Northwest College volleyball continued its hot start to the season.

The Trappers won four matches over the weekend, defeating Western Wyoming Community College, Carroll College JV, Dawson Community College and Rocky Mountain College JV, losing only two sets the entire weekend. They are now 8-0 to start the year.

Northwest kicked off the tournament Thursday, facing Western Wyoming — a Region IX opponent. With Thursday being his team’s first home match and first match against a conference foe, NWC coach Scott Keister didn’t know what to expect.

He was pleasantly surprised.

The Trappers cruised to a three-set win over the Mustangs. Their best set was the second, when they hit .316 and dominated 25-15.

“To come out and see a region opponent and take care of business, I liked that mentality,” Keister said. “It was impressive; we played well and earned our points.”

NWC also swept Dawson, a team the Trappers defeated a week prior at the Big Sky Challenge.

The Trappers had more trouble with Carroll and Rocky Mountain, winning those matches 3-1. Keister saw the non-conference matches as opportunities to experiment with different lineups.

“I tried to give some of the kids who don’t always start a shot,” he said. “I wanted to see how they handled the moment. 

“We want a group of six that plays well together and has that cohesion,” the coach added. “That’s what we were playing with this weekend.”

Shante Falslev was the team’s offensive standout at the tournament, posting 51 kills with a sound .281 hitting percentage. Keister said, “[Shante] is a leader on the court, very enthusiastic and developing well.”

The coach also praised the performance of sophomore Jacie Walker, who led the team in assists on the weekend. He said Walker has “taken the reins and shown big improvement from last year.”

At 8-0, the Trappers are still perfect on the year. But Keister said he’s not satisfied with where the team’s at.

“I feel good, not great,” the coach said. “Anytime I hear someone say we’re undefeated, I cringe — it’s not reflective of where we are right now.  I like where we’re at, but we have a lot of work to do.”

Northwest travels to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, this weekend for another tournament. The Trappers will play matches against Yakima Valley College, North Idaho College, Walla Walla Community College and Carroll College JV.

In the team’s third and final non-conference tourney, Keister hopes to see steadier play from his team.

“I want to see us get more consistent in every aspect of the game,” he said. “Our serving is bad one match and good the next. Attacking is good one set, bad the next. That’s what we’re looking to improve on.”