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.

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.

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.

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.