ROCK
SPRINGS, Wyo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team
received 11 kills from Danika Youngblood as they fought back from an early
first-set deficit to register a sweep over No. 18 Western Wyoming Community
College 25-23, 25-15, 25-18 Monday evening in Rock Springs, Wyo.
It
was the second-ranked Cougars 27th win of the season and the team's 21st
straight victory. WNCC has also swept its last 10 opponents and have not
dropped a set in 33 straight sets.
Youngblood
said she was pleased with how the team played Monday night after a week off
between matches.
"We
are pretty happy of how we played today," the sophomore outside hitter
said. "We can still get better, but I thought we played with a lot of
intensity and a lot of energy."
Youngblood
said she was worried for a tad early in the first, but had confidence that her
team would rebound.
"I
don't know about the team as a whole, but I was nervous at the beginning,"
she said. "Then we got it out and started to play. I think the way we came
back in the first set gives us a lot of confidence and I think during the other
games we had our confidence, too. We never lost that losing point."
Rebound
from a slow start is what they did. Western Wyoming jumped on top 7-1 to open
the first set and led by as much as 11-5 and 13-9. But a couple backrow kills
by Youngblood kept the Cougars close. Finally, Megan Johnson and Yoro Tovar had
back-to-back kills to slice the deficit to 20-19.
A few
rotations later, a Luiza Martins service point tied the set a 21-21. Western
Wyoming came back to take a 23-21 on two service points, but Priscila Mendes
pounded home a kill and then Mendes had three service points, which was aided
by two kills from Youngblood and the winning kill by Alex Rivera for the 25-23
win.
The
second set was knotted at 5-5 until Tasha Meyer had two service points for an
8-5 lead. WNCC pushed the lead to 16-10, only to watch the Mustangs cut the
lead to 16-13. Martins stopped the streak with a kill and then Tovar served up
six straight points to lead 23-13 before WNCC won 25-15.
The
third set was back and forth with neither team taking more than a three-point
lead. Western Wyoming led only once, at 3-2, while WNCC enjoyed three point
leads on many occasions. Finally, WNCC started to open up the contest. Leading
15-13, Youngblood served up two points for an 18-13 lead and then Tovar had two
smashing kills for a 21-15 lead. Tovar had the final two service points while
Youngblood hammered home the match winner.
Youngblood
finished the contest with 11 kills, three blocks, five digs, and five points;
while Tovar had nine kills, 11 points, three blocks and three digs. Also for
the Cougars, Mendes had six kills, 12 digs and eight points; while Johnson had
six kills and two blocks. Martins finished with two kills, three digs, and 33
set assists; Kat Agson had four kills, two blocks, and three digs; Rivera had
eight digs and three points; and Tasha Meyer had two digs and six points.
WNCC,
27-2, will continue its road swing with three matches this weekend beginning
Thursday at Otero Junior College. They will then face Lamar Community College
on Friday and Trinidad State Junior College on Saturday.
Youngblood
said this team is really meshing well right now and she isn't surprised with
how well they have been playing.
"I
think we are playing well as a team and we are going hard. We can always go
harder but i think we are doing good as a team," she said. "I know we
are a really talented team and we still have a lot to work on, but I am not
surprised [by the 33 straight set wins]."
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