Knights fall to Raiders in Region IX play

Jocelyn Cheek attacks the Raiders block in the third set of their matchup on Thursday night. (Daniel Stinman, North Platte Community College

North Platte, Neb. – Knights fell to Central Community College at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on Thursday night in straight sets.

In the loss, the Knights fall to 5-15 overall and 1-1 in Region IX play. Central improved to 11-5 and 2-0 in league play.

Jaelyn Dicke powered the North Platte offense, totaling 12 kills and 14 digs. Aubrey Grant tallied 20 assists and three aces against the Raiders.

North Platte fell behind early, allowing the Raiders to open a five-point margin in the opening set. A 4-0 run pulled the Knights back within one on a kill by Ella Rotherham, before a 5-0 rally extended the Raiders lead to 14-9. A late rally evened the match at twenty, before a Jocelyn Cheek kill put the Knights out front. Central overcame the deficit and charged back to take the set, 25-23.

Deadlocked at six, the Knights surged ahead before building a three-point lead on a kill by Cheek. Central stalled the momentum midway through the set to tie the game up six more times in the closing stages. Even at 22-22, Central launched a 3-1 run to take a two-set advantage.  

Raiders used a 4-0 run to build a six-point lead early in the third set. The deficit grew to seven, before a late rally helped trim the deficit to 21-18 following an ace by Grant. The Raiders never surrendered their lead as they closed out the match with a 25-19 set win.

North Platte will return to the road to take on rival McCook Community College on Tuesday, Sept. 24. First serve is set for 6 p.m. inside the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center in McCook.