The North Platte Community College Lady Knights Volleyball team lost two matches to ranked teams on day one of the Johnson County Community College Invitational.

In the first match of the day, the Lady Knights lost to the host and number three rated Johnson County Community College Lady Cavaliers 25-21, 25-10, 25-17.

In the first set the Lady Knights started out strong, jumping out to a 10-6 lead, The Lady Cavaliers rallied to tie the score at 15. The Lady Knights regained the lead 20-17. Johnson County went on a 8-2 run to finish out the set.

Set two was all Lady Cavaliers holding the Lady Knights to 10 points.

In the third set the Lady Cavaliers jumped out to a 12-6 lead and led 18-11 before winning by eight.

MaKenna Ketter led the Lady Knights with 13 kills. Valerie Most added eight and 15 defensive digs to pace the Lady Knights. Shelby Wolever had 25 set assists. Jessica Lovitt had three blocks to lead the Lady Knights.

In the second match of the day against the sixth ranked Des Moines Area Community College Lady Bears, the Lady Knights were competitive despite losing in three sets 25-21, 25-18, 25-19.

The first set, the Lady Bears jumped out to a 6-4 lead. The Lady Knights rallied to take the lead 10-9 behind the serving of Aryn Meisinger. With the score 12-10 in favor of North Platte, Des Moines, the Lady Bears went on a 7-2 run to retake the lead 17-14 and led for the remainder of the set.

The Lady Bears led the second set 8-3. Tracy Blake helped the Lady Knights with three service points to cut the lead to 16-14. With the score at 20-18 in favor of Des Moines, the Lady Bears scored the final five points of the set to win the second set.

In the third set. The Lady Knights trailed the Lady Bears 11-12 when the Lady Bears went on a 10-4 run to widen the margin to take a 21-15 lead. The Lady Knights cut the lead to 21-18, but the Lady Bears scored four of the next five points to take the set and the match.

Most had nine kills and Ketter added eight to lead the Lady Knights. Lovitt added six kills and had two blocks. Wolever had 27 set assists and Megan Chintala had 14 defensive digs to lead the Lady Knights.

The Lady Knights play the number one team in the nation, Parkland College at 9 am, and the 11th ranked Kirkwood Community College at 11 am to finish up the tournament.

Both games can be heard live on ESPN 1410 radio or on the internet at www.northplattepost.com.

The Lady Knights are now 7-13 on the season.