NPCC Knights – Page 54 – North Platte Post Archive

NPCC Lady Knights Earn Region IX Division II Post-Season Honors

Posted on November 5, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights volleyball team had several players honored with Region IX Division II Awards following the Region IX Division II Volleyball Tournament this past weekend.

Sandrina Hallahan, Joli Hopping, Samantha Kennedy and Shannon Liewer were named to the All-Region IX Division II Team.

Sabrina Hallahan, Sandrina Hallahan and Joli Hopping were named to the All-Tournament Team for the Region IX Division II Volleyball Tournament.

Sandrina Hallahan was named to both the All-Region and All-Tournament Teams. Hallahan finished the season second on the team with 292 kills for the Lady Knights on a hitting percentage of .229. Hallahan also finished second on the team with 80 blocks. Hallahan had 34 kills in four games at the Region IX Division II Tournament to go along with seven blocks.

Joli Hopping was also named to both the All-Region and All-Tournament Teams. Hopping led the Lady Knight with 742 assists for an average of 5.3 per set. Hopping was also second on the team with 49 ace serves and third with 284 digs. Hopping had 51 assists in four games at the Region IX Division II Tournament to go along with 32 digs.

Samantha Kennedy was named to the All-Region Team after leading the Lady Knights in kills with 386 for an average 2.8 per set. Kennedy also led the Lady Knights with 101 blocks on the year.

Shannon Liewer was also named to the All-Region Team. Liewer led the Lady Knights in digs with 831 for an average of 5.9 per set. The next closest Lady Knight was 450 digs away with 381 digs on the year. Liewer also led the Lady Knights with 49 ace serves.

Sabrina Hallahan was named to the All-Tournament Team. Hallahan had 25 kills in four games at the Region IX Tournament and had 22 digs in a game against Southeast Community College.

Region IX Volleyball Division II Awards

2013

All-Region Team All-Tournament Team

North Platte Community College North Platte Community College

Sandrina Hallahan Sabrina Hallahan

Joli Hopping Sandrina Hallahan

Samantha Kennedy Joli Hopping

Shannon Liewer

Central Community College Central Community College

Megan Anderson Megan Anderson

Skyler Erickson Skyler Erickson

Morgan Heise Molly Gotschall

Brooke Robertson

Dawson Community College Dawson Community College

Amy Van Hienen Lindsey James

Southeast Community College Southeast Community College

Emily Schrempp Allison Triplette

Caitlin Wuebbels Caitlin Wuebbels

Sheila R. Worley Sportsmanship Award: Southeast Community College

Coach-of-the-Year: Mary Young, Central Community College

No. 25 NPCC Knights Defeat Doane University JV

Posted on November 2, 2013November 4, 2013

The No. 25 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (2-0) defeated Doane University JV 98-62 on Saturday afternoon. The Knights opened up the second half on an 18-0 run while keeping Doane scoreless for the first seven minutes and thirty seconds.

The Knights and Doane JV traded baskets most of the first half with the Knights gaining a lead only to have Doane JV respond to tie the game. The Doane JV took a two point lead with a minute left in the first half at 39-41. The Knights scored to tie the game then Xavier Hall stole the in bounds pass and converted the lay-up to take a 43-41 lead into the locker room.

In the second half the Knights defense stiffened up to extend their lead. The Knights only allowed 21 points in the second half to earn the victory over Doane JV.

The Knights had five players in double figures led by Ethan Montalvo with 12 points. Cameron Williams and Tre’Vaun Hymer each scored 11 points while Tim Simmons and Marco Pascolo each had 10. Pascolo led the Knights with five rebounds while Simmons led with 4 assists and Williams and Xavier Hall led with 3 steals apiece. Doane JV was led by Jake Wirthele with 22 points and Kyle Gaston with 14.

“It was a good win after a tough game last night,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler. “We played 15 guys and had 14 guys score. It was a good game to get a lot of guys minutes to see what they can do.”

The Knights remain on the road next weekend as they travel to Garden City, Kan. to compete in the Garden City Classic on November 8 and 9. The Knights will take on Seward County Community College on Friday and the hosts Garden City Community College on Saturday.

The Knights begin a home stand of five games on Tuesday November 12 as they take on the York College JV at 7 p.m. before hosting Midland University JV and Doane College JV on November 15 and 16.

