Wednesday, October 25, 2006

WNCC sweeps NJC, wins south sub-region regular season title

The No. 1-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team earned another sub-region title and the No. 1 seed in next months Region IX tournament with a 30-25, 30-27, 30-28 win over Northeastern Junior College Wednesday at Sterling, Colo.

The Cougars, now 49-1 and winners of 40-straight matches, used a workman-like performance to register the win against the No. 15 Plainswomen led by Leticia Kuhn with a 15-kill, 14-dig performance. Jennifer Eichler also put a exclamation mark on the game finishing with 14 kills, including the final two kills for the sweep.

“We are happy with the win but I just wish we could play at the highest level all the time and I think we still can improve. I think the girls know that,” WNCC coach Chris Green said. “I think we still can play better then tonight. We had some errors but it was a great win for us to go on the road and get a win against a very good team.”

Defense, though, was the name of the game for both teams. Green said NJC had precision passing all night long. But, as much as NJC dug up ball after ball, it was the Cougars passing that won the game. Bianca Rivera, who committed to play volleyball at Creighton University next year, finished with 22 digs followed by Kuhn and Kendra Schauermann with 14 each.

“NJC passed the ball really well. The first two games we never had an ace serve,” Green said. “You have to give credit to NJC’s passing because our team relies on our tough serving and they passed the ball to the setter all night long. For us to get a win despite their perfect passing says a lot about their team.”

The Cougars also stopped balls from hitting the ground, which is something that the team prides themselves in. It is that defensive toughness that has earned the Cougars their 49-1 and No. 1 ranking for a sixth straight week after the polls were released Wednesday.

“This team plays great defense and defense wins games. You saw a lot of ball saved by our defensive play [Wednesday night],” Green said. “Kendra had a great pancake, which won a point, and she also had some other digs. Bianca had digs all over the place. Those digs are what gives us those extra points and we only won by a few points each of the games. Each of those points we save on defense are very important.”

The Cougars dominated play in the first game only trailing twice before escaping with a 30-25 win on three Schauermann service points.

The second game was a little closer. WNCC held an 11-7 lead on a Kuhn kill. The lead was soon short-lived with NJC taking a 25-23 lead late. With the score tied at 27, Kuhn hammered home a kill and Schauermann served out the game for the 2-0 lead.

The third game was all NJC for the majority as the Plainswomen held a 24-19 lead on three Brittany Palmer serves. WNCC rallied behind a Kuhn kill and four Soriana Pacheco service points to take a 26-25 lead. NJC called a timeout and got a sideout to stop the run momentarily. But it was only temporary as Eicher hammered a kill that dented the floor and two serves later, hammered home the game winner.

The Cougars were led by a variety of players in several categories. Pacheco led the team with 12 points, two aces and five digs; followed by Kuhn with 15 kills, 14 digs, five and five points. Also, Rivera had 22 digs and five points, Schauermann 14 digs, eight points and two digs; Eichler with 14 kills and six blocks; Barbara Freitas with six kills, five blocks and three digs; Hailey Mueller with five kills; and Jillian Kelly with four points.

The Cougars are now off until next Wednesday when they travel to Laramie County Community College
for their final regular season contest before hosting the regional tournament Nov. 9-11.

WNCC sweeps EWC for 48th win














WNCC set for contest Wednesday against NJC on the road;

Match will be broadcasted by KPNY Radio

The Western Nebraska Community College and Eastern Wyoming College volleyball teams had a tussle in the first game of their volleyball match Tuesday night at the Verl Petsch Activities Center. But, the No. 1 Cougars withstood the Lancers upset bid winning game one 30-26 and then cruised through games two and three behind Jillian Kelly’s 22 service points to win 30-7, 30-16 to improve to 48-1 entering tonight’s 7 o’clock encounter with No. 16 Northeastern Junior College on the road.

The Lancers, 12-27, are off until Monday when they hope to rebound against Laramie County Community College in a key north sub-region contest at Torrington. WNCC freshman Jenny Eichler said the big key for the Cougars between the first and second games was serving.

“Our serving was really big in the second game and our hitting started to pick up,” Eichler said. “Jillian’s serving was huge. We were excited for her and she made a lot of points look easy.”

Early on, EWC stayed with the Cougars, especially in the first game when the Cougars built a lead of eight points on Soriana Pacheco’s ace serve. That was when the tide started to turn for the Lancers. Gipfert, who finished the night with seven points, served up three points to cut the lead to 20-16. Both teams continued their back and fourth play with Tanna Nussbaum sliced the lead to 24-21 on a kill. Moments later, Freitas had two kills to push the lead to 27-23 only to see Jill Lockie hammer home a kill herself.

