Nearly an entire calendar year had passed since the North Platte volleyball team (1-13-1) finished a match with a victory, but the Lady Panthers erased a 2-0 deficit to take down Penny (1-10) in five sets on September 22.
North Platte junior Katelyn Morelock (#12) hits the ball over the net in the second of five sets when the Lady Panthers earned their first win of the season on Sept. 22.
With 348 days passing since the Lady Panthers’ last victory – a 2-0 win over South Harrison in the Riverside Tournament on October 9, 2021 – North Platte was in a losing skid entering the home match against its conference rivals. Penney was in trouble early on but was able to steal the opening set and eventually take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Lady Panthers were in sole control of the first set until the closing moments, starting the match off with an ace by Bailey Richardson on the opening serve that led to a quick 3-0 advantage by the home team. While the Lady Hornets slowly made their way back into the set, they trailed by as much as nine points on multiple occasions.
North Platte went up 17-8 and reached 20 points when its opponent had 11, but the Lady Hornets buzzed back. Penney outscored North Platte 13 to two en route to taking set one, 25-22.
The second set was much more competitive with six ties and six lead changes and Penney struck first with the opening point. The first half of the set was tight as neither team led by more than three points prior to being tied at 10.
The Lady Hornets took control from that point on to win the second set 25-20 and take a 2-0 advantage on the match that’s a best of five sets. With another loss gleaming in their near future, the Lady Panthers refused to go down without a fight.
North Platte rallied off three consecutive set victories – capped off with a 15-8 triumph in set five – to win the first conference match in almost exactly a year. The Lady Panthers’ last KCI victory was against the same opponent on September 23, 2021, with a 3-0 sweep.
Kylee Sipes and Richardson helped lead the way for North Platte, with Sipes finishing with 19 digs and Richardson dishing out 20 assists. Katelyn Morelock had 18 kills and Kinsey Niedfeldt had 14 aces.
The last time North Platte won a home match was also against Penney, that one taking place on September 24, 2020. The Lady Panthers have won more than the last 15 matchups against the Lady Hornets dating back to over a decade.
MSHSAA changed the volleyball rules in 2020 that matches will be the best of five sets instead of the best of three sets and the Lady Panthers’ 3-2 win over Penney was the first time they won a match in exactly five sets. North Platte will host one of the top KCI teams, Lawson (14-2), on September 29.