NPCC Athletics
North Platte, Neb. – Knights avenged an earlier season loss by defeating Hastings College JV in four sets on Tuesday night.
North Platte finished the night with three players in double-digit kills as Jaelyn Dicke led the way with 14. Nya Lual tallied 11 kills, while Zoe Maher added 10 of her own. Aubrey Grant dished out a season best 48 assists to accompany her three kills on the night.
The black and gold matched the Broncos early, until a 7-1 run helped North Platte distance themselves late in the opening set. Hastings rallied with a 5-1 run to pull back within three but kills from Dicke and Lual helped seal the first set, 25-20.
Knights got out to a strong start in the second set, but the Broncos once again rallied to knot the set at ten. Hastings continued to swing the momentum in their favor as they began to pull away at the midway point of the set. Broncos continued to maintain their lead down the stretch to even the match at one set apiece.
Knights dominated the third set as they stormed out to a 7-1 lead. A strong attacking offense carried the home team through the set, as they quickly stretched their lead to nine on a kill by Lual. Hastings could not match the high-powered offense as they dropped the set, 25-12.
The teams battled in the fourth set until a 3-0 run helped Hastings build an 11-8 advantage. A kill by Jocelyn Cheek helped tie the game up at 12-12, before another Broncos spurt gave the road team a two-point edge. North Platte countered with a 6-1 run highlighted by kills from Dicke and Maher to regain control. The Broncos continued to fight and forced a second match point, but a kill by Dicke was all North Platte needed to close out the match.
Knights host No. 4 Northeastern Junior College on Friday. First serve is set for 6 p.m. inside the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.