WNCC’s Eichler followed with a kill followed by a kill by Alex Cook to slice the lead back to 28-25. No team managed a service run as Kendra Schauermann had a kill to put the Cougars to within game point. A missed serve game back to EWC only to see Shawntell Jones hammer home the final point.

Both teams continued their strong play in the second play. EWC only trailed 4-3 on a Natalie Villwock kill, but things changed quickly with the lead greowing to 10-4 on two Stacie Meisner points and 15-6 on two four Barbara Freitas points.

A missed Lancer serve and a Hailey Mueller kill pushed the lead to 16-7 sending Kelly to the service line. All the 5-foot-9 freshman from Loveland, Colo., did was serve 14 straight points behind three Freitas kills, and two kills each from Jones and Pacheco kills for the 30-7 win.

WNCC continued its strong serving in game three as Kelly served four straight points, including an ace, for a 16-6 lead. EWC rebounded cutting the lead to 23-15 on two Amy McCracken points. After the teams exchanged points, Kelly finished off the Lancers with four service points for the win.

What impressed Petsch the most was how his team rebounded from the second game white-wash and the third game comeback.

Freitas led WNCC with 11 kills followed by Eichler with 10, Jones and Pacheco with eight a piece, Bianca Rivera with seven, and Kendra Schauermann with six.

WNCC also saw Pacheco finish with 43 assists, eight digs, six points and four blocks; Freitas chip in with eight digs and five points; Eichler with six digs; Kelly with 22 points, one ace and seven digs; Schauermann with seven digs and four points; Rivera with 11 digs; and Stacie Meisner with nine digs, six points and two aces.

Amie McCracken paced the Lancers with six points and eight digs, while Charissa Innes had 10 assists, Sarah Blausey eight assists, Katie Bradfield four kills, and Tanna Nussbaum three blocks.

Eichler said they will need to utilize the effort they put forth in the second and third games today against NJC, who enters the contest with a 34-6 mark.

“We played really well, but we will have to play a lot better [today] to beat NJC,” she said. “It is on their home court and with a lot funs. Hopefully we won’t buckle under the pressure.”

The Cougars might be without leading hitter Leticia Kuhn for a second straight match today. Kuhn sat out the EWC game with a calf injury and her status for the NJC match is up in the air. Today’s contest will be broadcasted by KPNY-FM on 102.1 and the Internet at kpnyfm.com.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Soccer team end season at Regional Playoffs


It wasn't a good day for the men's and women's soccer teams at the Region IX Playoffs in Cheyenne, Wyo., Sunday. Playing in windy conditions (with a wind chill estimated at 32 degrees and regular temps at 42 degrees) the WNCC men fell 2-0 and the women 4-1 to Laramie County Community College.

In the men's contest, the two teams were scoreless after one half. Then, 14 minutes into the second half the Golden Eagles scored off a free kick. LCCC added another goal with 19 minutes to play for the final margin.

In the women's contest, LCCC scored with 27 minutes to play in the first half and then at the 14 minute mark to take a 2-0 lead. The Golden Eagles added two more goals in the secsond half to forge to a 4-0 lead. WNCC didn't quite as Stacy Agnew scored the teams first goal at the 28:49 mark. Then, Amanda Arrant had a near miss that that wind took to the right.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Cougar volleyball 3-0 on southern Colorado trip

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team went a perfect 3-0 on the southern Colorado sub-region trip running their record to 47-1 on the season and assures them of being No. 1 for another week.

The team opened the trip Friday when they swept through Trinidad State Junior College 30-18, 30-23, 30-24. Jenny Eichler, Hailey Mueller and Shawntell Jones each posted four blocks in the win, while Kendra Schauermann led the way with 12 digs. Leticia Kuhn pounded home 16 kills, while Barbara Freitas had 17 points including five aces.

The team followed that up with a 30-21, 30-16, 30-23 win over Otero Junior College Saturday morning. The Cougars then shot down Lamar Community College 30-21, 30-9, 30-23 to run their sub-region record to 9-0.

The Cougars will have three more matches before concluding their regular season. WNCC is at Eastern Wyoming College on Tuesday and then they have a tough, sub-region battle against Northeastern Junior College on Wednesday on the road.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Cougar soccer split with Coffeyville C.C. Saturday


The WNCC women's soccer team scored nine times to down the Red Ravens 9-0. The Cougar men weren't as fortunate falling 1-0 to Coffeyville Community College.

In the men's contest, Coffeyville scored in the 18th minute of the first half and then shut down the Cougar offense. The men had several opportunities to score, but couldn't find the back of the net.

