Bearcats fall to third-ranked Lopers
LACY RILEY/THE FORUM
Northwest sophomore Abby Bulthuis passes the ball Saturday at Bearcat Arena.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — The Northwest Missouri State volleyball team fell to third-ranked Nebraska Kearney 3-1 on Saturday at Bearcat Arena.
“You just have to have the mindset that we’re gonna play Bearcat volleyball,” sophomore Chloee Hayes said. “We’re not gonna worry who’s across the net and just do our thing.”
The first set started with a Northwest block of Hayes and Maja Noehrer, but then came two attacking errors from Northwest. They got the ball back after a kill from Kasidy Mohwinkle and scored four points off kills from Hayes, Bulthius and Davis.
The Lopers got the ball back and made a run of their own before Mohwinkle ended it with another kill. From then on, both teams went on mini runs, keeping within five points of each other. UNK ended the first set with a kill from Mia Berg — winning the set 25-20.
Northwest started the second set off just as strongly, with kills from Hayes and Noehrer. Both teams went back and forth until Northwest went on an important run of four, taking the score to 11-6. Both teams went kill-for-kill, but the Bearcats kept the lead.
After a big kill from Noehrer, Ella Caffery was sent to the serve line. She stayed there until a kill from Stowell gave the ball back to the Lopers who missed their chance with a service error, and the Bearcats won the second set 25-20.
“I thought our feeling that we played with, like the energy, was a lot better today,” Bearcat coach Amy Woerth said.
Northwest secured the first point of the third set with a kill from Noehrer, and then went on a small run. The Lopers then went on a long run of six points, forcing a Bearcats timeout, moving the score to 16-9.
Noehrer broke the run up with a kill, but the Lopers came right back to score another five points in a row. Northwest tried to bounce back with Hayes at the serve line, but UNK surged ahead, winning the third set 25-15.
Northwest tried to jump out of the gate hot again with a kill from Hayes, but UNK didn’t let them get far. Both teams battled for the lead until the Lopers went on a small run. After a Bearcat timeout, Noehrer had a big kill.
The Lopers got back in control and went on another small run. The Bearcats ended it with a kill from Abby Bulthuis, forcing a UNK timeout. Northwest tried to battle back, but UNK had already gotten too far ahead. The Lopers took the fourth and final set 25-18, continuing their undefeated run.
For the Bearcats, Mohwinkle had 12 kills and had five digs, Noehrer had 11 kills and Bulthius also had 11 kills and seven digs. Caffery led the night with 41 assists and 17 digs and Karsen VanScoy had 13 digs.
Northwest heads back on the road next week to face top-ranked Central Oklahoma and Arkansas-Fort Smith.
“I think just being home has really helped us get connected as a group, and let us hone in on who Bearcat volleyball is,” Hayes said about being back in Maryville.
