The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (12-4) volleyball team defeated the No. 6 Central Community College Lady Raiders (14-4) on Thursday night in five sets (15-25, 28-26, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13). The win was a pivotal win for both the Region IX Division number one seed in the post-season tournament and in the race for a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference crown.

The Lady Raiders started out the night with the first run of the match as they opened up an early 0-4 lead that forced the Lady Knights into an early timeout. The Lady Knights responded by cutting the score to 7-8 but could never get any closer the rest of the way. The closest the Knights would come was at 14-17. The Lady Raiders then scored seven straight points before winning the first set 25-15.

The second set was a reversal of the first set as the Lady Knights were the team to race out to an early 5-1 advantage. The Lady Knights would maintain a little cushion until the Lady Raiders were able to tie the set at 12 apiece forcing a North Platte timeout. The sides would trade points back and forth before Columbus went on a 0-4 run to take a 17-22 lead. The Lady Knights would answer with a 4-0 run of their own. The Lady Raiders and Lady Knights alternated set point opportunities before the Lady Knights strung together three points to win the second set 28-26 on a Sandrina Hallahan kill.

The Lady Knights would capitalize on the momentum they gained at the end of the previous set in the third as they raced out to early leads of 6-1 and 8-2 forcing Columbus to call a timeout. The Lady Knights would stretch their lead throughout the match at scores of 12-6, 15-7, 18-11 and 20-12. The Lady Raiders would then score six straight points to cut the deficit to 21-18. The Lady Knights would then score two straight points which the Lady Raiders answered by scoring three straight of their own. The two teams would side out the rest of the set to give the third set victory to North Platte on a kill by Samantha Byrn at a score of 25-22.

The fourth set started out with the two teams trading points before the Lady Raiders went on a 0-5 run to take a 2-7 lead that forced the Lady Knights into a timeout. Columbus would maintain a four point lead in the early stages of the set before the Lady Knights cut the deficit to one at 14-15 that forced the Lady Raiders into a timeout. The Lady Raiders would maintain a lead the rest of the set to win 19-25 and force a deciding fifth set.

The Lady Raiders would draw first blood in the fifth set as they scored the first four points before the Lady Knights could get on the board. The Lady Knights would score four of the next five points to make the score 4-5. The Lady Raiders were the first to eight as the teams switched sides with Columbus leading 6-8. The Lady Knights would even the score at nine points apiece and then take an 11-9 that forced the Lady Raiders to take a timeout. The Lady Knights would then score two of the next three points to force another Lady Raider timeout. The Lady Raiders scored the next three points to tie the deciding set at 13 and force a Lady Knights timeout. Kylie Wroot put down a kill to give the Lady Knights a set and game point. Samantha Byrn ended the game with a kill to give the Lady Knights a 15-13 fifth set victory.

“The game was nerve wracking, exciting and a lot of fun,” said freshman Samantha Byrn. “The gym was loud and everyone played hard. I had to go over the block to get that last kill.”

The Lady Knights were led by Sabrina Hallahan with 12 kills on the night. Samantha Kennedy had a double-double with 10 kills and 10 blocks. Joli Hopping led the Lady Knights with 25 assists and Shannon Liewer had 35 digs to lead the team.

“We beat a great team tonight,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “Our kids played with a lot of heart tonight. I was very pleased with the way we battled especially in the second set when we battled back to win and in the fifth set when we got down 2-6 and battled back into the game.”

The Lady Knights take the weekend off before hosting Hastings College JV next Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. The Lady Knights then travel to Region IX Division II and NCCAC foe Southeast Community College on Thursday, Sept. 26. for a game at 4 p.m.

The North Platte Community Lady Knights Volleyball team will host the 38^th Annual High School Volleyball Tournament this Saturday, September 21. The teams participating are Paxton, Saint Patrick, SMC, Hershey, Eustis-Farnam, Maxwell and Sutherland.

