By OAKLEE FIELDER
Photo by Oaklee Fielder. Ryann Eastes serving against Oklahoma Panhandle State University on October 20 in Alva.
Northwestern volleyball was swept by East Central University and Southeastern Oklahoma State University this week.
The Lady Rangers’ first opponent was East Central University, where the Tigers won 3-0.
Set one started in favor of Northwestern, as the Lady Rangers took a 5-1 lead. Just as fast as the lead was built, it was taken away. The Tigers tied the game at 5, and the two teams started trading points after that. The tug of war continued from 5-5 all the way up to 14-14. Then, the Tigers scored three to give them a 17-14 lead, a small buffer. The Lady Rangers battled back and made it a one-point game at 18-17. The Tigers just barely outperformed the Lady Rangers in the final points and took the first set 25-21.
Set two started back and forth, with the two teams battling hard. The Tigers got the upper hand after scoring three straight to make it 7-3. After trading points with ECU, the Lady Rangers scored five straight points, making the score 9-8. ECU scored four, and then Northwestern scored three, tying it at 12. Another streak of four for ECU gave them a 16-12 lead. The Tigers slowly but surely extended their lead as the set went on and took set two 25-18.
The third set was heavily in the Tigers’ advantage. East Central took the lead early and never looked back. ECU took set three by 12 points with a final score of 25-13.
Tess De Zanet had the most kills against the Tigers with 13. De Zanet also had five kills. Jadyn Padilla had 18 digs and two assists. Ivanny Blackwod had seven kills and two blocks.
Southeastern was the Lady Rangers’ second opponent this week.
The Savage Storm swept Northwestern 3-0 in a rough game for the Lady Rangers.
Southeastern opened the game by scoring three. Northwestern scored one and was responded by a nine-point run from Southeastern. The Savage Storm dominance continued throughout the first set as they won by 15 points, 25-10.
Set two opened with the Savage Storm taking the lead again, 5-3. Southeastern’s lead continued to grow throughout the set. Slowly, the Lady Rangers reeled the Savage Storm into a three-point lead, 15-12. Southeastern extended their lead as the set went on, scoring two or three points in a row regularly until the end, where Southeastern won set two 25-20.
Set three went a lot better for the Lady Rangers, as they took the lead quickly into the set. After being down 2-5, Northwestern scored seven points in a row to make it 9-5. The Savage Storm battled back and took the lead back after time went by to make it 13-12. Then, the two teams traded points back and forth in a tug-of-war match to hold control of the set. Late into the set, it was tied 20-20. Southeastern shut down the Lady Rangers and scored five straight to win the third set 25-20.
De Zanet had the most kills again, this time with six. De Zanet also had one ace, one block, two assists and eight digs. Katie Wadas had 13 assists. Celia Mbaya had 10 digs.
The Lady Rangers sit 10th in the Great American Conference standings. In order to make the playoffs, they have to win their final three games. East Central and Henderson State have to lose at lease twice for the Lady Rangers to have a shot to make it to the tournament.
The next games on the schedule are against 6th place SNU and 1st place Oklahoma Baptist University. In the last matchup against SNU, the Lady Rangers lost three sets to one. Oklahoma Baptist defeated the Lady Rangers in September 3-0.