The Pratt Community College volleyball team faced off against Colby Community College in a home conference match-up. PCC filled the arena for a back and forth contest that almost went 5 sets. The Beavers were ultimately defeated by Colby in 4 sets (18-25; 20-25; 25-20; 20-25).
PCC opened up the contest by feeding off of several missed serves from Colby early on. Pratt continued to kill the ball and keep in the game with the Trojans until late in the first set. Pratt's back row kept up their common theme of efficient, yet scrappy defense. On the offensive end the Beavers kept the ball in play and fought back during long rallies. A late run by Colby was the key factor in pulling away on the scoreboard. Pratt went on to lose the set 18-25
Pratt started to find a scoring rhythm late in set 2. However, Colby did not make as many errors as they did in the first. Both teams served aggressively and challenged one another on the defensive end with hard hitting and strategic shots. Pratt faced many out of system plays but proceeded to make every touch of the ball better. This hustle and energy was not enough keep Colby from scoring points however. Colby managed to take set 2 with a score of 25-20.
Defensive specialist Naomi Warren took on the duty of wearing the libero jersey in the third set. A combination of Warren's efforts and a well-placed block from Pratt's front row contributed to forcing several Colby hitting errors. Pratt refocused and scored 12 kills during set 3. A mixture of potent offense and defense allowed for the Beavers to win set 3, 25-20.
"During the intermission I told the team that we have the opponent right where we want them. We forced them to change their offense and, now we just have to push," said head coach Jenny Mueller.
A frustrated Colby team began the fourth set making many of the same mistakes they did prior. PCC and Colby took turns holding the lead for several points. Each team went on offensive runs that forced the other to call timeouts. Colby gained the edge later in the set and started to control the lead once they hit the 20 point mark. A few critical hitting errors by the Beavers ended up being the deciding factor. Colby took the set and match in the fourth with a score of 25-20.
PCC volleyball travels to Irving, Texas on Sep. 6. The blue and white will compete in the North Lake/Cedar Valley tournament. The first match will begin at 2 p.m. on Sep. 7.