Down two games to none, the Northwest College Trappers forced San Jacinto-Central to a sudden-death fifth game before bowing out of the 2009 NJCAA National Volleyball Tournament in a 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 21-25, 15-13 defeat. NWC will share 11th-place honors with Panola College at this year's tournament.
Unlike the Trappers' game against West Plains on Thursday, which featured frequent, wild shifts in momentum for both teams, Friday night's clash with the No. 10 Ravens was championship volleyball at its finest. Neither team was able to hold momentum long. Northwest College failed to score more than three points in succession until more than midway through game three. San Jacinto faced similar struggles over the final three games of the match.
The tone for the contest was set in game one. The Trappers and Ravens found themselves tied on 11 different occasions as the teams played virtually point-for-point all the way from an early 8-8 deadlock all the way out to 19-19. A late Raven run of four consecutive points proved to be the miniature rally that tipped the scales in favor of the Texas school.
A similar run much earlier in game two allowed the Ravens to open a 17-11 lead. NWC trimmed the gap to 18-16, but watched as San Jacinto closed out with seven of the next eight points.
With their backs to the wall, the Trappers found the grit and determination needed to answer the challenge. Northwest built an early 10-5 lead in game three, but saw San Jacinto trim the margin back to 14-13 before head coach Flavia Siqueira's crew broke through the ice to finally score more than three points in succession. The burst enabled the Trappers to build a 20-14 cushion en route to a 25-18 win.
Game four featured a return to the same point-for-point volleyball that began the match. The Trappers scored four in a row to break away from a 13-13 tie before the teams resumed their tit-for-tat action all the way to a 25-21 NWC win that forced game five.
Given the two schools' balanced play, it was little surprise when NWC and San Jacinto were separated by a single point midway through the tiebreak game. The Ravens took their 7-6 lead and widened it to 12-8 before the Trappers mounted a final late rally. Northwest scored four of the next five points to close to within a point before San Jacinto closed out the match with back-to-back points.
Northwest College wraps up its year with a 27-10 final record.
Net Notes:
* It is going to be a very late night in Council Bluffs. The Trappers and Ravens began their match 47 minutes later than the scheduled 3:30 p.m. start time. After going a full five games, it appears the semifinal round of games will start somewhere around 80 minutes behind schedule.
* San Jacinto-Central was the only one of the top eight national tournament seeds to be upset in the first round at Council Bluffs. The Ravens were also the only consolation bracket school to appear in the final regular-season top 20 poll released by the NJCAA.
* With a listed enrollment of 27,000 students, San Jacinto was one of the largest schools in the 16-team national tournament field. Spartanburg Methodist, with an enrollment of 806 students, holds the distinction of being the smallest school at this year's event.
* The Trappers continued their scorching attack at the net at the national tournament. In this morning's match against Temple, NWC registered a .322 attack percentage. Irelis Ilarraza finished with 10 kills.
* More impressive, though, was the Trappers' service game against the Leopards. NWC sent 13 aces sailing over the net at Temple. Katie Gregg led the assault with five. Gregg also played a role in six of the Trappers' 14 blocks at the net in the contest.
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