STERLING, Colo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team breezed through the Pizza Hut Invite without dropping a set after picking up two more wins Saturday in Sterling, Colo.
The Cougars started the day with a 25-16, 25-22, 25-10 win over Hastings College junior varsity as Ariel Austin pounded home 13 kills. WNCC then looked super sharp in a sweep over New Mexico Military Institute. NMMI topped Iowa Western Community College in the tournament as well going four sets against Northeastern Junior College.
"I thought we played well. There were a couple times where we fell apart, but we came back as a team and won both games in three," sophomore Ariel Austin said. "We came out ready against New Mexico Military. When we were watching the other teams play, they looked really good. We were ready for them and we came out strong."
The New Mexico Military contest was impressive for the seventh-ranked Cougars, who topped No. 2 Iowa Western on Wednesday. The Cougars stayed on top of their game throughout as Kathryn Stock and Debora Araujo each finished with double-doubles. Stock led the team with 15 kills and 12 digs, while Araujo had 14 kills and 10 digs.
Austin also was strong from her rightside hitting position finishing with six kills and two blocks, while Lais Soares had five kills.
Also for the Cougars, Fernanda Goncalves had two blocks, 36 set assists, 12 digs and two points; Tania Torres had 11 points and three aces; Kuulei Kabalis had 19 digs; and Emily Hoehn had four digs and four points.
WNCC was also impressive in the win against the Hastings College junior varsity No. 1 team, despite having a little bit of the hiccups in set two, which they pulled out 25-22. That contest saw Austin finish with 13 kills with Araujo getting six kills, and Torres, Soares and Mackenzie Westphal each getting four kills.
Goncalves finished with 22 set assists, seven points and two aces, followed by SIerra Schmidt with seven set assists; Hoehn with three digs and four points; Araujo with four points, two blocks and four digs; Kabalis with six points and 14 digs; and Westphal getting six digs.
Austin said that going through the Invite was a good feeling, especially how they had to fight in a couple of the sets.
"I thought we got better as a team during the tournament," she said. "I think we stayed focused and just blend, and we came out with four wins."
WNCC, 12-2, will have a big test this week. They first go to Casper College on Tuesday and then host the Wyo-Braska Shootout Thursday through Wednesday. The Cougars will face several ranked teams in the shootout, including No. 8 Western Wyoming Community College, No. 9 Laramie County Community College, No. 18 Seward County Community College, and Yavapai College, who received honorable mention status.
Austin said they will be ready for the challenges.
"We really need to focus on our blocking, our defense and staying consistent throughout the whole match," she said.
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