Former Tigers lead Northwest to win

RED OAK— The Red Oak faithful usually cheer on the orange and black. Last Wednesday night, they cheered on the green and black as three former Red Oak High School Volleyball players held a homecoming as members of the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats.

Bearcats Head Coach Jessica Rinehardt, libiero, Paige Spangenberg and outside hitter Alex Hanna made their return home as they defeated the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO), 3-2.
“It’s all still a lot of fun,” Spangenberg said about playing in front of the Red Oak crowd. “It was fun then, it was fun now.”
Northwest Missouri State won the first two sets with ease, defeating the Mavericks 25-21 and 25-18.
The Bearcats had an 18-15 lead in the third set, but UNO scored 10 straight points to win the 25-18
Northwest Missouri State would hold a three-point lead in the fourth set with several match point opportunities. However, the Mavericks scored five straight points to win the fourth set 26-24 and tie the match at two a-piece.
In the deciding fifth set, the Bearcats jumped out to an 8-0 lead. UNO cut down their eight-point deficit and scored 11 of the next 15 points.
“Getting that lead, we should have felt comfortable, although I didn’t feel that we were comfortable, even with the 8-0 lead,” Rinehardt said.
Both sides traded points, as soon it was at 14-13, in favor of the Bearcats. Spangenberg’s dig led to an Amber Guthrie kill in match point to give the Bearcats the win.
Spangenberg finished the night with 21 kills, leading the Bearcats.
Hanna also stepped it up Wednesday night, leading the Bearcats with 13 kills.
“It’s always a bonus to get to play,” Hanna said about playing in Red Oak. “Being able to play is also the best thing too.”
Rinehardt, a ’96 graduate of Red Oak High School, is in her first season as head coach for Northwest Missouri State. Her previous coaching stints include Augsburg College in Minneapolis and Morningside College in Sioux City.
Volleyball has meant so many things to so many people in this town,” Rinehardt said. “It’s neat, it doesn’t happen everywhere, it’s probably once in a lifetime for a lot of people.”
Spangenberg graduated in 2006 and is the Bearcats all-time leader in Digs
Hanna graduated from Red Oak in 2008.
“You always want to make people proud and knowing the whole team was coming out to support our team, myself, Alex and Paige, we do want to make them proud,” Rinehardt said.
The Bearcats sit at fifth place in the conference with a 10-6 record in the MIAA and 14-11 overall. They played at Central Missouri Friday night and will play Wednesday night against Missouri Western.