Games will start at 10 a.m. in McDonald-Belton Gymnasium. First two rounds of games will start on time.  All other games will start approximately 20 minutes after prior contest ends. No passes will be honored for the games. Games are as follows:

TIME	EAST COURT		WEST COURT
10:00 a.m.	St. Pat’s	Eustis-Farnam	Hershey	Sutherland
11:15 a.m.	Paxton	Maxwell
(12:30)	St. Pat’s	SMC	Eustis-Farnam	Hershey
(1:45)			Sutherland	Paxton
(3:00)	Maxwell	St. Pat’s	Eustis-Farnam	SMC
(4:15)	Hershey	Paxton	Sutherland	Maxwell

 

 

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (11-4) volleyball team defeated the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers on Tuesday night in four sets (25-11, 25-17, 17-25, 25-18).

In the opening set of the match, the Lady Knights came out strong and raced out to a 10-4 lead to force the Lady Lancers to take a timeout. The Lady Knights continued their strong play and increased their lead to 17-7 to force a second Lady Lancers timeout. The timeout didn’t have much effect as the Lady Knights scored the next five points before capturing a 25-11 first set win.

The second set was more of the same as the Lady Knights held on to the momentum as they cruised to a 25-17 victory. The third set saw the Lady Lancers battle back and not go quietly as they won the set 25-17 to wrest momentum from the Lady Knights.

The fourth set was back and forth as neither team could gain a commanding lead until late in the set as the Lady Knights finished the set and the match with a 25-18 set victory.

“I thought we played well,” said freshman Samantha Kennedy. “I thought we recovered well after the third set to win the fourth.”

The Lady Knights were lead in the match by Kennedy who recorded 14 kills. Joli Hopping paced the Knights with 18 assists and four “ace” serves. Laura Beckman chipped in 14 assists. Shannon Liewer led the Lady Knights with 13 digs with Samantha Byrn not far behind with 10 digs and 4 “ace” serves. Sandrina Hallahan led the Lady Knights with four blocks.

“We played very aggressive in the first and second set,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “Eastern Wyoming plays with a lot of pride and caught us on our heels in the third set. They blocked some balls and gave themselves some momentum which we struggled to recover from in the fourth.”

The Lady Knights host the No. 7 Central Community College Lady Raiders at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium at 6 p.m on Thursday. The Lady Raiders are a Region IX Division II opponent as well as a fellow Nebraska Community College Athletic Association (NCCAC) member. Last year the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Knights in five sets to win the Region IX Division II Tournament. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and can also be listened to online by clicking here.

The Lady Knights take the weekend off before hosting Hastings College JV next Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. The Lady Knights then travel to Region IX Division II and NCCAC foe Southeast Community College on Thursday, Sept. 26. for a game at 4 p.m.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (10-4) volleyball team returns home for a pair of home games this week after four games at the Pizza Hut Invitation this past weekend in Sterling, Colo. where the Lady Knights won one and lost three. The Lady Knights fast Eastern Wyoming College (5-9) on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. and then face #7 Central Community College (13-3) on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m.

The Lady Knights look to get back on track after their first back-to-back losses all season on Tuesday as they host the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers at 7 p.m. The Lady Knights and Lady Lancers have squared off once before this season in the Subway Invite at the start of the season in North Platte where the Lady Knights were able to emerge victorious 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-12).

The Lady Knights then welcome the #7 Central Community College Lady Raiders to McDonald-Belton Gymnasium at 6 p.m. The Lady Raiders are a Region IX Division II opponent as well as a fellow Nebraska Community College Athletic Association (NCCAC) member. Last year the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Knights in five sets to win the Region IX Division II Tournament. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1410 and can also be listened to online by clicking here.

The Lady Knights take the weekend off before hosting Hastings College JV next Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. The Lady Knights then travel to Region IX Division II and NCCAC foe Southeast Community College on Thursday, Sept. 26. for a game at 4 p.m.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (10-4) volleyball team won late Friday night then dropped two on Saturday afternoon to close out the Pizza Hut Invitation in Sterling, Colo. Late Friday night the Lady Knights defeated the Barton County Community College Lady Cougars in three sets (25-19, 25-10, 27-25). On Saturday the Lady Knights fell to the Otero Junior College Lady Rattlers in five sets (25-20, 24-26, 23-25, 25-23, 11-15) and the Seward County Community College Lady Saints in four sets (25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 15-25).