No. 16 NPCC Lady Knights Fall to Fort Carson

Posted on November 2, 2013November 4, 2013

The No. 16 North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (1-1) fell to Fort Carson Saturday afternoon 64-58.

The Lady Knights started the game off strong as they would take a 39-27 lead into the locker room after they held Fort Carson to only 20.5 percent shooting. In the second half the Lady Knights would struggle to score as they only scored 19 points to Fort Carson’s 37. The Lady Knights shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half compared to 28.6 percent in the second half.

The Lady Knights were led by April Stull who finished with a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Stephanie Casteel and DaVontaye Merritt each scored nine points for the Lady Knights. Fort Carson was led by both Chuckie Jeffrie and Angela Goodman who each scored 21 points.

“It was a good test for us before we go to Norfolk next week,” said assistant coach Nolan Collins. “We need to work on putting two halves together.”

The Lady Knights return to action next weekend as they travel to Norfolk for the Hawks Classic where they will face Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa Lakes Community College on November 8 and 9. The Lady Knights next home game is November 19 at 5 p.m. as they host Northeast Community College.

NPCC Lady Knights End Season in Region IX Division II Championship

Posted on November 2, 2013November 4, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights volleyball team (22-15) ended their season on Saturday afternoon with a loss to the No. 14 Central Community College Lady Raiders (29-10) in three sets (17-25, 20-25, 22-25).

The Lady Knights again started out slow as they would lose the first set to the Lady Raiders 17-25. The Knights would play better in the second but still fell 20-25. In the third set the Lady Knights held an early lead but couldn’t capitalize to extend the match and fell 22-25.

Samantha Kennedy led the Lady Knights with 13 kills. Laura Beckman paced the Lady Knights with 15 assists and four ace serves. Joli Hopping had 13 assists. Shannon Liewer had 16 digs to lead the Lady Knights.

“We knew we had to play hard and make some breaks for ourselves to beat a very good Central team,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “We played better in the third but just couldn’t take the set to make things interesting. We played a tough schedule to prepare us for post-season play. We beat some very good teams throughout the year and lost to some nationally ranked teams. Regardless of the loss, I’m really proud of these girls. They fought to the last point.”

The Lady Knights finish the season with a winning record for the second straight season at 22-15. The year saw head coach Sally Thalken earn her 900^th career win and finish the season with 901 wins to remain the winning active coach in Division II. The Lady Knights will lose sophomores Laura Beckman of Julesburg, Colo., Sabrina and Sandrina Hallahan of Brush, Colo., Jacee Kershaw of Culbertson and Shannon Liewer of Imperial.

No. 16 NPCC Lady Knights Defeat Midland University JV

Posted on November 2, 2013

The No. 16 North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (1-0) started out their season strong as they defeated the Midland University JV 74-44.

The Lady Knights jumped on top of Midland early as they raced out to a 43-10 halftime lead and never looked back on their way to victory.

The Lady Knights were led by DaVontaye Merritt who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds. April Stull was in double figures with 12 along with Jordan Dickerson with 11 and Elisha Coleman 10. Shea Brennan and Emily Pfannensteil led Midland with 9 points apiece.

The Lady Knights return to the floor tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. against Fort Carson. The Hampton Inn Classic continues at 1 p.m. with Midland University JV facing Eastern Wyoming College.

No. 25 NPCC Knights Knock Off Hawks in Final Seconds

Posted on November 2, 2013

The No. 25 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (1-0) knocked off the Northeast Community College Hawks (0-1) in the final seconds Friday night on a lay-up by Cameron Williams.

The Knights started out the game strong as they raced out to an 8-0 lead before the Hawks would score back to back baskets to cut the lead in half. The game was close the rest of the half before a run before halftime gave the Knights an 11 point lead going in to the locker room, capped by a 3-point shot by Marco Pascolo just before the buzzer.

The Hawks would start the second half strong and chip away at the Knights lead. The Knights would hold the Hawks off from taking the lead until the final minute when Northeast would lead 66-65 with 32 seconds left. After two Knights timeouts, the Hawks would come out in a zone. Freshman Cameron Williams got the ball on the baseline and took it strong to the hoop to finish over a Hawks defender for the winning margin with two seconds remaining. A desperate shot from the Hawks would glance harmlessly off the backboard giving the Knights their first win of the season.