The women didn't have problem finding the net. In fact, five different players scored goals. Paige Achatz paced the team with three goals and two assists. Bre Perkes and Stacey Agnew each had two goals, and Nancy Boyack and Amanda Arrants had one.

Perkes also collected three assists followed by Ashley Miller with one, Agnew with three, Boyack with two and Arrants with two.

The Cougar men and women will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to face the University of Colorado Gold team in Boulder.

WNCC goes 4-0, wins Seward County Invite

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team put on a defensive clinic Saturday in the second day of the Seward County Invite in Liberal, Kan.

The Cougars finished with 98 digs in a three-game sweep of No. 7 University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith in the morning. Amy Winters said through a text message that they played great defense in the 30-21, 30-25, 30-22 win.

The team then claimed a huge four-game win over No. 9 Hutchinson Community College to finish the tournament undefeated. The Cougars won against the Blue Dragons 30-25, 26-30, 30-17, 30-18.

In the win against Fort Smith, the Cougars had five players with double figure digs led by Bianca Rivera with 24, followed by Leticia Kuhn with 23, Kendra Schauermann with 15, Soriana Pacheco with 13, Stacie Meisner with 11. Jenny Eichler also had six and Barbara Freitas had five in the huge win.

Kuhn also was the only player to finish with double figure kills, finishing with 11.

WNCC, 44-1 and winners of their last 35 straight matches, will more then likely retain their No. 1 ranking next week. Their next games are this weekend when they head to the southern Colorado sub-region road trip.

WNCC survives NJC in five games on Tuesday

By ALEX HELMBRECHT
Star-Herald Sports Reporter

Ever since the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team earned its No. 1 ranking the Cougars have looked for a test.

Tuesday night they got their wish.

Northeastern Junior College pushed WNCC to the brink but the Cougars prevailed on Sophomore Night to win 30-23, 33-35, 30-23, 27-30, 15-13.

Tuesday's contest was the first five-game match the Cougars have played all season.
And WNCC sophomore Barbara Freitas hopes the scare NJC gave the Cougars won't happen again.

"[This game] shows us we need to work hard at every single practice," she said. "We need to workout and lift weights harder and push ourselves. And we all need to do what's best for the team."

Against the Plainswomen Freitas definitely proved how valuable she is to the team as she had a hand in everything. She finished with seven service points, one ace, six digs, 17 kills and four blocks.

"I just tried to do my best," she said. "I always try to help and talk a lot to my teammates while we're on the court. Tonight we kept pushing one another and I know we can play better."

WNCC cruised in the first game behind the strong serve of Soriana Pacheco. She provided six service points in the game and she also keyed several Cougar attackers from her setter position.
However, in the second game, WNCC couldn't overcome timely hitting mistakes. The Cougars had a 4-point lead (25-21) but NJC rattled off four straight points to tie. WNCC responded to take a 27-25 lead, but NJC tied it again. Both teams were unable to take control of the game and shared several game points, until NJC's Tamy Leipelt served for the win.

The Cougars responded in the third game with a solid win, but in the fourth NJC's talented freshman frontline players showed why they may be a force to reckon with in Region IX.
Addi Radke, Thais Hollerbach and Leipelt combined for eight kills and three aces to lead the Plainswomen to their second win.

Radke would finish the match with 17 kills and four aces. Defensively she had 15 digs. Hollerbach pounded out 13 kills and dug up 21 balls, and Leipelt had 11 kills.

In the fifth game no team had more than a 1-point lead until WNCC's Jennifer Eichler used a Pacheco assist to give the Cougars a 13-11 lead. After a WNCC kill attempt was tipped out of bounds, the Cougars' Leticia Kuhn served for the match.

But NJC wouldn't go down quietly thanks to Jessica Tjaden's match-saving kill. The Plainswomen's Stacy Manweiler served for the next point to make the game 14-13.
But Eichler tipped Manweiler's next serve and Freitas tapped the ball down for the final point.
Freitas felt the crowd played a big part in WNCC's dramatic win.

"The students and the people of the city make it [Cougar Palace] a good environment for us to play in," she said. "They help us play our best."

Sophomore Hailey Mueller, who only played briefly due to a sprained ankle, also believes WNCC has a wonderful home court advantage.

"It's great when our crowd cheers us on," said Mueller, who along with fellow sophomore Bianca Rivera have never lost at Cougar Palace. "We know the court, we know the lines and all the areas. And we practice here, so we're comfortable."

Several Cougars had an outstanding match, led by Kuhn. The freshman from Brazil recorded a triple-double - 14 points, 21 digs and 21 kills. Kuhn also served five aces.

