The Northwest College volleyball team fell to 1-3 in Region IX North play on a trip to southeast Wyoming, as the Trappers were swept by Eastern Wyoming College and lost 3-1 to Laramie County Community College.

EASTERN WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 0

(25-16, 25-17, 25-13)

Starting in Torrington on Friday the Trappers (9-12 overall, 1-3 Region IX North) took on the Lancers (7-14 overall, 2-1 Region IX North).

Size caused problems for the Trappers throughout and hitting errors piled up.

“Size was a big part of it. They have some very big, tall players, whereas we really only have like one that can compare, so we’re just not seeing a lot of that in practice,” coach Nicole Buck said. 

Northwest committed three more errors than kills in the first set, as the Lancers took the win 25-16.

In the second set, equal hitting errors and kills led to the closest set of the night, but the Trappers still fell 25-17.

Despite finally hitting positive as a team in the final set, the Trappers lost to the Lancers 25-13 to complete the sweep.

“Ultimately, it was just a bad day. It was one of those things where it felt like nothing we did could go right,” Buck said. “We did try a new lineup to try and match up with the size a little bit different, and on paper it should have worked perfectly. But then, even when we went back to our regular lineup, we never could get into a flow.”

Torey Parker led Northwest with five kills, Jaylie Critchfield led with 14 assists and tied for the team lead in digs with Jaylin Mills at 11 each, and four different Trappers recorded a block. Parker and Mills recorded an ace each.

LCCC 3, NORTHWEST 1

(25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21)

Continuing on to Cheyenne on Saturday the Trappers took on the Golden Eagles (3-17 overall, 1-2 Region IX).

The Trappers battled throughout in closer sets, but they fell behind 2-0 after LCCC won the first set 25-20 and the second 25-16.

“We did see improvement, it still felt like we were just a little bit stuck in the mud,” Buck said.

Northwest earned a win in the third, pulled out a 25-21 win to force a fourth set.

In that fourth set the Trappers fell by the same score they won by in the third, losing 25-21 and losing the match 3-1.

“The whole weekend was one of those where you kind of just scratch your head a little bit because you know all the answers that you throw out there just aren’t working, and so at that point, the best thing you can hope for is, are we going to learn from it?” Buck said.

Parker led with 19 kills, as McKinlee Scammon chipped in 11. Critchfield led with 26 assists.

Ellee Summers led with 25 digs, Scammon had 17, Critchfield had 14 and Parker had 13.

Saige Kidd and Parker led with 1.5 blocks, while Critchfield, Summers and Maddie Mills had an ace each.

SMALL BREAK

The Trappers had one more conference game this week, taking on Central Wyoming College (4-14 overall, 3-1 Region IX North) on Wednesday night.

That result was determined after the press deadline.

Northwest now has the weekend off, before heading back on the road next weekend to Casper and Gillette.

“They showed up with a lot more intention (Monday),” Buck said. “I think (the break) will be really nice. I think the mindset that they’re in is a good, positive one right now. If we can maintain that and balance it with a physical break, I’m really hopeful we can come back next week just a little bit stronger so that we can finish out conference on the best note possible.”

EASTERN WYOMING 3, NORTHWEST 0

Total blocks then solo blocks in ()

Kills — Torey Parker 5, Saige Kidd 4, Jaylin Mills 3, Jaylie Critchfield 1, Lexie Snyder 1, Brakkin Larsen 1, Chaney Reish 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 14, Maddie Mills 3, Jaylin Mills 1

Digs — Jaylie Critchfield 11, Jaylin Mills 11, Torey Parker 7, Nevaeh Bell 5, McKinlee Scammon 4, Ellee Summers 3, Maddie Mills 3, Natalee Hayder 1, Lexie Snyder 1, Brakkin Larsen 1, Chaney Reish 1

Blocks — Eva Murray .5, McKinlee Scammon .5, Brakkin Larsen .5, Torey Parker .5

Aces — Torey Parker 1, Jaylin Mills 1

LCCC 3, NORTHWEST 1

Kills — Torey Parker 19, McKinlee Scammon 11, Saige Kidd 8, Chaney Reish 5, Brakkin Larsen 3, Jaylie Critchfield 1

Assists — Jaylie Critchfield 36, Maddie Mills 6, Ellee Summers 1, Nevaeh Bell 1, Torey Parker 1, Jaylin Mills 1

Digs — Ellee Summers 25, McKinlee Scammon 17, Jaylie Critchfield 14, Torey Parker 13, Jaylin Mills 8, Maddie Mills 6, Saige Kidd 3, Nevaeh Bell 3, Chaney Reish 2, Eva Murray 1, Lexie Snyder 1, Brakkin Larsen 1

Blocks — Saige Kidd 1.5, Torey Parker 1.5 (1), Eva Murray 1, McKinlee Scammon 1, Jaylie Critchfield .5

Aces — Jaylie Critchfield 1, Ellee Summers 1, Maddie Mills 1