The Knights were led by freshman Marco Pascolo who finished with 15 points. Sophomores Ethan Montalvo and Tre’Vaun Hymer were also in double figures with 14 and 10 points respectively. Khapri Alston led the Hawks with 18 points.

“It was a game we found a way to win,” said head coach Kevin O’Connor. “We need to get better at several aspects of the game, but a good way to start the year.”

The Knights return to action tomorrow at 2 p.m. as they close out the McCook Community College Fall Classic against Doane University.

The Knights begin a home stand of five games on Tuesday November 12 as they take on the York College JV at 7 p.m. before hosting Midland University JV and Doane College JV on November 15 and 16.

NPCC Knights Split, Advance to Championship Round as No. 2 Seed

Posted on November 2, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights volleyball team (22-14) won one and lost one Friday in the Region IX Division II Tournament to advance to the championship round on Saturday against the #1 seed Central Community College. The Lady Knights opened the day by falling at the hands to the No. 14 Central Community College Lady Raiders in three sets (11-25, 14-25, 20-25) before bouncing back to defeat the Dawson Community College Lady Buccaneers in straight sets (25-12, 25-19, 25-16).

The round robin portion of the tournament ended with Central at 3-0, North Platte at 2-1, Southeast Community College at 1-2 and Dawson Community College at 0-3.

The Lady Knights compete for the Region IX Division Championship tomorrow at 1 p.m. against No. 14 Central Community College. By virtue of being the No. 1 seed, the Lady Raiders will have to be beaten by the Lady Knights twice tomorrow for the Lady Knights to emerge as champions. The winner will advance to the District G Playoff to compete for a berth in the National Division II Tournament.

In the night cap the Lady Knights started out strong and finished strong as they won the first set 25-12, the second set 25-19 and third set 25-16.

The Lady Knights were led by Sandrina Hallahan who finished with 13 kills while Sabrina Hallahan and Samantha Kennedy each finished with 10. Laura Beckman led the Lady Knights with both 21 assists and 13 digs.

“We needed to win in three!” said coach Thalken. “We needed to be confident and play aggressive. We needed to control the ball and not have the ball control us. We needed to control the net. We did. A big game tomorrow against Central!”

In the opening game of the day at 11 a.m. the Lady Knights started off slowly and dropped the first set to the Lady Raiders 11-25. Central capitalized on their momentum to take the second set as well 14-25. The Lady Knights led most of the third set before falling in the set and game to the Lady Raiders 20-25.

The Lady Knights were led by Sandrina Hallahan and Samantha Byrn who each finished with five kills. Shannon Liewer led the way in digs with 17 and Laura Beckman led the way in assists with 12. Joli Hopping finished with 11 digs and nine assists.

The Region IX Division II Championship game can be heard on ESPN Radio 1410 with the pregame show starting at 12:45.

Coach Thalken Earns Win 900, NPCC Lady Knights Open Region IX Division II with Win

Posted on October 31, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights volleyball team (21-13) helped head coach Sally Thalken earn the 900^th win in her career at North Platte on Thursday night as the Lady Knights knocked off host Southeast Community College (12-18) in four sets (20-25, 28-26, 25-14, 26-24) to open up the Region IX Division II Tournament. Central Community College defeated Dawson Community College in other Region IX Division II action.

The Lady Knights started off slow as they would drop the first set 20-25 to the Lady Storm. In the second set the Lady Storm continued their momentum from the opening set victory to an early lead before the Lady Knights stormed back to claim the second set and even the match. The Lady Knights would hold on to the momentum for the entire third set as they would cruise to a 25-14 victory. The fourth set was a hard fought battle before the Lady Knights were able to close the door on the Lady Storm and win the match 26.-24 after squandering a 24-21 lead.

The Lady Knights were led by Sandrina Hallahan who finished with 13 kills and four blocks. Samantha Kennedy also chipped in double figure kills, finishing with 11. Shannon Liewer and Sabrina Hallahan paced the Lady Knights in digs with 27 and 22 respectively. Joli Hopping led the way in assists with 21 while Laura Beckman was right behind with 17.

