Alva Review-Courier -

Northwestern Oklahoma State University volleyball attended one of their toughest tournaments yet – the MIAA-GAC Challenge – going up against two strong teams, No. 18 University of Central Oklahoma (8-2, 0-0 MIAA) and Pittsburg State University (7-2, 0-0 MIAA).

The Black and Red fell to ranked opponent Central Oklahoma 0-3 [12-25,22-25, 13-25] in what would give the Lady Rangers (8-3, 0-1 GAC) only their third loss on the season.

The Lady Rangers battled hard against the Bronchos in the first set, but could not slow them down as the Bronchos got off to a fast start, gaining an 11-point lead over Northwestern. UCO finished the set off defeating the Northwestern 12-25.

In the second set, Northwestern came out quickly and gained a strong 13-5 lead. Everyone played their part, from Tobi Barker scoring three service aces in a row to the patented Jennifer Eubanks and Kiauna Clark blocks.

Everything was going right for the Lady Rangers until the Bronchos made a run of their own, scoring five unanswered points, which tied up the match at 14-14. The Black and Red would not be able to regain the lead; instead, Northwestern dropped the second set 22-25.

In what would be the final set of the match, the Lady Rangers could not control the pace once the Bronchos regained an early lead, tying the match at 5-5. The Bronchos scored the last five points of the match, giving them a 13-25 victory.

Senior Hannah Williams racked up 10 kills during the match, hitting .346 as Senior Cassidy Hackett and Sophomore Kaitlyn Robinson racked up 12 assists each.

Pitt State University

Northwestern took a hard-fought loss against Pitt State and could not rally back, being down 1-2 in the match as they lost in four sets, 1-3.

The first set went down to the wire as the Gorillas and Lady Rangers battled back and forth all set. Tied up at 21-21, Northwestern took matters into their own hands going on a 4-1 run to finish out the set 25-22.

The Black and Red started out hot with a 12-6 lead over the Gorillas, but they would not go away as moments later they scored four straight points to bring them within one. Both teams rallied for the lead with seven lead changes in the last 10 points of the game.

Redshirt-junior Kiauna Clark racked in five kills and senior Brooklynn Hesson and Hannah Williams pitched in three of their own, but the Gorillas got the best of the Lady Rangers, winning 22-25.

The third set was a slow start for the Black and Red as they fell behind 3-13 to Pitt State. With a 55-minute rain delay, the teams had time to regroup but it did not help the Lady Rangers, as they go down 2-1 in the match losing 13-25.

In the fourth set the Lady Rangers went up 5-0, yet they could not get a firm hold on the lead as the Gorillas fought back. Northwestern allowed a 7-0 run that sparked a fiery Pitt State team, and would give the Gorillas a lead that was hard to gain control of again.

Freshman Kaydee Honeycutt led the team with six blocks along with junior Jennifer Eubanks, who added five of her own.

The Lady Rangers will be moving on to an (8-4, 0-1 GAC) record. Advancing into Day Two of the MIAA-GAC Challenge, which will take place in Edmond, they will be facing off against Missouri Southern State University at 12 p.m. and Fort Hays University at 4 p.m.