Knights fall to Cougars in five sets

North Platte, Neb. – North Platte Community College volleyball dropped a five-set match (25-20, 16-25, 25-15, 22-25, 9-15) to Western Nebraska at home on Friday.

Freshman Makenna Stephenson matched her second highest kill total of the season with 23 kills on 50 swings. Sophomore Nya Lual recorded 12 kills, while Khloee Wright posted double digits kills (11) and digs (16) to close out the night.

"We played very inconsistent, the sets we won we did a nice job of sticking to our game plan," said head coach Alexa McCall. "The sets we lost we were pretty one dimensional and dug ourselves into holes that we couldn't come back from."

The match began with a tightly contested opening set, but the Knights broke through with a 4-0 run that gave them the momentum they needed to take control. Western Nebraska answered late with a 5-1 rally to narrow the margin to one, but an attacking error helped the Knights generate their own run to close out the first set. 

The second set belonged to the Cougars as they jumped out to an early 10-3 lead. North Platte could not rebound from the early deficit as the match was evened at 1-1 set apiece.

Knights and Cougars traded points early in the third set, before a kill by Stephenson triggered a 6-1 rally to put the Knights ahead 11-4. The North Platte lead grew into double digits before the Knights closed the set out on an ace by Stephenson.

Western Nebraska once again built momentum early as they leapt out to a 12-3 lead in the fourth set. North Platte chipped away at the deficit for the remainder of the set, but the Cougars never relinquished their lead and forced a decisive fifth set.

Riding the momentum, Western Nebraska built a 7-3 lead before North Platte took a timeout. The Cougars finished strong down the stretch to close out the five set victory.

North Platte (6-11) will travel to La Junta, Colo. to take on Otero Junior College next Friday at 7 p.m.