The North Platte volleyball team (0-8-1) is still searching for its first win of the fall.
The last time the Lady Panthers stepped onto the court, they had a chance to earn a victory against Wellington-Napoleon (1-3) – who entered the match without a win – on September 12. The Lady Tigers came out on top in four sets, with each one being competitive.
The opening two sets of the match went down to the wire, having to be decided by a 2-point margin after at least one team reached 25 points. North Platte were unable to win either set, falling by scores of 26-24 and 27-25. The Lady Panthers survived set three, winning it 25-21, but was unable to force a fifth set when the Lady Tigers took the match with a 25-19 victory in set four.
North Platte’s Kinsey Niedfeldt had six kills in the match against University Academy Charter on Sept. 7.
Katelyn Morelock had an impressive night for North Platte, ending the match with 11 kills and four blocks. Bailey Richardson dished out 14 assists, Kylee Sipes had 17 digs and Kate Richardson finished with five aces.
The defeat by the Lady Tigers was the Lady Panthers’ sixth consecutive match where they were bested by an opponent – following a tie against Plattsburg (3-4-1) in pool play of the KCI Tournament – with the last one before Wellington-Napoleon being against St. Joseph Christian (7-1) on September 8. The Lady Lions completed a sweep when they outscored the Lady Panthers 75-35 in the match while Sipes had 13 digs.
North Platte hosted University Academy Charter (2-1) on September 7 when the Lady Panthers came up short in four sets. After dropping the opening set 25-22, North Platte tied the match with a 25-21 victory, but the Lady Gryphons responded by winning the final two sets, 26-24 and 25-17, to win the match 3-1.
Katelyn Morelock finished with six kills and two blocks and Kinsey Niedfeldt added six kills, while Sipes ended with 23 digs and Bailey Richardson had 11 assists. North Platte will look to bounce back in a road KCI Conference match against Lathrop (7-2) on September 15.