HAWKS BATTLE NO. 1 TIGERS SATURDAY IN HOMER OPENER

NORFOLK, Neb. – The Northeast Community College volleyball team hit their home floor at the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk for the first time in the 2025 season Saturday as they hosted No. 1 Cowley County Community College. The Hawks dropped the contest to the defending national champions by a final score of 3-0.

Northeast (2-4, 1-0 ICCAC) held strong in the first frame of the showdown as they led late in the first set before eventually falling 26-24. The Hawks also held their own in the second set before Cowley County began to pull away. Freshman Rowan O'Keefe (Clear Lake, Iowa) led the way for Northeast in kills with five while Izabel Hollatz (Creston, Neb.) recorded eight kills and 12 assists.

The Hawks will stay home during the upcoming week and will host their second match at home in 2025 against Marshalltown Community College at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night at the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk.

STAT SHEET:

SET SCORES: 24-26, 18-25, 16-25

Kills: Rowan O'Keefe (Clear Lake, Iowa) - 5

Ace Serves: Mckenna Jones (Yutan, Neb.) - 4

Digs: Katie Borg (Wakefield, Neb.) - 8, Izabel Hollatz - 8

Assists: Izabel Hollatz - 12, Mckenna Jones - 10

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Volleyball Coach Amanda Schultze on the match against Cowley County:

"I felt like we really struggled to play defense and connect with our middles," Schultze said. "A big thing for us is getting our middles running and having our setters and middles connecting. That didn't happen for us today. I felt like more pressure was put on our outsides, and we didn't put the ball away out there."

Schultze on the lessons that can be learned from facing the nation's best:

"We just have to work on bouncing back," Schultze said. "If we get aced, we have to change our mindset and fix that next pass. Overall, we played with a good team."

Schultze on facing Marshalltown on Wednesday:

"It will be nice to stay at home this week," Schultze said. "I want to see us get back in our groove and trust each other on the court."

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will host Marshalltown Community College at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night at the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk.

HAWKS HAPPENINGS:

For all the latest information on Northeast Hawks Athletics, please visit northeasthawks.com. For updates and other exciting content, follow:

@northeastcchawks on Facebook

@northeasthawks on Instagram

@northeasthawks on TikTok

@NortheastHawks on Twitter/X

@NortheastCCVB on Twitter/X