The North Platte Community College Lady Knights were defeated by the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen in three sets 25-16, 25-18, 25-13 on “Sophomore Night” at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.
The five sophomores honored were Anna Crane of North Platte, Valerie Most of Brady, Samantha Morgan of Iliff, Colo., Gabrielle Nickel of Amherst and Aryn Meisinger of Gothenburg.
The match started out with the Plainswomen taking a 7-3 lead. The Lady Knights cut the lead to 10-7. The Lady Plainsmen went on two four-point runs to close out the first set.
The Lady Knights recorded five kills in 21 attempts in the first set for a .048 kill efficiency.
In the second set, the Plainswomen jumped out to a 8-3 lead. The Lady Knights battled back to cut the Plainswomen lead to 18-14. Northeastern closed out the set with a 7-4 run.
In the third set, the Lady Knights led 5-4 when the Plainswomen went on a 11-3 run to take the lead 15-8. The Lady Knights were not able to control service and the Plainswomen finished out the match with a 10-5 run.
The Lady Knights drop to 13-19 on the season. They were led by MaKenna Ketter with eight kills. Jessica Lovitt and Most each had four kills. As a team, the Lady Knights had 22 kills on the night for a .106 kill efficiency.
Other category leaders for the Lady Knights were Most, who had 11 defensive digs, Shelby Wolever with 21 set assists and Lovitt, who had one stuff block.
The Plainswomen are now 20-14 on the season. They were led in kills by Anais Vargas with 11.
The Lady Knights travel to Fort Dodge, Iowa to compete in the Triton Invitational on October 23-24. They will play North Iowa Area Community College and Iowa Central Community College on Friday, the 23rd. On Saturday they will play Iowa Lakes Community College and Ellsworth Community College to close out the regular season.
The Lady Knights will host the National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Tournament on Oct 30-31.