MCCOOK, Nebraska – The Durham College women's volleyball team avoided losing in straight sets in their first action of the year, falling 3-1 to the host McCook Indians on Tuesday night.
After losing 28-26 and 25-17, the Lords battled back late in the third set to earn a 26-24 victory. Although they forced a fourth, they were unable to force the fifth after being tied 24-24 late. McCook scored the following two points to take the match.
"The past few days has been a fantastic experience being involved in their (McCook Community College) community, training as a team and bonding," said head coach
Tony Clarke. "Tonight was our first opportunity to get on the court in a competitive setting and the girls responded well once they settled into the match. These were very early steps in the season, but I was happy with what I saw and the effort they put forth."
While the Lords are ahead of the game with this special opportunity to train south of the border, McCook begins their regular season on Thursday. The Lords will not play an OCAA regular season match until Oct. 19.
After a day's rest, Durham College will then challenge the Western Nebraska Cougars on Aug. 22. A school that has over 100 years of history and a dominant team in the NJCAA, the Cougars finished last season with a 28-9 record.
The Lords will then travel to North Platte, Nebraska where they will be taking part in a tournament of games beginning on Aug. 23, when they take on the Eastern Wyoming Lancers and for a second time their training partners throughout the trip, the McCook Indians. Founded in 1948, Eastern Wyoming College is another NJCAA school, and a school trying to rise the ranks of NJCAA volleyball.
Durham closes out their Nebraska trip on Aug. 24, completing a second doubleheader against two more historic NJCAA schools. The Lords will be challenged by a rebuilding Garden City Broncbusters team that finished the 2018-19 season without a single win, before coming up against the host North Platte Knights, who finished middle of the pack last season with a 17-21 record.
Overall Record: 0-1
Conference Record: 0-0
Next match: Thursday, Aug. 22 @ Western Nebraska Cougars (5 p.m. EST)
