Northwest Volleyball Opens Season with Back-to-Back Sweeps at Itawamba Tournament

Fulton, Miss. — The Northwest Mississippi Community College volleyball team opened its season with two straight wins at the Itawamba Cross Over Tournament, hosted at the Davis Events Center. The Rangers swept No. 22 Pellissippi State Community College in three sets and also defeated Northwest Shoals Community College in straight sets.

Northwest did not lose a single set in the opening day of competition. The team’s victory over Pellissippi State was particularly dominant, extending their winning streak over the Volunteers to three straight. Ariana Woods led the team with 12 kills on 21 attacks, posting a .429 hitting percentage and adding three blocks. Sofia Gonzalez, making her debut, contributed eight kills with just two errors, along with two assists and two blocks.

The team’s defense was solid, with Jania Rose finishing with 12 digs as libero. Gonzalez and Reece McIntosh each added eight digs. The team totaled 49 digs across the three-set sweep. Offensively, 11 players recorded at least one kill. Dallas White and Chloe Rodriguez led the team in assists, with 17 and 10, respectively.

In their second match, Northwest again swept Northwest Shoals in three sets, winning the first set 28-26 after surviving extra points and then claiming sets two and three comfortably. Match statistics were not available at the time of publication. The team has yet to drop a set this season, marking the best start in program history and the first time Northwest has begun a season 2-0 with sweeps in both matches.

Northwest continues competition against Bevill State Community College and Dyersburg State Community College on the second day of the tournament. Matches are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the Davis Events Center. Streaming information and updates are available at nwccrangers.com. Fans are encouraged to follow the team’s social media accounts for more coverage of Northwest athletics.

Source: Original Article