The North Platte Community College Lady Knights volleyball team (20-13) heads to Beatrice Thursday morning to begin play in the Region IX Division II Tournament. No. 14 Central Community College Lady Raiders (25-10), the Southeast Community College Lady Storm (12-17) and the Dawson Community College Lady Buccaneers (6-25) are competing for the Region IX Division II crown.

The four teams will 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.

On Thursday October 31 the Lady Knights will face host Southeast Community College at 7 p.m. to open the round-robin portion of the tournament. The Lady Knights have defeated the Lady Storm twice this season defeating Southeast in four sets on the road (27-29, 25-18, 25-19, 25-23) and five sets at home (24-26, 25-11, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13).

The Lady Knights return to action Friday morning as they play No. 14 Central Community College at 11 a.m. The Lady Knights have split with the Lady Raiders in their two meetings this season as they won at home in five (15-25, 28-26, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13) and lost on the road in three (16-25, 20-25, 21-25).

The Lady Knights will conclude the round-robin portion of the tournament as against Dawson Community College at 7 p.m. Friday evening. The Lady Knights have not faced the Lady Buccaneers yet this season.

North Platte’s matches on Friday 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 birth in the National Division II Tournament. The championship will also be heard on ESPN Radio 1410 if the Lady Knights are playing for the title.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights volleyball team (19-13) close out their regular season on Wednesday night as they travel to McCook to face the McCook Community College Lady Indians (1-32) at 7 p.m. The game’s theme is “Volley for the Cure” with a Pink Out to support the fight against Breast Cancer. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 1410.

The Lady Knights and Lady Indians faced off once already this season over a month ago. In the first meeting the Lady Knights emerged victorious in three sets (25-21, 25-12, 25-20). Samantha Kennedy and Samantha Byrn led the Lady Knights with seven kills apiece in the first contest.

The game brings added significance as it is a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference game. The current standings include a tie at first-place between North Platte and Central Community College with a 4-1 record. Both teams face McCook this week as Central hosts McCook this Friday. North Platte and Central split their two meetings their year and won on their home courts.

The Lady Knights will then head to the Region IX Division II Tournament in Beatrice to compete to extend their season. The Lady Knights will face host Southeast Community College on Thursday October 31 at 7 p.m. to open the round-robin portion of the tournament. The Lady Knights will then play #16 Central Community College at 11 a.m. on Friday November 1 and Dawson Community College at 7 p.m. After the round-robin has been completed the two teams with the best records will face off on Saturday November 2 at 1 p.m. for the Region IX Division II Tournament Title. The winner will advance to the District G Playoff to compete for a birth in the National Division II Tournament.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (19-13) volleyball team defeat the Northeast Community College Lady Hawks (14-18) on Friday night in straight sets (25-21, 25-21, 25-23). The win is head coach Sally Thalken’s 898^th career win, all at North Platte.

The Lady Knights started the evening out strong as they would outscore the Lady Hawks 25-21 to win the first set. The second set would be more of the same as the Lady Knights won by an identical score 25-21. The Lady Hawks would try to battle back but in the end the Lady Knights were too much as they would go on to take the set and game 25-23.

The Lady Knights would record 17 team blocks on the night and were led in that category by Sandrina Hallahan who had sex blocks. Samantha Kennedy led the way in kills with 19 and Shannon Liewer led the Lady Knights with 33 digs. Joli Hopping chipped in 25 assists and Laura Beckman had 14.

“We blocked!” said head coach Sally Thalken. “We finally blocked!! We kept our composure and tried to stay aggressive. It was a good win.”

The Lady Knights finish out their regular season next Wednesday as they travel to McCook to face the McCook Community College Lady Indians (1-31) at 7 p.m. The game with McCook will be broadcast live on ESPN 1410. The Lady Knights then head to the Region IX Division II Tournament in Beatrice on October 31 to compete to extend their season.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (18-13) volleyball team fell Thursday night at #16 Central Community College Lady Raiders (23-10) in straight sets (16-25, 20-25, 21-25).

The Lady Knights started out slow as they lost the first set to the Lady Raiders 16-25. In the second set North Platte would again come up short as they dropped the set 20-25. The third set saw the Lady Raiders shut the door on the Lady Knights comeback as they won the set and game 21-25.

Samantha Kennedy would pace the Lady Knights as she recorded 14 kills on the night. Shannon Liewer led North Platte with 21 digs while Joli Hopping led with 19 assists and two ace serves.

“We had another slow start,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “We struggled tonight to gain any momentum. We had a nice lead in the third set but couldn’t sustain the lead. We are looking forward to another opportunity to play tomorrow.”

