By OAKLEE FIELDER
Photo by Amaya Evans
Ivanny Blackwood and Jayla Adams jump to block an attack from Oklahoma Baptist in the final home game on Nov 3 ending in a NW loss.
The Northwestern volleyball team’s final game was played on Thursday night which ended in a 3-0 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
The Bulldogs won all three sets, with each set growing in points difference.
The first set ended 25-21 with the Lady Rangers just coming up short in the end.
The set started with Northwestern going up by one point after dropping two. Eventually, the set was tied 5-5. The Bulldogs slowly inched away from the Lady Rangers, earning a 10-6 lead. Northwestern responded with an 8-3 run to take the lead by one, 14-13. The Bulldogs scored three straight to make it 16-14, keeping it close as the set neared the final points. After scoring four points and dropping one, the Lady Rangers gave up six straight points, allowing Southwestern to take the largest lead of the set, 23-18. Northwestern tried to keep up by scoring three to make it 23-21, but SWOSU sealed the set by scoring two and ending the set with a nail-biting finish.
Set two started as set one ended, with the Bulldogs rolling with momentum. SWOSU went on a 10-3 run to start the set, putting Northwestern down early. The Lady Rangers battled back, scoring back-to-back points, but it seemed like no matter what Northwestern did, Southwestern equaled. By the time the game was within touching distance, 20-15, it was almost too late. With just five more points needed for the Bulldogs to take set two, it seemed it was going to be over quickly. The Lady Rangers did all they could, but the difference was just too great, and SWOSU took set two to make it a one-set game.
The Lady Rangers started set three the way they needed to. Three straight points gave Northwestern some much needed momentum entering the final set of the season. The Bulldogs fought back and made it a one-point set, 4-3. Then the teams traded points back-and-forth until it was 7-5, when Southwestern went on a five-point run to make it 10-7 over Northwestern. Despite giving up those points, the Lady Rangers were not far behind. They battled back for a few quick sets until the Bulldogs scored seven straight points to make it 18-10. The Lady Rangers fought back, but it was too late and Southwestern had too big of a lead. The Bulldogs took set three 25-14, and the Lady Ranger’s season was over.
Tess De Zanet had the most kills in 2026 with 316. Ivanny Blackwood was a close 2nd with 277. Kemelly Baez Miecznikoski was 3rd with 223.
Ryann Eastes had the most assists with 561. Katie Wadas had 362 and Jadyn Padilla had 79.
Padilla had by far the most digs with 425. Celia Mbaya was 2nd with 246. De Zanet had 217.
Baez Miecznikoski had the most blocks with 107. De Zanet had 69 and Blackwood had 59.
De Zanet and Andrea Djordjevic had the most service aces with 21 each. Padilla had 16 and Mbaya had 14.
To end the 2026 season, Blackwood and De Zanet were named in the All-GAC team list. The two Lady Rangers made the honorable mentions team as they were two of the best Lady Rangers this year.