Pacheco also recorded stellar numbers dishing out 51 assists. She also scored 13 points and had 11 kills. Defensively, she provided the Cougars with 15 digs and three blocks.
Jennifer Eichler attacked well for WNCC as she finished with 17 kills. Defensively, she had six blocks.

Friday, October 13, 2006

WNCC opens Seward County Tourney with 2 wins

The WNCC volleyball team ran its record to 42-1 with impressive straight game victoies. The team started things with a win over Barton County Community College 30-14, 30-25, 30-17 at the Seward County Invite Friday afternoon.

They followed that up by defeating the host team in three games 30-19, 30-12, 30-19, in which coach Chris Green received a yellow card.

The Cougars have two matches Saturday against ranked Arkansas-Ft. Smith and Hutchinson Community College.

In the win this afternoon match, Bianca Rivera had 13 digs, Leticia Kuhn had 16 kills and three blocks, Soriana Pacheco 12 kills, three blocks and 35 assists, Jenny Eichler 11 kills, Barbara Freitas three blocks, and Kendra Schauermann with 13 blocks on her 19th birthday.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

WNCC volleyball win 40th match with triangular sweep

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team earned their 40th win of the season with convincing wins Thursday against Hastings College junior varsity and McCook Community College.

WNCC opened the day with a 30-14, 30-18 win over Hastings College as Leticia Kuhn had 10 kills, six aces and seven digs. The Cougars then remained unbeaten in the south sub-region with a convincing win against McCook 30-12, 30-10, 30-14.

WNCC, now 40-1 and ranked No. 1 in the country, will participate in the Seward County Invitational against some good teams. The Cougars will play Barton County Community College (27-6) at noon and Seward County Community College (15-16) at 6 p.m. on Friday and then N0. 7 University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith at 8 a.m. and No. 12 Hutchinson Community College at 2 p.m. All times are converted to MST times.

Perkes breaks record as WNCC soccer earns ties

Even though the Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer teams managed to earn ties Wednesday against the University of Colorado soccer teams, the day proved to be a historic one for women's player Bre Perkes.

Perkes netted two second half goals to break the single-season goal mark of 22 set in 2003 by Kylie Hanavan. The freshman now has 24 goals this season.

The women, though, tied the University of Colorado White team 3-3, while the men earned a double overtime tie against the Black team.

Perkes' two goals tied the contest after Colorado vaulted to a 3-0 lead early in the second half. Gering's Anna Rivera started the goal scoring, though, when she stole the ball and went in for the kill (the score). Goal keeper Jeannette Dittbenner made seven saves in net.

In the men's match, WNCC's Romeo Jaramillo recorded a first half goal off an assist from Francisco Gianzanti. Goal keeper Adam Rivera recorded nine saves for the Cougars.

Both teams will be back in action Saturday at home against Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. The men kick off the day at noon followed by the women.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Schauermann featured in Windsor-Beacon Newspaper

The success of the women's volleyball team is hitting the tri-state region by storm. Here, freshman Kendra Schauermann had a feature in the Windsor-Beacon newspaper. Here is what it said.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061007/WINDSORBEACON02/610070310/1132

WNCC softball goes 4-0 over the weekend

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team wrapped up the their fall season with a 4-0 weekend.

The team swept the University of Wyoming on Saturday 13-8 and 12-1, before taking two at the Chadron State College Jamboree over CSC 4-1 and the University of Wyoming 7-3.

In Saturday’s action against Wyoming, the Cougars pounded out 34 hits in the doubleheader. In the opener, Amanda Hensley went 6-for-6 with two triples, two runs scored and two RBIs. Amanda Torimaru also continued her torrid pace finishing with 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs.

Also collecting a multi-hit game were Whitney Foster (2-for-4), Kara Ryman (3-for-5), Ashley Eichelberger (2-for-4), Jessie McNabb (3-for-5), and Jessica Ventoza (2-for-4).

Pexton picked up the win in the circle going six innings in allowing just three runs. The Douglas, Wyo., graduate struck out one and allowed four hits.

The Cougars continued to roll in game two with a commanding 13-1 win, in which the team scored six runs in the second and five runs in the sixth for the win.

Torimaru continued her torrid hitting with a 3-for-4 performance including three doubles. Also collecting multi hits were Pexton (2 singles), Lauren Bourdan (single and triple), Eichelberger (2 doubles),

Pexton picked up her second win in circle going five innings, allowing no runs and just three hits.