The Lady Knights remain on the road for a game against the Northeast Community College Lady Hawks in Norfolk tomorrow at 6 p.m. before returning to campus. The Lady Knights finish out their regular season next Wednesday as they travel to McCook to face the McCook Community College Lady Indians (1-31). The game with McCook will be broadcast live on ESPN 1410. The Lady Knights then head to the Region IX Division II Tournament in Beatrice  on October 31 to compete to extend their season.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (18-12) volleyball team outlasted the Eastern Wyoming Lady Lancers (7-20) in five sets on Monday night (20-25, 25-15, 25-13, 23-25, 15-10). It was the Lady Knights fourth five set match in their last seven games after having four previously. The win is head coach Sally Thalken’s 897^th career win, all at North Platte.

The Lady Knights started out slow in the first set as they fell 20-25 to the Lady Lancers. North Platte would respond with very convincing second and third set victories to take a 2-1 lead after 25-15 and 25-13 victories. In the fourth set the Lady Knights were not able to close the door on the Lady Lancers and were defeated 23-25.

In the fifth and deciding set the Lady Knights would play aggressive and race out to an 8-3 lead as the teams would switch sides of the floor. The Lady Lancers would score the next two points to cut into the Lady Knights lead but were unable to get any closer. North Platte would hold its largest lead of the fifth set at 14-8 and after two points by the Lady Lancers were able to earn the fifth set and game victory with a service error by Eastern Wyoming.

Samantha Kennedy would have a strong performance as she finished with a season high 21 kills and three blocks. Sandrina Hallahan would also finish in double figures with 11 kills. Shannon Liewer would lead the Lady Knights in digs as she finished with 26. Joli Hopping (23) and Laura Beckman (18) would be the leading assist women.

“Our kids played hard tonight,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “We really needed this win! It was a tough first set but we rebounded nicely in the second and third set and played with a lot of confidence. We played aggressive in the fifth set to get the victory!”

The Lady Knights remain on the road the rest of the season and travel to Columbus on Thursday October 17 to face the Central Community College Lady Raiders at 7 p.m. The Lady Knights defeated the Lady Raiders earlier this year at home in five sets when the Lady Raiders were ranked #6 in Division II.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (17-12) volleyball team finished the Jimmy John Invite with a 0-4 record after losing two more on Saturday. The Lady Knights opened up the day with the Division I #8 Iowa Western Community College Lady Reivers (31-3) who they lost to in straight sets (22-25, 10-25, 16-25). The Lady Knights would then square off with the Kansas City Kansas Community College Lady Blue Devils who they would also fell to in straight sets (16-25, 20-25, 22-25).

The Lady Knights gave the Lady Reivers all they could handle in the opening set of their game this morning as the set would not be decided until the final point as Iowa Western would hang on to win 22-25. The Lady Reivers would then take control of the match as they won the second set 10-25 and the third set 16-25.

Samantha Kennedy led the Lady Knights with six kills in the match and Joli Hopping led the team with 17 assists. Shannon Liewer and Samantha Byrn each had eight digs for the Lady Knights.

“I thought our kids played really hard in the first set,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “Iowa Western is very big and very good. They regrouped and raised the bar.”

In the second game of the day for the Lady Knights they started out slowly as they would fall to the Lady Blue Devils in the opening set 16-25. The Lady Knights would go toe-to-toe with Kansas City Kansas in the second set before falling 20-25 and then would push the Lady Blue Devils to the limit before falling in the decisive third set 22-25.

The Lady Knights were led by Samantha Byrn who finished with seven kills in the game. Shannon Liewer paced the Lady Knights with 16 digs and Joli Hopping had 12 assists. Samantha Kennedy and Sandrina Hallahan each had three blocks for North Platte.

“We played some very good teams this weekend,” said coach Thalken. “We knew coming in it would be a challenge but we welcomed the opportunity. We are at a critical point in our season. We have a short turnaround as we are again on the road and play Eastern Wyoming on Monday.”

The Lady Knights remain on the road the rest of the season as they travel to Torrington, Wyo. on Monday October 14 to face Eastern Wyoming College at 7 p.m. and to Columbus on Thursday October 17 to face Central Community College at 7 p.m. The game Monday with Eastern Wyoming College will be broadcast live on ESPN 1410.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (17-10) volleyball team fell twice on Friday afternoon on the first day of the Jimmy John Invite in Columbus. The Lady Knights played their third straight five set match this week against the #20 Bismarck State College (28-4) Lady Mystics (28-4). The Lady Knights would fall after taking a 2-1 lead (25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 17-25, 10-15). The Lady Knights would immediately return to the court and lose in straight sets to the top ranked Cowley County Community College (22-3) Lady Tigers (16-25, 18-25, 12-25).

The Lady Knights would start out the opening game of the day well as they would win the opening set 25-22 over the Lady Mystics. Bismarck would then even the game at one set apiece as they would win the second set 21-25. North Platte would then take a 2-1 lead as they would go on to win the third set. The teams continued the pattern of alternating set wins as the Lady Mystics would win the fourth set 17-25. Bismarck would upset the pattern and take the fifth set and the game as they won 10-15.

