The North Platte Community College Lady Knights Volleyball team were defeated twice on day two of the Johnson County Invitational.  They lost to the Kirkwood Lady Eagles in the first match of the day 25-17, 25-23, 25-19, followed by a loss to the Parkland College Lady Cobras 25-15, 25-15, and 25-12.

The Lady Eagles were ranked 11^th in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Volleyball poll.

In the first set the Lady Knights started out sluggish and the Lady Eagles jumped out to an 11-3 lead. The Lady Knights cut the lead to five 11-6.  The Lady Eagles led throughout the first set.

In the second set, the Lady Knights started off with a 6-2 lead.  The Lady Eagles rallied back and took an 11-8 lead.  The Lady Knights countered and regained the lead 16-13.  The set was tied at 16 and both teams went back and forth until the Lady Eagles finished the set out.

The third set began something like the first with the Lady Eagles gaining a 6-3 lead.  The Lady Knights came back to tie the score at six.  The Lady Eagles went on a 9-3 run to lead 15-9.  The difference remained throughout the rest of the set to give Kirkwood the three set win.

MaKenna Ketter had 13 kills and Valerie Most had 10 to lead the Lady Knights.  Megan Chintala had 25 defensive digs and Shelby Wolever had 32 set assists to lead in those categories.

The opponent didn’t get any easier in the second match of the day.  The Lady Knights finished the tournament with the nation’s number one team Parkland College.

In the first set of the Parkland match, the Lady Cobras jumped out to a 10-7 lead. The Lady Knights could only get as close as one 15-14 before Parkland went on a 10-1 run to close out the set.

In the second set, the Lady Knights were able to take a 7-5 lead before the Lady Cobras took control of the set.

The third set saw the Lady Cobras begin with a 14-9 lead.  Parkland showed why they are number one by finishing off the Lady Knights by going on an 11-3 run to win the set 25-12.

Josie Palmer led the Lady Knights with nine kills and Jessica Lovitt had 4 assisted blocks.  Chintala had 10 defensive digs to lead North Platte.

The Lady Knights went 0-4 in the tournament.  All opponents were ranked nationally.

The Lady Knights (7-15) will return home on October 1 to face another rated team in number 20 Northeast Community College.  The game will be a “Pink Out” night.

The match can be heard on ESPN 1410 or on www.northplattepost.com.