In their second game of the night on Friday the Lady Knights came out looking to get back on the winning track against Barton County Community College. The Lady Knights came out strong and won the first set 25-19. The Lady Knights continued their strong play as they defeated the Lady Cougars 25-10 in the second set. The third set was a tight battle before the Lady Knights won the set and game 27-25.

The Lady Knights were led against the Lady Cougars by Samantha Kennedy who finished with 13 kills and two blocks. Shannon Liewer led the Lady Knights with 19 digs and five “ace” serves. Joli Hopping had 20 assists and Laura Beckman had 14.

In the third game of the Pizza Hut Invitation and first of the day Saturday the Lady Knights dropped a hard fought five set battle with the Lady Rattlers. The Lady Knights came out swinging in the first set as they won 25-20. The Lady Rattlers responded with victories of their own in the second and third sets 24-26 and 23-25. The Lady Knights would not go quietly as they answered with a fourth set victory 25-23 to square the match at two sets apiece. In the fifth and deciding set the Lady Rattlers were too much for the Lady Knights as they won 11-15.

Samantha Kennedy again led the Lady Knights in kills as she finished with 16 to go along with five blocks. Sandrina Hallahan was not very far behind as she finished with 15 kills of her own. Joli Hopping led the Lady Knights with 20 assists and Laura Beckman had 22. Shannon Liewer led the Lady Knights with 25 digs.

In the final game of the Pizza Hut Invitation the Lady Knights fell to the Lady Saints in four sets. The Lady Knights started out fast as they claimed a first set victory 25-22. However they were not able to hold onto their moment as they dropped the next three sets to lose the game by scores of 18-25, 22-25 and 15-25.

Sandrina Hallahan led the Lady Knights with nine kills in the final match of the day. Other leaders for the Lady Knights were Samantha Kennedy with five blocks, Shannon Liewer with 28 digs and Joli Hopping with 19 assists.

“We got into a game with Otero that we played not to lose,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “We were the first to eight in set five but just turned safe. Both teams we played today played VERY aggressive. I felt like we were playing defense ALL the time. We came out in the first set of our second game of the back-to-back with some energy. We lost focus, discipline and quickness as the match wore on. We just tried to keep the ball in play; consequently we sent a lot of free balls over and just flat out got beat on Seward’s aggressive play, a lesson that aggressive teams win.”

 

The Lady Knights return home for a three game home stand starting next week as they face Eastern Wyoming College (5-9) September 17, Central Community College (13-3) September 19 and Hastings College JV September 24.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (9-2) volleyball team fell in the opening game of the Pizza Hut Invitation Friday afternoon to the Trinidad State Junior College Lady Trojans (6-9) in four sets (27-29, 25-20, 20-25, 22-25).

The Lady Knights started off slow and could never recover as they dropped a hard fought opening set 27-29. As they have done all year after losing the first set, the Lady Knights responded and won the second set 25-20. The Lady Trojans answered back as they went on to win the third set 20-25. The Lady Trojans were then able to end the Lady Knights four game winning streak as they won the fourth set 22-25.

The Lady Knights were led by Samantha Byrn with 12 kills and Sabrina Hallahan with 11 kills. Shannon Liewer paced the Lady Knights with 24 digs while Joli Hopping had 18 assists and Laura Beckman had 16.

“We came out flat and never really played with much energy,” said head coach Sally Thalken. We had a hard time getting anything going and never could sustain any runs. It was a very disappointing loss. We need to regroup for a good Barton (Community College) team.”

The No. 11 Lady Knights continue play in the Pizza Hut Invitational tonight at 9 p.m. against Barton County Community College (2-6). Tomorrowthe Lady Knights face undefeated Otero Junior College (10-0) at 2 p.m. and Seward County Community College (6-4) at 4 p.m. A recap of the rest of the Pizza Hut Invitation will be released at the conclusion of all games tomorrow.

