largest lead of the set at 11-7 before the Rangers would answer with three straight following serves from Tarra Parks. Northwestern would regain the lead at 13-12 on a service ace from Maggie Peterson. Honeycutt would tie the set at 18-18 before St Mary's took a 22-19 lead. The Rangers thought they would answer with seven consecutive points for a 7-0 run to win the opening set following four straight kills from Wimmer and then a serve from Parks leading to an attack error. The Rangers won the opening set 25-22. 

Set 2: 

Following the Rangers' set one win, St. Mary's would open with the first two points of the next one before the Rangers would tie it at two. SMU would then take four of the following five points of the set to open a four-point lead. The Rangers would get back to 10-8 following a kill from Honeycutt, but SMU would keep answering. St. Mary's would build a 19-14 lead over the Rangers as Northwestern would cut the deficit to four on multiple different occasions, but SMU would hold on to even the match following a 25-18 set victory. 

Set: 3 

The match tied at one St. Mary's would jump out to a quick start in the third set with the first five points to build a 5-0 lead. A kill by Honeycutt would end the run and lead to the Rangers taking four of the next five points. St. Mary's would extend their lead to six at 13-7 following two consecutive points. SMU would continue to hold that lead, building a 20-13 lead before closing the set out at 25-17. 

Set 4: 

Northwestern would open set four with two straight points looking to extend the match. However, St. Mary's answered with four straight points. Followed by kills by Abby Davis and Addison Wimmer to even the setback at four. St. Mary's, though, would answer, scoring six of the following eight points to open a 10-5 lead. They would keep the lead at five for a while before extending their lead to 20-11. Rangers would go on a 3-0 started by a kill from Wimmer before St. Marys would win the set and the match with a 25-18 score and a match win of 3-1. 

The Rangers volleyball team will be back in action on Saturday at 12:30 PM as they continue the tournament at Pittsburg State. 

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