TORRINGTON, Wyo. – Kathryn Stock pounded home 12 kills and served 13 points as the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team swept Eastern Wyoming College 25-8, 25-10, 25-22.
Stock had nine of her service points in the first set, including all nine in one service stretch. Stock said they played well after dropping two of three matches on Saturday.
“We played good and we had one of our better players out, but I think we really pulled together and played as a team,” the outside hitter from Thibodaux, La., said. “We came out here with a goal to play as a team tonight and we definitely did that.”
The Cougars definitely were playing together in the first two sets, breezing to a 2-0 lead. Stock said they were ready to play.
“We got focused and we knew what we had to do,” she said. “We had to go in there and have that mindset to kill. We didn’t have too many mistakes. We did, however, miss a few serves here and there, but we came back in there and focused.”
EWC coach Verl Petsch said he told his team at the break they needed to communicate, and in the third set the Lancers played better, taking the No. 2 ranked Cougars to the limit. EWC held a 21-19 lead late, but two kills from Whitney Roth, a kill from Stock and the match winning hit from Ariel Austin let the air out of the Lancers comeback attempt.
“I told them that we had to start to play as a team and communicate,” he said. “We had a problem with that all year that they communicate at the same level that they did in high school and that is not going to get the job done here. I really got after them about not communicating and not moving and playing as a team. We needed to cover our responsibilities and let the other players to the same and we would be fine.”
Petsch said it is crucial for his team to start the matches strong, something they haven’t done very often this season.
“All year long, no matter who we have been on the floor with, we have had some really good high executions, but it takes us a long time for us to get those going,” he said. “It seems like we lost several individual games early and then came back to play tough. But, we dug ourselves a hole and honestly it is tough to get out of that hole.”
EWC definitely dug themselves a huge hole as WNCC totally dominated in the first two sets. In the opener, WNCC ran out to an 18-3 lead after Stock’s service run and won the contest on a Kuulei Kabalis ace serve.
The Cougars continued playing strong in the second set as Sabina Piegza served up six straignt points to put WNCC up 8-3. WNCC led 18-7 on two Cami Weimer points and later 22-9 on two Kabalis points. WNCC won the set on a Stock kill.
The third set was a back and forth affair as WNCC took a 5-3 lead on kills from Roth, Austin and Stock. EWC kept battling, coming back to grab a 13-11 lead on a kill and block by Ariel Gass. The Lancers’ pushed the lead to 15-13 on two kills from Torrington’s Chelsi Lemmon.
WNCC fought back to take a 28-26 lead on a Weimer service point only to watch the Lancers keep fighting and taking a 21-19 lead on two service points by Sam Perkins. After a WNCC timeout, Roth hammered home a kill from her middle position and the Cougars went on to win.
Stock finished the contest with 12 kills on 18 attempts, eight digs, 13 points, three aces and Kabalis had 15 digs, three aces and nine points; Sabina Piegza had 26 set assists, four kills and eight points; Weimer had four kills and four points; Roth had three points and six kills; Emily Hoehn had five digs; Paulina Piegza six kills; Austin five kills; and Sierra Schmidt with four points.
Lemmon led the Lancers with five kills, while Alexa Welsh had seven set assists and six digs. Also for the Lancers, Erin Monheiser had five set assists; and Gass had two stuff blocks.
EWC (4-8) will be back in action this weekend when they host Northwest Wyoming and Sheridan College on Friday and Saturday. WNCC (10-2) will have a 10-day break in action before they head to the Pizza Hut Classic in Sterling, Colo., on Sept. 18-19.
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