Knights open MCC Labor Day Tournament with a pair of wins

Nya Lual celebrates a block in the third set against Fort Scott Community College. (Daniel Stinman, North Platte Community College)

McCook, Neb. – The North Platte Community College volleyball team entered the win column with a pair of victories to open the McCook Community College Labor Day Tournament on Friday.

"We had a balanced attack that helped us generate strong one-on-one situations against Fort Scott," said head coach Alexa McCall. "Our serve and scrappy defense against Brookhaven forced them out of system and we took advantage."

North Platte 3 Fort Scott 1

Jaelyn Dicke led the way with 18 kills, while Nya Lual tallied 11 kills in the match against Fort Scott Community College.

North Platte jumped out early as Aubrey Grant bested the defense for back-to-back aces. The Greyhounds battled back to even the set before a kill by Zoe Maher broke the deadlock for the final time. A short run helped the Knights build a four-point advantage, while kills from Ella Rotherham, Fatima Gomez and Lual helped the Knights close out the set.

The Knights carried the momentum into the early stages of the second set. Fort Scott rallied to knot the set at 10-10. Teams continued to exchange points for the remainder of the set until a late 5-1 run evened the match at one set apiece.

North Platte fell behind early in set three, as the Greyhounds built a 2-0 advantage. A 5-2 run capped off by back-to-back kills from Dicke pushed the Knights out front. The momentum continued late in the set as a 7-0 run aided in the set three win.

The fourth set featured a back-and-forth battle. A pair of attacking errors extended the Knights lead to four, but the Greyhounds patiently waited to rally late. Trailing 18-13, Fort Scott seized the opportunity and stormed back to regain the lead at 23-22. North Platte went back on the offensive and generated a 3-0 run to earn their first win of the season.

North Platte 3 Dallas College Brookhaven 1

Gomez had a team-high 12 kills, 23 digs and four service aces to lead the Knights against the Bears.

A kill down the line by Gomez stretched the lead to 9-5 in the early stages of set one. The Bears cut the margin down to two midway through the set. Back-to-back attacking errors ignited a North Platte 7-2 rally to seal the opening set.

Knights and Bears battled it out as they exchanged the lead throughout set two. Trailing 18-17, North Platte evened the score on a kill by Lual. Teams continued to exchange the lead late before a 2-0 run helped even the match.

North Platte held a 6-3 advantage in set three after a kill by Lual. The Bears regained control of the lead on a long rally, but a 7-0 run capped off by an ace from Dicke helped the Knights take the lead for the final time. Knights continued to cruise and put the finishing touches on a 25-15 set three win.

Brookhaven may have taken the opening two points of set four, but the Knights would not stay down for long. A long rally midway through the set not only helped build an eight-point lead but helped seal the match with a 25-20 set win.

North Platte will be back in action on Saturday for a doubleheader beginning with Iowa Western Community College at 11 a.m.