The Lady Knights return home for a three game home stand as they face Eastern Wyoming College (5-9) September 17, Central Community College (13-3) September 19 and Hastings College JV September 24.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (9-1) volleyball team found out Wednesdaymorning they were ranked #11 in the NJCAA Division II poll and then took care of business on the court that night. The Lady Knights defeated the McCook Lady Indians in three sets (25-21, 25-12, 25-20).

The start of the first set was tightly contested as the Lady Knights and Lady Indians battled back and forth before the Lady Knights won 25-21. Libero Shannon Liewer served five straight points to give the Lady Knights a 15-7 lead and forced the Lady Indians to call a timeout.

In the second set the Lady Knights held on to the momentum as they raced out to an early 8-1 lead. The Lady Knights continued their strong play behind seven straight points served by sophomore Jacee Kershaw to gain a 16-2 advantage. The rest of the set was back forth before the Knights gained a two set to none advantage with a 25-12 victory.

The third set was a game of runs. The Lady Indians battled back as they took a 16-11 lead. The Lady Knights answered with a 5-0 run to knot the game at 16 points apiece. The Lady Indians then went on a 3-0 run. The Lady Knights once again answered back with a 8-0 run of their own to take control of the third set before winning 25-20.

“I thought we really pushed hard and had good communication,” said sophomore Sandrina Hallahan. “We didn’t let anything rattle us and played out game.”

The Lady Knights were led in kills by Samantha Kennedy and Samantha Byrn who each finished with seven. Kylie Wroot and Sandrina Hallahan weren’t far behind with six apiece and Wroot led the team with four blocks. Joli Hopping paced with Lady Knights with 23 assists. Jacee Kershaw led the team with four “ace” serves.

“We did a lot of good things tonight,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “However we need to be more consistent. Give McCook credit, they played scrappy defense and it was hard to get a ball down.”

 

The #11 Lady Knights travel to Sterling, Colo. this weekend for the Pizza Hut Invitation where they will face Trinidad State Junior College (4-8), Barton County Community College (2-6), Otero Junior College (10-0) and Seward County Community College (6-4). The Lady Knights then return home for a three game home stand as they face Eastern Wyoming College (5-8) September 17, Central Community College (11-3)September 19 and Hastings College JV September 24.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (8-1) volleyball team returns home for a match against Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference foe the McCook Community College Lady Indians (1-12) Wednesday September 11. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Resident Life Student Staff is promoting a “Black Out” to all North Platte Community College students and encourages faculty, staff and all community members to wear black to support the Lady Knights in their first home match with school in session.

Eagle Radio has partnered with Gary’s Super Foods to provide a tailgate outside McDonald Belton Gymnasium from 5 to 7 p.m. The tailgate will include a roaster full of pulled pork for sandwiches, along with beans, chips and a drink. Both Mix 97 One and Q-Country 107.3 will both be ‘live on the air’ from the tailgate and ESPN Radio 1410am will broadcast the game live.

The Lady Knights travel to Sterling, Colo. this weekend for the Pizza Hut Invitation where they will face Trinidad State Junior College (4-8), Barton County Community College (2-6), Otero Junior College (10-0) and Seward County Community College (6-4). The Lady Knights then return home for a three game home stand as they face Eastern Wyoming College (5-8) September 17, Central Community College (11-3) September 19 and Hastings College JV September 24.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (8-1) volleyball team continued their winning ways on Thursday as they traveled to Sterling, Colo. where they defeated the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen 3-1 (20-25, 27-25, 28-26, 25-17).

For the third straight game, the Lady Knights started out of the gate slow and dropped the first set. The Plainswomen took advantage as they took an early lead. The Lady Knights started to play better as the set progressed but it was too little too late as they fell 20-25.

The second set started out as the first set ended as the Lady Knights played well as they battled back and forth with the Plainswomen. In the middle of the set, the Plainswomen went on a 6-0 run to put them in prime position to go ahead two sets to none. However, the Lady Knights battled back to earn three set points before closing out the set 27-25 to even the match at one set apiece.

