The Cougars received a double-double from Kathryn Stock in the 25-14, 25-6, 25-16 win over Trinidad State to open the tournament. WNCC then rallied from several deficits against Northeastern Junior College, to sting the Plainswomen 26-24, 27-25, 25-19 to move into the championship match Saturday at 1 p.m. The contest can be heard live on KOZY 101.3FM or on the web at kozy1013.com.
Emily Hoehn, who finished the two matches with 12 digs, said this team played well. But what set the team apart from the competition was their drive to fight back after being down by six and five points in the NJC match.
“We played really well today. We came in and played as a team,” she said. “It was nice to see us, being down by five in a couple spots in the NJC game, to rally and comeback to get the win.”
The way the Cougars came back in the NJC contest was championship material. The Cougars, after taking the first set 26-24, trailed 6-1 early in the second set. The Plainswomen held leads of four and five points later on, but a timeout by WNCC coach Giovana Melo refocused the players, according to Hoehn.
“That second set comeback was really big for us,” the sophomore defensive specialist from Kearney said. “In the past we really struggled when we are down. Coach called a time out and told us to focus. We came out of that huddle really focused and closed the gap. We eventually took the lead. That was very big for us. It was a big improvement for us.”
WNCC started well the second set only to watch the Plainswomen claw back into the contest. Eventually, the Cougar women closed out NJC to move into the championship match. Hoehn said they are going to enter the championship match with some confidence, but also the mind frame knowing that NJC, if they win the early morning contest, will be waiting to bring their A-game.
“We are going to be really focused tomorrow. We are going to come in with a lot of confidence but not too much,” she said. “We have overlooked teams in the past and I think we learned our lesson. So we are coming into tomorrow, wanting to just shut them down.
“NJC will be a good game tomorrow. They are going to come out and want to play, but we just have to stay focused and play our game. Our game has worked well for us all season, so if we just focus on our game and not worry about the other side, we can come out with a victory.”
The Cougars had a balanced attack in the sweep over NJC. Debora Araujo paced the team with 16 kills, two blocks, five points and nine digs. Ariel Austin followed with seven kills and three blocks, while Kathryn Stock had five kills, two blocks, three points and seven digs. Also for the Cougars, Tania Torres had three kills, three points, three digs and four blocks; Lais Soares had three kills and six blocks; Fernanda Goncalves had three blocks, 28 set assists, three points and six digs; Kuulei Kabalis had six points and 11 digs; and Hoehn had six points and six digs.
WNCC was just as impressive in the win against Trinidad has four players finished with eight or more kills. Austin paced the attack with 10 kills, while Araujo had nine kills and eight digs. Also for the Cougars, Stock had eight kills, 11 points and 12 digs; Torres had five kills and four points; Soares had eight kills; Jodi Huddleston had two kills; Mackenzie Westphal had six kills; Goncalves had 26 set assists, four points and seven digs; Kabalis had eight points and 11 digs; and Hoehn had four points and six digs.
Hoehn said that winning a 12 straight regional title would mean a lot. They just have to be ready for anything.
“Winning a regional title will take for us coming out with a lot of energy,” she said. “We have talked about this a lot, but we play bad when we don’t have a lot of energy. It will also coming in with that team aspect, having trust in each other.”
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