The Lady Vikings' biggest opponent down the stretch is their schedule

It happens every year to the Northwood-Kensett volleyball team. Just as they start to play well and come together as a team, the Lady Vikings hit a stretch in their schedule that has them playing one match a week, for weeks on end, resulting in just a handful of matches over the final month of play, all this while other area teams are playing the full complement of matches allowed by the state.
Just take a look at the records of teams that advance come tournament time, all have played more matches than N-K. Some teams will play a full two seasons worth of matches above and beyond what an N-K player over a four-year career, making it almost impossible for the Lady Vikings to ever advance to a state tournament, putting them up against teams that now have years of experience on them.
So it was that N-K found itself once again outmatched by an Osage squad who played 37 matches a year ago while the Lady Vikings played in 23, that’s 14 matches a year, over a four-year career that adds up to a Green Devil having played in 56 more matches than their N-K counterparts. When will the N-K administration give them a chance to compete?
The Lady Vikings trailed throughout last Tuesday night’s opening set, falling behind 17-5 before losing the first set 25-10. In the second set N-K took its first lead of the night at 4-3 and for a time, stayed right with the No.2 ranked (class 2A) Green Devils, leading 8-6 before being outscored 19-8 down the stretch in the 25-14 loss.
The Green Devils, who are hitting over .500 on the year, wasted little time in the dispatching after of N-K in the third and final set, winning it 25-7. Seniors Natalie Cordle and Clara Davidson led the team with three kills each.
With the loss, the Lady Vikings are now 5-12 overall and 2-6 in the Top of Iowa Conference East. After facing North Iowa on Tuesday night in Northwood, the Lady Vikings will compete on Saturday at the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura Tournament in Garner.

Osage 3, N-K 0
NK    10    14    7
O       25    25    25