“That was a key game to win,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “Southeast is a good team and it was a great win for us. We played pretty flat in the first set then came from behind to save ourselves in the second. A big, big win in the second for us. We played with a ton of aggression and confidence in the third and almost let the fourth slip through our fingers.”

North Platte and Central end the day 1-0 while Southeast and Dawson end 0-1. The four teams play a round-robin with the top two teams advancing to a Championship game. Whoever emerges from the round-robin with the #1 seed will need to be beaten twice by the #2 seed to earn the Region IX Division II Tournament Title.

The Lady Knights return to action Friday morning as they play No. 14 Central Community College (25-10) at 11 a.m. The Lady Knights will conclude the round-robin portion of the tournament against Dawson Community College (6-25) at 7 p.m. Friday evening. Both games can be heard on ESPN Radio 1410 with Robert Lovell on the call.

Should the Lady Knights finish in the top two teams after the round-robin they will play on Saturday October 2 at 1 p.m. for the Region IX Championship with the No. 2 seed needing to win two games to capture the title. The winner will advance to the District G Playoff to compete for a berth in the National Division II Tournament.

No. 25 NPCC Knights Open Season Friday in McCook

Posted on October 30, 2013

The No. 25 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team opens up the season this Friday as they travel to McCook to compete in the McCook Community College Fall Classic.

The Knights are ranked 25th in the NJCAA pre-season rankings. The ranking marks the second time the Knights have been ranked in the pre-season joining the No. 16 ranking before the 2009-10 season.

The Knights open on Friday November 1 as they take on the Northeast Community College Hawks at 6 p.m. in McCook. The Knights return to actionon Saturday as they take on Doane College JV at 2 p.m. also in McCook.

The Knights are coming off a school-record 30 win season and Region IX Championship. The Knights return leading scorer and rebounder Ethan Montalvo (15.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg) who was named to the All-Region IX Second-Team, the All-Region IX Tournament Team and the All-NCCAA First-Team.

Tim Simmons (10.4 ppg), Jake Maslo (4.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg), Jimma Lew (1.2 ppg), Tre’Vaun Hymer (transfer from New Mexico Junior College at Christmas) and Marcus Linson (Redshirt) also return as sophomores for the Knights. Ten new freshmen join the Knights program for the 2013-14 season.

The Knights remain on the road the following week as they travel to Garden City, Kan. to compete in the Garden City Classic on November 8 and 9. The Knights will take on Seward County Community College on Friday and the hosts Garden City Community College on Saturday.

The Knights begin a home stand of five games on Tuesday November 12 as they take on the York College JV at 7 p.m. before hosting Midland University JV and Doane College JV on November 15 and 16.

No. 16 NPCC Lady Knights Host Hampton Inn Classic to Open Season

Posted on October 30, 2013October 30, 2013

The No. 16 North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team open up their season at home this Friday and Saturday as they host the Hampton Inn Classic November 1 and 2.

The Lady Knights are ranked 16th in the pre-season NJCAA Division II rankings. It marks the first ranking at any time in program history.

The Lady Knights will start their season Friday night as they host Midland University JV at 7:30 p.m. As part of the Hampton Inn Classic Eastern Wyoming College and Fort Carson will precede the Lady Knights opener as they play at 5:30 p.m.

The Hampton Inn Classic continues on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. as Midland University JV faces Eastern Wyoming College. The Lady Knights face Fort Carson at 3 p.m. to conclude the Hampton Inn Classic.

The Lady Knights look to defend their Region IX Division II championship and District F Playoff victory that earned them a spot in the NJCAA Division II National Championships. The Lady Knights look to improve on their 15-16 record from a year ago.

DaVontaye Merritt returns as the Lady Knight’s second leading scorer and rebounder at 12.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. The Lady Knights also return their third leading scorer Courtney Widick (9.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and assist leader and fifth leading scorer Jordan Dickerson (3.4 apg, 7.7 ppg). Samantha Hyatt (2.2 ppg) also returns for the Lady Knights. Nine new freshmen join the program for the 2013-14 season.

The Lady Knights return to action the following weekend as they travel to Norfolk for the Hawks Classic where they will face Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa Lakes Community College on November 8 and 9. The Lady Knights next home game is November 19 at 5 p.m. as they host Northeast Community College.