Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the Northwest volleyball team had the opportunity to wrap up the No. 2 seed with victories over Western Wyoming and Casper College. The Trappers came up short and earned the No. 3 seed after splitting the matchups. They defeated Western Wyoming 3-1 on Friday but fell to Casper College on Saturday 3-1.

NORTHWEST 3, WESTERN WYOMING 1

Sophomore night kicked off the weekend on Friday, with Northwest (20-10 overall, 6-4 Region IX North) hoping to complete the season sweep over Western Wyoming (8-27 overall, 1-9 Region IX North).

The Mustangs came in having already been eliminated from postseason contention, but came out early attempting to finish their season strong against the Trappers.

Both teams battled back and forth in the first set, but 17 kills from the Trappers were just enough to walk away with a 26-24 win.

“Sophomore night was great, the energy was definitely there,” coach Scott Keister said.

In the second set Northwest took control early, and another strong hitting set alongside fewer errors allowed the Trappers to breeze through with a 25-14 victory.

In the third set Northwest battled looking to sweep the Mustangs, but 12 hitting errors in the set prevented the Trappers from winning in three sets as they fell 26-24.

“Western Wyoming was a ton better, they always improve throughout the season,” Keister said.

Heading into the fourth set the Trappers recovered, again taking control of the set early and finding a path to a 25-15 victory behind 15 kills as a team.

Four trappers led the way with double digit kills; Sidney Parker with 15, Megan Pannell with 13, Jocelyn Sanders with 13 and Kim Pannell with 10.

Emma Hanson had 51 assists for the Trappers.

CASPER COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 1

Saturday brought a new challenge for the Trappers, with a match against Casper College (7-26 overall, 4-6 Region IX North) determining whether NWC took the No. 2 or No. 3 seed into the Region IX tournament.

The T-Birds came into the match knowing they had secured the No. 4 seed with an Eastern Wyoming loss the night prior but were hoping to play spoiler for Northwest in its final home match.

Errors were the theme of the day for Northwest, starting in the first set when the Trappers finished with a .062 hitting percentage — allowing Casper College to take the first set 25-18.

The T-Birds kept their momentum into the second set, forcing the Trappers to have as many kills as errors and winning the set 25-19.

“I have always known Casper College was a good team, but they played a super tough schedule early on,” Keister said. “They lost so much that it wore on their confidence. They have had a couple of good wins the last couple of weeks and they are peaking at the right time.”

Northwest finally found its footing in the third set, finishing with a .345 hitting percentage but barely escaping with a 25-23 win.

Casper College regained control in the fourth set, finishing off Northwest 25-18 and walking away with a 3-1 victory.

Northwest finished with five more hitting errors than Casper while having eight less kills, and finished with nine receiving errors to only two for Casper.

REGION IX TOURNEY

Three months of hard work has come down to one double elimination tournament in Casper this week.

Northwest played its first game Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. against the Region IX South No. 2 seed Northeastern (18-12). That result was determined after the press deadline.

The Trappers defeated Northeastern 3-0 earlier this season in the Wyo-Braska tournament, but Keister knows they are a difficult team to face.

“We played them and beat them, but they played horribly against us,” Keister said. “That was a long time ago, they have changed, we have changed. I think we are going in pretty evenly matched.”

If Northwest won that match they play at 6 p.m. on Thursday (today) against the winner of North No. 1 seed Central Wyoming (20-7) and South No. 4 seed Otero (11-25).

If the Trappers lost they play Thursday (today) at 2 p.m. against the loser of the Central Wyoming/Otero match.

With the way the bracket is set up, if the Trappers lose at any point they will drop down to the consolation bracket but will still have an opportunity to advance to the national tournament if they win the lower bracket.

NORTHWEST 3, WESTERN WYOMING 1

Kills — Sidney Parker 15, Megan Pannell 13, Jocelyn Sanders 13, Kim Pannell 10, Elsa Clark 5, Brooke Palmer 2

Assists — Emma Hanson 51, Kamri Hutchings 7

Digs — Ellie Thomas 11, Kim Pannell 10, Megan Pannell 10, Emma Hanson 5, Mia Sorensen 5, Elsa Clark 4, Sidney Parker 4, Jocelyn Sanders 4, Brooke Palmer 2, Kamri Hutchings 2

Aces — Sidney Parker 7, Emma Hanson 2, Ellie Thomas 2, Mia Sorensen 1, Elsa Clark 1, Kamri Hutchings 1

Blocks — Elsa Clark 2.5, Sidney Parker 2.5, Jocelyn Sanders 2, Kim Pannell 1, Megan Pannell .5

CASPER COLLEGE 3, NORTHWEST 1

Kills — Megan Pannell 9, Elsa Clark 8, Brooke Palmer 7, Jocelyn Sanders 6, Kim Pannell 5, Sidney Parker 5

Assists — Emma Hanson 35, Kamri Hutchings 3, Megan Pannell 2

Digs — Ellie Thomas 12, Brooke Palmer 9, Emma Hanson 7, Elsa Clark 7, Sidney Parker 3, Mia Sorensen 2, Kim Pannell 2, Megan Pannell 2, Kamri Hutchings 2

Aces — Emma Hanson 1, Sidney Parker 1

Blocks — Sidney Parker 2.5, Jocelyn Sanders 1.5, Emma Hanson .5, Elsa Clark .5