OMAHA, Neb. - The Newman volleyball team split its matches once again in the final day of the UNO Volleyball Showcase, hosted by the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The Jets dropped a 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17) decision to Northwest Missouri State, but rebounded to pick up a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-23) win over Adams State.
Northwest Missouri State 3, Newman 1
Neither team could establish an advantage at the outset of the match. Senior Chelsey Potter put a Lyndsey Martini pass onto the floor on the Bearcat side of the net to open the game's scoring, and gave Newman a 1-0 lead, but Northwest Missouri State (won the next point to even the score. Neither team led by more than two points until four-straight Bearcat attack errors gave the Jets a 14-10 advantage, but Northwest countered with a 5-0 rally to take a 15-14 lead in the set. Another stalemate ensued, and the first set was tied at 21-21 when the Bearcats reeled off three-straight points to take a 24-21 lead. An Allison Bailey kill brought the Jets back to within two, but Northwest sealed the first set on the next rally with a Kelsey Larson kill to win the set, 25-22.
Northwest rode their momentum from the first set to a 4-1 advantage in the second set, but Newman responded with a 10-3 run capped by an Allison Fox kill to take an 11-7 lead. The Jets extended their leead to 14-8 on another Potter kill following a Martini service ace, but the Bearcats crawled back into the set with a 5-1 run of their own that narrowed Newman's lead to 15-14, but that was as close as Northwest could get, as the Jets evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 second-set win.
It was more of the same in the third set as Northwest snuck away with a 25-22 win, but this time Newman was unable to counter with a win. The Jets pushed the fourth set to a 10-10 tie, but the Bearcats responded with a 15-7 run to close the match.
Chelsey Potter recorded her first double-double of the 2010 season, finishing the match with 15 kills and 15 digs. The senior also added a solo block and two assists to her resume. Amanda Savage added 15 digs of her own to tie Potter for the team-high in the match, while Lyndsey Martini added a career-high 41 assists to lead the Jets.
Newman 3, Adams State 0
The Jets found themselves in yet another tight match in their opening set against Adams State. Allison Bailey broke a 10-10 tie with a kill from Gabby Loxterman, and helped Newman push to a 13-10 it would not surrender, as the Jets picked up a 25-22 win to open the match.
After spotting the Grizzlies a 6-3 lead in the second set, Newman used an 8-2 run to take an 11-8 lead after an Adams State attack error. That run gave the Jets the momentum they needed to run away with a 25-19 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
A Loxterman ace and back-to-back Grizzly attack errors gave Newman a 3-0 edge early in the third set, but Adams State rallied to tie the set at 9-9. The Grizzlies went on to take a 14-10 lead, and held the lead until Victoria Green and Karol Marins blocked an ASC attack attempt to tie the set at 17-17. Once again, Adams State pushed the lead back to 20-17, and held th lead until another Grizzly attack error tied the set at 22-22. The set remained tied at 23-23 until Marins gave the Jets a 24-23 lead with a kill from Loxterman. After that, the match came to a fitting end for the Grizzlies, who gave the Jets the 25-23 win on yet another attack error.
Loxterman finished the match with her first double-double of the season, posting 32 assists and 10 digs in the Newman win. Offensively, Marins led the Jets with nine kills, while Green finished with eight kills of her own.
The win improves Newman's record to 2-2 on the young season. The Jets will be back in action Tuesday, traveling to Emporia to take on the 12th-ranked Emporia State Hornets. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside White Auditorium.
--www.newmanjets.com--
