North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights Volleyball team will open up their regular season by travelling to Sterling, Colo., to play the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen on Wednesday, Aug 24 at 7 p.m. CDT.

The contest will be the first match for both schools.

Second year coach Alexa McCall, formerly Alexa Hopping, hopes to improve on the 15-23 record from the 2015 season.

McCall said, “We are excited to start competing! I think NJC will be a quality team that we will have to work hard to beat. We need to take care of what is happening on our side of the net. This will also be a good gauge for us as we go in to the Subway tournament this weekend.”

The Lady Knights return six players including All-Region IX Division II player Jessica Lovitt, from Mullen, and All-Region IX Division II Tournament player Megan Chintala, from Fleming, Colo. Other sophomores returning are: MaKenna Ketter, from Imperial; Shelby Wolever, from Brush, Colo.; Ashley Starr, from Tryon; and Josie Palmer, from Brady.

Ketter was second in kills last season with 361, and Lovitt was third with 219 kills. Wolever had 994 set assists to lead the 2015 Lady Knights. Chintala had 673 digs during the 2015 season, which led the team.

Seven freshmen join the Lady Knights this season. Mikenna Curlee, from Peetz, Colo.; Antonya Schaffert, from Otis, Colo.; Jessica Eckhout, from Amherst; Brooklyn Krehmeyer, from Weldona, Colo.; Madi Gilg, from Gothenburg; Cheyanne Kuhlman, from Imperial; and Aly Camacho, from Scottsbluff.

The Plainswomen return five from the 2015 campaign which finished at 26-17 and runner-up in Region IX South to Western Nebraska Community College.
Outside hitter Emily Luke saw significant playing time appearing in 38 matches and recording 175 kills.

The match will be live streamed by Northeastern. Streaming information for the match can be found at www.npccknights.com.