WNCC volleyball begins preseason practice with hopes of winning back-to-back national titles

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team’s bid for back-to-back national titles started Monday with the Cougars opening preseason practices with just four players returning from last year’s NJCAA national championship team.

               Even with just four players back, this year's squad packs plenty of punch, enough to make the coaches eying the talent with eagerness.

               "The first day of practice went pretty good. We got to see them compete against each other," WNCC fourth-year head coach Giovana Melo said. "I think we have some pretty athletic girls and we [the coaches] are really excited."

               Lais Soares, one of the returning sophomores, said practices are going well with a lot of expectations riding on their shoulders.

               “Practice has been going good. There are different freshmen and sophomores and it has been going better then I think,” she said. “We are working together right know and we have high expectations to win a national championship again.”

               There is no doubt there was plenty of talent that took to the Cougar Palace floor for Monday's opening practice. For the freshmen, they are walking onto a volleyball program that has been one of the elite teams in the nation the last 10 years, including capturing national titles in 2007 and 2010, a runner-up finish in 2006, and third-place finishes in 2008 and 2009.

               Abbey Wade, a freshman outside hitter from Roseville, Calif.,  is excited to see all this talent on one court.

               “I am excited for this upcoming next [afternoon] practice because we will practice together for the first time and I think we will do pretty good,” Wade said. “I think there is a lot of talent on that court and we are going to mesh well together.“

               Melo said, however, said while there is plenty of talent, there still is work that needs to be done.

               "There is some pretty good talent but also a lot of work that we have to do," she said. "I think the freshmen coming in is a good group and some of them are coming in from playing a lot of volleyball with club teams year round."

               The Cougars will endure two-a-days for the next 12 days, including some team-bonding activities. For the first day, it has been pretty light in the morning and then more intense in the afternoon. The team even expects the practices to get more intense as the preseason workouts continue.

               “It has been easier than I thought it would be,” Wade said. “We have been focusing on the little things, like passing a lot for today. We also ran some. The sophomores keep telling us that practices will definitely get hard so be ready.”

               The Cougars’ four returners include Soares, along with Scottsbluff High’s Jodi Huddleston. They also return Debora Araujo and Fernando Goncalves. Goncalves was the NJCAA tournament MVP last season and a first-team NJCAA all-American. Aruajo was a second team NJCAA all-American.

               The other sophomore is Dani Grace, a 5-foot-11 hitter from Alea, Hawaii, who played last season at Lamar Community College.

               The freshmen along with Wade, include Gordon’s Alyssa Ostrander, a 6-0 rightside/outside hitter. The other newcomers include 5-9 Danika Youngblood of Bingham, Utah; 5-9 Alyssa Olson of Longmont, Colo.; 5-6 Alex Rivera of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico; 5-8 Tasha Meyer of Honolulu, Hawaii; 6-1 Taylor Vanderwerff of New Orleans, La.; and 5-11 Megan Johnson of Sandy, Utah.

               Wade said she is not scared coming onto a national championship team. In fact, she welcomes the challenges.

               “I am excited for the pressure [to win back-to-back national titles," she said. "I think that is what everybody wants -- to go to a really good team and have that expectation of winning a title. Coach says we already have a target on our back now because everyone wants to beat us. Everybody on this team wants to win that national championship again for 2011 so we are going to work hard to do that."

               WNCC will have two scrimmages on Aug 19 at the University of Nebraska-Kearney and then a home scrimmage against WNCC alumni on Aug. 20. The Cougars will open the season on Aug. 26 and 27 when they compete in the Iowa Western tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Cougars first home match is slated for Sept. 8 against Eastern Wyoming College.