North Newton, Kansas - Northwestern Oklahoma State's volleyball team traveled to Jackson, Tennessee to compete in the Union University tournament. Due to a team dropping out, Northwestern played two games on Friday only. The team swept Christian Brothers in the first match 3-0. In the second match, against the home team, Union University, the Rangers dropped the match 3-0.
Game One:
In game one of the tournament The Rangers swept The Buccaneers 3-0. Both teams had a strong start to each set, but Northwestern exhibited strong defense paired with smart offensive plays to execute the win. Sophomore Addison Wimmer led the team in kills with 14. Junior Cameron Lobb led in assists with 32. Freshman Andrea Coady collected 15 digs for the team.
Set One:
The Rangers started out strong with kills from Addison Wimmer and Courtney Russell. Tarra Parks contributed another kill to keep the Rangers ahead 4-3. Ravyn Burns contributed another couple of kills to extend Northwestern's lead to 9-6. Off the bench, Brooke Miller fired off an ace serve to keep the momentum with Northwestern and furthering the Ranger lead 15-7. Christian Brothers responded with a 4-0 run to close the gap and force Northwestern into a timeout. Wimmer ended their run with a kill shot. Carmae Jones contributed a middle kill to continue the Ranger lead 17-12. The Buccaneers responded with a late 3-0 run to close the gap. Nonetheless, kills from Jones and Burns clinched the Ranger victory 25-21 to take the opening set.
Set Two:
Both teams struggled to take the lead battling point for point at the start of the set. Wimmer contributed a service ace, while Parks contributed a kill to keep the teams neck and neck at 5-5. Russell fired off a line shot kill. The Christian Brothers responded with back to back blocks taking the lead 8-6 and forcing Northwestern into a timeout. Out of the timeout, Ravyn Burns started to heat up with a deep corner kill and solo block. Wimmer fired off an untouchable line shot to push Northwestern's momentum forward 13-11. The Rangers continued to run, pushing the Buccaneers out of system with tough serves from Wimmer extending their lead 16-12. Burns contributed a deep middle cross shot. Parks battled through a tough block for a kill and added back to back aces to propel her team to victory 25-15.
Set Three:
The Buccaneers came out fighting in the third set stringing together a 4-0 and 3-0 run to lead and force Northwestern into an early timeout 7-4. Out of the timeout, Russell responded with a perfectly executed tip behind the block. Parks contributed an off the block kill and Burns and Lobb closed a block to leave Northwestern trailing by one 8-7. A missed serve from the Christian Brothers and a kill from Wimmer kept both teams in the battle. Russell and Jones each contributed a solo block to leave the Rangers still trailing by one 12-11. A late 3-0 run from the Christian Brothers forced Northwestern into a timeout. Out of the timeout Parks fired off a cross shot kill and Burns contributed a deep corner tip kill to close the gap. The Buccaneers responded with an ace. Northwestern fought back with kills from Wimmer and a solo block from Jones forcing the Christian Brothers into a timeout and tying the game 19-19. Both teams fought back and forth struggling to win the third. Jones, Burns, and Russell closed two big back to back blocks to force the Buccaneers into a late timeout. Tough Ranger defense and smart offensive plays allowed Northwestern to come out on top 25-23.
Game Two:
In the final match of the day Northwestern faced off against the host team, Union University and after a tough battle was swept. Addison Wimmer led her team in kills with 17. Cameron Lobb led in assists with 28 and Coady led in digs with 13.
Set One:
The home team took an early lead against the Rangers with a tip kill and ace serve. They continued to run causing Northwestern to take a timeout at 6-2. The Rangers fought back, capitalizing on missed serves from the Bulldogs with kills from Tarra Parks and Addison Wimmer. An untouchable kill from Wimmer just beyond the 10 foot line added to Northwestern's momentum leaving them trailing 11-8. The Bulldogs fought back with a 3-0 run, causing Northwestern to take another timeout. Out of the timeout, a right side attack by Wimmer halted Union's run leaving Northwestern trailing 15-9. Union University continued theri run though, adding on an ace. Russell and Parks contributed a kill each. Union University took advantage of their home court and bested Northwestern 25-11.
Set Two:
Wimmer started the second set with a first ball deep corner kill. The Bulldogs responded with a 5-0 run to push Northwestern into a timeout at 6-1. Russell and Carmae Jones contributed a kill each to end Union's run and close the gap. Wimmer fired off back to back kills for the Rangers to close the gap further 8-8. Back to back kills from Parks allowed Northwestern to take the lead for the first time in the set 10-8. Cameron Lobb contributed a service ace to further Northwestern's lead and force Union into a timeout at 15-11. Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs responded with a kill. Wimmer and Russell contributed a kill each to keep Northwestern ahead 20-17. Union fought back with a kill. Wimmer fired off a kill and Brooke Miller contributed a service ace. The Bulldogs capitalized on a few Northwestern errors to tie the game 22-22. Both teams battled back and forth going point for point, extending beyond the normal 25 point cap. Wimmer and Parks contributed a kill each. Despite the fight by Northwestern, The Bulldogs clinched the set 31-29.
Set Three:
The Rangers started out with an early 2-0 lead over Union. The home team quickly responded with a 4-0 run to take the lead and force Northwestern into a timeout. A kill from Wimmer broke the Bulldogs run leaving the Rangers trailing 6-3. Lobb contributed another ace to close the gap. Back to back kills from Parks further closed the gap on the Bulldogs 12-9. Burns and Wimmer closed a block to keep the momentum on Northwestern's side. Wimmer contributed back to back kills to propel The Rangers pushed the momentum forward to tie the game 17-17. Union University responded with an ace serve. Wimmer fired off another kill. Both teams battled point for point to continue the tie at 21-21. Parks and Russell contributed a kill each. Back to back kills from Union secured their match victory though at 25-23.
The Ranger Volleyball team will have their home opener on the 2022 season to open conference play in Percefull Fieldhouse. They face off against Southern Nazarene Tuesday at 7:00 PM.
For the latest news and updates on NWOSU Volleyball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com.
