MCCOOK, Neb. – The Neosho County Community College volleyball team sandwiched a pair of wins with a pair of losses at the McCook Community College Invite in Nebraska over the weekend.
The Panthers dropped the first and final matches of the tournament, but in between, they knocked off Cloud County Community College and host McCook.
"We had moments where we were great at taking care of the ball and being aggressive, and we had moments that weren't so great," Coach Asya Herron said. "Those were the sets that we lost. We didn't control the ball very well and made too many errors."
In the first game, the Panthers were swept by Southeast (Neb.) Community College, 25-18, 26-24, 25-23.
The Panthers committed 15 errors, hitting only .178 in the loss.
Maryssa Recio led Neosho County with 10 kills, while Ryed Creek added nine. Defensively, Chandler Karr tallied two blocks, while Madison Miller recorded 26 digs.
Later Friday, the Panthers rebounded with a 3-0 sweep of Cloud County Community College, 25-15, 26-24, 25-13.
"When we are good, it's beautiful and great volleyball and we fire on all cylinders, but it's that time we are out of system and something is a little off when we have to work to earn points," Herron said.
Karr, Creek and Joanna Riggs all recorded seven kills in the win. Karr also tallied eight blocks. Imani Jones also had three blocks.
"Our middles did a good job this weekend," Herron said. "Imani and Chandler both did a really good job of being consistent and keeping the ball in the court."
On Saturday morning, the Panthers returned to the court facing host McCook.
Neosho County won the first two sets 25-21, 25-15, but McCook avoided the sweep with a 26-24 third-set win. The Panthers finished them off 25-18 in the fourth.
Creek had a team-high nine kills, while Recio and Jones added eight each. Karr also added six more blocks, while Recio had four and Jones two. Madison Miller tallied 37 digs.
"Madison had some stellar games and could do no wrong even when she was in the wrong place," Herron explained. "The ball found her and she made some really great plays."
In the final game, the Panthers forced a fifth set but came up short against North Platte, 16-25, 25-10, 15-22, 24-26, 15-10.
"I would have, obviously, loved to come away with a win in our five-set match against North Platte. We struggled with errors in crucial moments in the game, and that what eventually was our downfall in the loss."
Recio had 17 kills in the loss, while Jones tallied eight and Karr six. Karr, again, led the Panthers with seven blocks, while Recio had six and Jones five.
Neosho County (10-5 overall and 1-1 in the KJCCC) will return to league play Wednesday in Coffeyville against the Lady Red Ravens (13-1 and 2-0). First serve is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
"It's always a fun environment," Herron said. "We want to control the tempo of the game and make sure we are serving aggressively to take them out of their serve-receive."
Coffeyville has already beaten Cowley, Fort Scott and Johnson this season.
"They are a good team and have some returners from last year's National Tournament run," Herron concluded.