The third set was similar to the second set as the Lady Knights and Plainswomen battled back and forth early in the set. Once again the Plainswomen took a late lead 24-19. The Lady Knights battled back with a 5-0 run to tie the set at 24 apiece behind the serving of Samantha Kennedy. The Plainswomen earned two more set point opportunities but the Lady Knights were able to keep the Plainswomen from closing out the set before earning a set point of their own which they capitalized on to win the set 28-26 to take a 2-1 lead.

The Lady Knights capitalized on their momentum as they took a 6-2 lead at the start of the fourth set. The Lady Knights were able to hold off the Plainswomen as they enjoyed leads of 16-12 and 21-16 before closing out the set and the game 25-17.

The Lady Knights were led by Sabrina Hallahan with 10 kills and Kylie Wroot with nine. Samantha Kennedy contributed eight kills and led the team with five blocks along with Taylor King who also had five blocks. Shannon Liewer led the Lady Knights with 28 digs and Joli Hopping led the Lady Knights with 23 assists.

“It was a great win for us,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “NJC is a great team with some powerful players. We just stuck in there and never quit. We tried to stay aggressive and we worked really hard defensively. I’m really proud of our kids!”

The Lady Knights return home to McDonald-Belton Gymnasium next Wednesday September 11 as they take on fellow Nebraska Community College Athletic Association member McCook Community College at 7 p.m.

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (7-1) volleyball team bounced back Saturday with two wins in the Colby Classic. In the first game of the day the Lady Knights defeated the host Colby Community College Lady Trojans in four sets 3-1 (15-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-19). The Lady Knights then continued their strong play to defeat the Trinidad State Junior College Lady Trojans  3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-15).

The Lady Knights started out slow Saturday morning as they could never get any momentum against the Lady Trojans as they dropped the first set 15-25. The Lady Knights stormed back to win a tightly contested second set 26-24 and third set 25-23 before winning the fourth set 25-19 to defeat Colby.

Joli Hopping paced the Lady Knights with 16 assists and two ace serves. Sabrina Hallahan led the Knights with 13 kills while Samantha Kennedy was also in double figure kills with 11 and led the team with three blocks. Shannon Liewer led the Lady Knights with 25 digs. Laura Beckman contributed double-digit assists with 12.

“We got off to an incredibly slow start against Colby (Community College),” said head coach Sally Thalken “with only five kills in the first set!” We fought back to win the second set which gave us momentum into the third. It was another dog fight. We showed some character to win the third in a tight set. We worked hard to get a lead and keep momentum to win the fourth. Colby is a really good team and our girls played really scrappy defense and stayed aggressive to earn the victory.”

In the second game of the day the Lady Knights again started out slow as they dropped the first set to Trinidad State 21-25. As they had earlier in the day the Lady Knights responded by winning the second set 25-18. The Lady Knights held onto the momentum as they cruised to identical wins in the third and fourth sets at a score of 25-15.

Samantha Byrn led the way against the Lady Trojans with 14 kills as the only Lady Knight in double figures. Sabrina Hallahan had 22 digs to pace the Lady Knights while Shannon Liewer was right behind with 21 digs. Laura Beckman led the Lady Knights with 16 assists while Joli Hopping had 13.

“Trinidad State is another big team with good volleyball players,” said coach Thalken. “We once again came out a little flat and lost the first set; frustrating that we can’t start faster. I am pleased that we came back. Our aggressive serves, really scrappy defense, hustle plays that keyed momentum and controlling the net brought home the win.”

“Overall I was pleased with the weekend. We all will enjoy the extended weekend as it will bring some needed rest for the legs and some girls that are not playing at 100 percent.”

The Lady Knights return to action on Thursday September 5 as they travel to Sterling, Colo. to take on the Northeastern Junior College Lady Plainsmen at 7 p.m. CST. The Lady Knights then return home on Wednesday September 11 to face Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference foe McCook Community College at 7 p.m.