By:Patrick Hall Sunday, 16 September, 2007

PCC Volleyball went 2-2 at Northeastern in Sterling, CO, this weekend. Despite the fact that they could easily have come away with a 3-1 record. Pratt defeated Lamar (CO) 3-1 and McCook (NE) 3-0, and dropped matches to Central (NE) 1-3 and #10 Northeastern (0-3).

"I was quite pleased with both our results and our play," said Head Coach Patrick Hall. "Individually and as a team, it was our best weekend of the season."

PCC opened on Friday against Lamar (CO), winning 27-30, 30-24, 30-26, 30-14. It took them a while to get going after the eight hour trip, but by the end of the match, the team was hitting near .300.

In games one and two, the team hit only .170 and .150 respectively, but in three and four, they hit .380 and .300.

Lacey Olin, a Colorado native, must have felt at home as she hit .500 in the match, with 20 kills and only 4 errors in 33 attempts. Olin also had 4 aces.

Brittney Lindhorst contributed 9 kills out of the middle for a .410 average.

Taylor Randall also continued her improvement with a performance that presaged a return to an offensive threat. She had 8 kills in 21 attempts for a .280 average.

Courtney Purcella continued to hold court on the defensive end with 25 digs. Randall added 10, Olin 8 and Chelsey Leonard 7.

Heather Williams and Ashley Fenlon split setting duties with 27 and 14 assists respectively.

In the second match of the day, the Beavers could not find a steady rhythm against Central (NE), although at times PCC looked extremely fluid. Pratt took the first game 30-28, but dropped the second by the same margin, then lost two other close ones, 24-30 and 27-30.

Olin and Randall put on highlight reel performances. Olin had 26 kills in 51 swats for a .313 percentage, while Randall had 11 kills with a team and personal season high .360 average. Mandy Zeka added 9 kills in the middle.

Heather Williams directed the hitting onslaught by dishing out 59 assists for a 14.9 assist/game average. Purcella again led the defense with 32 digs. Olin added 11, Leonard 9 and Randall 8.

On Saturday, Pratt opened against McCook (NE), winning in three: 33-31, 30-24, and 30-22. McCook is a young team with plenty of height and athleticism, and they've beaten Colby this year. The Beavers did not hit as well as the day before, but they were very solid defensively.

Kelly Settle led the team offensively with 12 kills and a .300 average. Olin added 11. The pleasant surprise of the match was that two frosh hitters, the right side Melissa Woods and the middle Ashley Simons, both hit error free ball. Woods contributed two kills and Simons went three for three, hitting a perfect 1.000.

Purcella, of course, led the defense with 21 digs.

The highlight of the tournament was the first match against Division I Northeastern. They're presently ranked #10 in the nation, and Pratt took them to 30-32. It was no fluke. Pratt played the proverbial "out of their minds" game. As a team, PCC hit a remarkable .257 for that first game.

Olin had six kills in 13 attempts and Settle had 5 kills in 10 attempts with no errors.

Unfortunately the Beavers couldn't sustain their momentum in the second game, dropping it 14-30, but they rallied back in a 21-30 loss in the third. In the third, Pratt hit .238.

Randall led all hitters in the match with a .166 average. Olin followed at .156, leading in total kills with 11. Settle had 8 kills at .146.

Purcella collected 14 digs. Randall had 7 and Olin 5. Heather Williams doled out 28 assists.

It was nice to see Randall return to form this weekend, despite the fact that she was a bit under the weather. She was second on the team with 29 kills and a .270 average for the two days, a season high for her.

Olin hit an incredible .318 for the weekend with 67 kills (that's not a misprint). She clearly returned to her All-Region form.

Brittney Lindhorst hit .260, which was much needed in the middle. Kelly Settle had 27 kills and a .186 average.

Purcella turned in another phenomenal defensive performance with 92 digs for the two days. Randall had 30, Olin 29 and Leonard 24.

Heather Williams had 126 assists and Ashley Fenlon added 24.

'I feel like our offense really came alive this weekend, with Olin and Randall providing a huge lift," said Hall. "If we can reproduce that Northeastern game one performance, we will have a lot of fun in the second half of the season. Our setting is coming around, in part because we are passing much better. And I have tremendous confidence in our defense."

Pratt's record now stands at 9-6. The Beavers travel to conference foe Garden City on Wednesday for a 6:30 match. Pratt has beaten Garden previously this season in a very tight match at the Cowley tournament.