It won’t be an easy road for the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team to repeat last year’s national championship at next week’s National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The Cougars, 56-3, enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face No. 15 Northwest Shoals out of Muscle Shoals, Ala., in a 10 a.m. contest Thursday, Nov. 20. Northwest comes in with a 38-6 record.
Then, if they win their opening round, the Cougars will play a 4:30 p.m. contest Thursday against the winner of the North Idaho College and Miami Dade College contest. Miami Dade is one of the team’s that handed WNCC one of their three defeats this year.
“The tournament bracket looks pretty tough on our end,” first-year coach Giovana Melo said. “It will be very hard to win. Winning a national title is not an easy task. It takes hard work and a lot of dedication.”
WNCC, however, has been cruising right along since that Oct. 24 setback to Miami Dade. The Cougars captured their 10th straight Region IX championship last weekend in dropping Otero Junior College and then Northeastern Junior College twice.
“We are playing very well together,” Melo said. “I thought we were focused and had a lot of intensity at regionals. I hope we can repeat that at nationals. I know we will. The girls are excited.”
WNCC will definitely need that focus and intensity in the 16-team tournament, including No. 1 Iowa Western Community College, the host squad. Iowa Western was the other team that defeated the Cougars this year and they last won the national title two years ago when they defeated WNCC in three sets.
Iowa Western (52-4) will tip off with No. 16 seed Spartanberg Methodist College (24-7) at noon in the first round.
The complete first round pairings include 8 a.m. contests No. 3 University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith (41-3) against No. 14 Casper College (32-16) and No. 6 Missouri State West Plains (36-13) against No. 11 Salt Lake Community College (32-9); 10 a.m. contests WNCC against Northwest Shoals and No. 10 North Idaho College (28-10) against No. 7 Miami Dade College (24-6); noon matches of No. 1 Iowa Western facing No. 16 Spartanburg, while No. 8 Hillsborough Community College (33-6) takes on No. 9 Frank Phillips College (41-9); and rounding out the first round at 2 p.m. will be No. 5 San Jancinto College (30-2) facing No. 12 Hutchinson Community College (28-14) and No. 4 Blinn College (29-2) meeting No. 13 Temple College (26-12).
The championship is slated for Saturday, Nov. 22 at 5:30 p.m.
Melo said she doesn’t know too much about Northwest Shoals, but will find out. The Patriots has just one player – Bethany Morgan – at 6-foot. They also have three players standing 5-11.
WNCC, however, can’t underestimate any team in the national tournament chase as they go after a second straight national crown.
“We need to play as hard as we can every point,” she said. “Whatever happens after that it is consequence. We need to think one game at a time.”
The Cougars won last year’s national title by dropping Hillsborough Community College and University of Fort-Smith-Arkansas in straight sets. They then made a thundering comeback in the semi-finals against No. 1 Salt Lake Community College, coming back from a 2-1 set deficit to prevail in five sets, winning the fifth 15-12.
WNCC won the title with a four-set win against Miami Dade 30-27, 30-26, 21-30, 30-22 win over the sharks.
Melo believes this year’s team can bring back the college’s second national championship in two years.
“We have the talent and the potential to do it,” she said. “Now, it is just a matter of applying it on the court. I believe in them 110 percent. I can’t wait to get there.”
The Cougars will depart for the national tournament next Tuesday, have a scheduled practice Wednesday, and then open up against Northwest Shoals Thursday. All the action for the national tournament can be heard on KOZY 101.3FM or on the Internet at www.kozy1013.com.
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