WNCC wrapped up the fall season with two wins Sunday at the Chadron State Jamboree. The Cougars received an outstanding pitching performance from Natasha Dypchey, who went six innings allowing just three hits, while striking out six Eagle batters.

Several Cougars led the attack from the plate with a multi-hit game. Ventoza went 2-for-2 with a 2-RBI triple. Other include Foster with a 2-for-2 performance with a double, and Hensley 2-for-2 with a double.

WNCC wrapped up the fall season with a 7-3 win over the University of Wyoming, in which three different pitchers combined on the five-hitter. Offensively, Hensley went 3-for-4 with a 3-for-4 performance. Lauren Mills also went 3-for-3 with three singles, while Torimaru went 2-for-4 with a double.

The Cougars finished the fall season 16-7-1. They will now go through winter conditioning to prepare for the spring season. Their first games in the spring will be Feb. 9-10 at the Odessa Tournament.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Bre Perkes ties school record, Soccer teams down Dodge City

The Western Nebraska Community College and Dodge City Community College men’s soccer match on Sunday was destined for overtime. But freshman Eloy Matos changed all that with a minute remaining to give the Cougar men a thrilling 1-0 win over the now 7-3 Conquistadors.

Matos’ heroics was the icing on the cake of a perfect day for WNCC. Bre Perkes tied the school record for goals in a season as she continued her climb in the NJCAA national scoring ladders chart with four goals Sunday to pace the Cougar women to a dominating 5-1 win.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said Perkes’ effort keeps her among the nation’s best goal scorers.

“Bre came out and played a consistent game like she always does,” he said. “She put the ball in the back of the net four times and you can’t ask much more than from a player. We are very pleased with her effort.”

Perkes, who tied Kylee Hanavan’s 22-goals in a season from the inaugural 2003 season, now sits at No. 6 in the NJCAA national statistics. But it took 40 minutes before Perkes netted her first goal and first goal of the match when she took a pass from Paige Achatz for a 1-0 halftime lead.

The Plain City, Utah, native then added three more goals in the second half within 30 minutes of play to push the lead to 4-1. Perkes’ 22nd goal and season-record tying goal came at the 29-minute mark.

WNCC’s other goal came with late in the match as Kiwi Wingert took a shot, which rebounded off of Dodge City goal keeper right to the foot of Achatz, who hammered the ball into the net for the clincher.

Rasnic said the women’s team is becoming a championship ball club.

“They are playing more and more organized every time they come out on the field,” he said. “Honestly, their level of play is getting higher and that is what I have been looking for this season. We are just going to continue encourage them that we can continue to win games.”

The men also played inspired ball as both goal keepers, Dodge City’s Sean Pederson and WNCC’s Adam Rivera, brought their A game to the field. Pederson stopped 12 of 13 shots on goal, while Rivera had seven of six shots on goal.

Dodge City had a great goalkeeper and Adam came up big on that last corner kick and made a great save to take that tying goal away,” Rasnic said. “But I can’t say enough about the men’s team today. They showed me commitment, desire and composure on the field and I am very pleased how they played.”

Rasnic said the men now have an opportunity to obtain some team goals.

“It was unbelievable today. Our guys came out and played with a since of unity that I have been trying to get them to play with all season and we put it together today,” he said. “This win puts our record (5-7) back into an attainable goal to make us an even team this year and also puts us in a good spot for the Region IX playoff.”

Both teams had scoring opportunities all match long. It wasn’t until the 44th minute of the second half that sophomore Andrea Artunduaga booted the ball ahead of Matos just in front of the circle. Matos then ran down the ball, went one-on-one with goalkeeper Pederson and blasted the ball into the back of the net.

Dodge City had one last opportunity to tie game 45 seconds later, but Rivera proved golden in stopping the shot off the corner kick to seal the win.

“We are sitting in a good position for both teams for the regional playoffs,” Rasnic said. “If we can continue to do the things we are doing correctly, and as we continue to move on down the road, we are going to continue to get wins.”

Both teams are scheduled to face the University of Colorado in Boulder on Wednesday before returning home for their last home matches of the season on Saturday against Coffeyville Community College.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

WNCC downs Casper College in straight games

The WNCC women's volleyball team won their 28th straight match with a three-game sweep of Casper College on the road. The team won game one 30-22 and then followed that up with a near-loss 30-28. Amy Winters, assistant coach, next messaged and said they barely won game two. But, they survived and then breezed to the second game win 30-18.

The Cougars will now be off until Tuesday when they host Northeastern Junior College Oct. 10 in the Cougar's final regular season home contest before hosting regionals. It is also blue and gold night and all Cougars fans are asked to where blue to make it a "blue" night for NJC.