The Lady Knights were led by Samantha Kennedy who finished with 12 kills and four blocks. Kylie Wroot (11), Sabrina Hallahan (11) and Sandrina Hallahan (10) were in double figures for kills. Joli Hopping led the Lady Knights with 25 assists and Laura Beckman wasn’t far behind with 23. Shannon Liewer paced the Lady Knights with 19 digs.

The Lady Knights would get no rest as next up was Division II #1 Cowley County Community College. The Lady Tigers would take the first set 16-25. Cowley County would continue their strong play as they won the second set 18-25 and would end the game with a 12-25 third set victory.

Samantha Kennedy and Sandrina Hallahan would both have seven kills to lead the Lady Knights. Shannon Liewer would have 19 digs to pace the Lady Knights while Joli Hopping had 18 to go along with her team leading 14 assists.

The Lady Knights return to action tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. as they face Division I #8 Iowa Western Community College and then face Kansas City Kansas Community College at 1 p.m. to finish out the invite.

The Lady Knights remain on the road the rest of the season as they travel to Torrington, Wyo. on Monday October 14 to face Eastern Wyoming College at 7 p.m. and to Columbus on Thursday October 17 to face Central Community College at 7 p.m. The game against Eastern Wyoming can be heard on ESPN Radio 1410.

After a two hour and thirty minute five set match on Monday, the North Platte Community College Lady Knights (17-8) volleyball team followed it up with a two hour eleven minute five set match on Wednesday as they defeated the Southeast Lady Storm (9-12) to finish the season 10-1 at home (24-26, 25-11, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13).

The match was the last home contest of the season and marked the final home game for the five sophomores in the Lady Knights program. The sophomores include Laura Beckman of Julesburg, Colo., Sabrina Hallahan of Brush, Colo., Sandrina Hallahan of Brush, Colo., Jacee Kershaw of Culbertson and Shannon Liewer of Imperial.

The first set would start out with neither team being able to gain any advantage as the teams exchanged side outs. The Lady Storm would open up a 15-17 lead and force the Lady Knights into a timeout. The Lady Knights would even the game back up and the two teams would exchange leads until the Lady Storm again pulled ahead 21-23 forcing another Lady Knights timeout. The Lady Knights would again even the score at 23 before the Lady Storm earned a game point. The Lady Knights extended the set by blocking a kill attempt. The Lady Storm would score the final two points to take the first set 24-26

The second set would open with the Lady Storm scoring the first point of the set. It wouldn’t last long as the Lady Knights raced out to an 8-4 lead that forced a Southeast timeout. The Lady Knights would then extend their lead and take control of the match at 15-8. The Lady Knights would continue to extend their lead to 24-9. The Lady Storm scored two more points but it was not enough as the Lady Knights evened the match at one set apiece with a 25-11 victory.

The third set was similar to the first set as neither team could gain an advantage early in the set. The teams would trade side outs and leads before the Lady Storm would earn the first two point lead of the night at 18-20. Southeast would extend the lead to 18-23 before the Lady Knights would score two straight. It was too little too late as the Lady Storm would take the third set 20-25.

The Lady Knights started strong in the fourth set as they opened up a 7-3 lead that forced the Lady Storm into an early timeout. The lead would prove to be insurmountable as the Lady Knights would extend their lead and not allow the Lady Storm to get any closer than four points at 22-18 and 23-19 on their way to a 25-20 fourth set victory

The deciding fifth set would be back and forth as neither team could gain a large advantage. The teams switched sides of the court as the Lady Knights held the slimmest of leads at 8-7. After being tied at 9-9 the Lady Knights would score three straight points to take a 12-9. The Lady Storm would score the next two before the teams traded points to leave the score at 13-12. The Lady Knights would earn a set and game point at 14-12 forcing a Southeast timeout. The Lady Storm would score a point to extend the match but a spike by Sandrina Hallahan would win the set and game for the Knights 15-13.

“I wanted to win so bad since it was our last home game,” said Sandrina Hallahan. “I put all of my effort into that last hit.”

The Lady Knights were led by Samantha Byrn who finished with 13 kills. Sandrina Hallahan and Kylie Wroot were also in double figures with 11 and Samantha Kennedy was as well with 10. Joli Hopping had 26 assists and Laura Beckman had 24 for the Lady Knights. Shannon Liewer led the team with 20 digs.

“I am so proud of our sophomores and everything they have brought to this program,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “I was happy to win their last home game but we need to find a way to start matches out faster.”

The Lady Knights return to action this Friday and Saturday as they travel to Columbus for the Jimmy John Invite. The Knights will play their first game at 1 p.m. on Friday against #20 Bismarck State College and will play again at 5 p.m. against Division I #8 Iowa Western. The competition remains stiff as Saturday the Lady Knights face #1 Cowley County Community College at11 a.m. and Kansas City Kansas Community College at 3 p.m.