The Neosho County Community College cruised to a 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-20) win over rival Labette Community College Wednesday evening in Chanute.
The Panthers led all but the first few points of the third set en route to the team's seventh win of the season.
"It was nice to come in at home and dominate and get done in three," Coach Asya Herron said. "We've been letting teams hang around for four or five games instead of winning in three."
Neosho County jumped out to an early 7-3 advantage behind a pair of mistakes by the visiting Lady Cardinals and a kill by sophomore outside hitter Rianne Richard.
The Panthers kept rolling, outscoring Labette 18-7 over the remainder of the set.
The home team kept the momentum on its side as the second set got underway, racing out to 11-3 lead.
Late in the set, Labette made a late push to cut the Panther lead to 19-16, forcing the Panthers to call a timeout, but NCCC finished off the Lady Cardinals with a 6-2 run.
With a 2-0 lead, the Panthers were able to switch up the lineup and move some people around in the rotation.
"We've been wanting to put some different people in," Herron said. "We've been struggling at making errors, and I think everybody in our lineup can play, it's just a matter of getting them in and getting them comfortable."
In the final set, Labette scored the first two points of the set, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers regained the the lead at 17-16 from a kill by sophomore middle blocker Riley McGinn.
Neosho County never trailed again for the remainder of the match.
"We got a nice lead in several of the games, and we tried to a few different kids in," Herron explained. "As far as the outsides go, we are still looking for the right combo. We've been playing around with a few different kids on the outside. It was a great opportunity to see them play a little."
McGinn led the team with eight kills and four blocks. Sophomore Kylie Foster added three blocks. Freshman Breanna Becker tallied a team-high 15 digs, while Richard added 13. Freshman setter Kelsie Anderson had 14 assists.
"It's a conference win, so I'll take it any day," Herron concluded. "We have a tournament this weekend in Iola, and we hope this will give us some confidence."
The Panthers (7-6 overall and 2-1 in the KJCCC) will travel to Iola for the Allen Invite Friday and Saturday.
Allen Invite schedule
Friday
vs. Northeast Community College, 3 pm
vs. Coffeyville Community College, 5 pm
Saturday
vs. NEO A&M, Noon
vs. Ottawa JV, 2 pmÂ
