Of course she was nervous after making the move from Division I Bethune-Cookman University in Florida. However, she also knew she quickly needed to step in and show leadership as a sophomore.
The 5-foot-8 outside hitter from Houston definitely has shown plenty of leadership and maturity throughout the season to put the Cougars in good position to make another run at a national championship at this week’s NJCAA national tournament in West Plains, Mo. WNCC opens up play at nationals on Thursday at 10 a.m. against Wallace State-Hanceville, Ala.
Agson can’t wait to compete at the national tournament. In fact, it will mark the first time she’s participated in a tournament of that caliber. She hopes to take everything in stride.
“This means a lot to me because I never have experienced playing on a team that is this competitive and talented,” Agson said. “It is a lot of pressure to perform at this level. There was definitely a lot of pressure coming in after playing at a Division I school and then transferring to a junior college. Coming in here the expectations were really high. Everyone is really talented and has the ability of doing multiple things. I was a little anxious of what we were going to do this season.”
WNCC coach Giovana Melo said that Agson has made plenty of strides since the beginning of the season.
“Kat has been a great addition to our program this year,” Melo said. “She has come a long ways since the beginning of the season. She was used to a completely different system. It took her a while to get it going, but she worked very hard to get where she is.”
Agson has fit in nicely with the Cougars’ powerful group of hitters. WNCC’s hitting rotation has put opposing defenders on their heels as kills regularly come from anywhere across the net. It’s been a common sight this season to see four or five hitters with 7-10 kills per match.
Agson said that hitting depth has been a big plus.
“That is definitely an asset for our team because we can go to multiple players in the front row,” she said. “Everybody has the ability to put the ball away.”
Entering the national tournament, WNCC owns a total of 1,802 kills for an average of 14 per set. Six different Cougar hitters have near 150 kills or more. Danika Youngblood leads the way with 414 followed by Priscila Mendes with 260, Yoro Tovar with 244, Agson with 218, Megan Johnson with 147 and Allora Tanner with 145. Even Taylor VanderWerff and Lauren Knox have provided sparks off the bench this season with 92 and 85 kills, respectively.
Melo said this is one of the most versatile hitting teams she’s coached.
“We don’t really have a standout, and that’s what I love so much about this team,” Melo said. “Every single person contributes to the success of the team. They make each other better every day.”
WNCC’s last loss came on Sept. 1 when they lost to North Idaho College at the Salt Lake Classic. Since then, the Cougars have been nearly perfect dropping a total of just six sets. At one point during the season, WNCC won 45 consecutive sets.
Agson put together one of her best performances of the season by helping the Cougars to another Region IX Tournament championship on Nov. 3 in McCook. She put down 13 kills in the title match against Northeastern Junior College and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Agson played her prep volleyball career at Westside High School in Houston. At Westside she played both middle hitter and outside hitter, earning all-district Most Valuable Player. She also played varsity softball her senior year. Agson, who was a captain on her high school team, has a standing reach of 7 feet, 1 inch and an approach jump of 9-4 ½ inches.
One of her biggest achievements away from sports has been being involved with Girl Scouts. She has earned both Bronze and Silver Awards and she is currently working towards her Gold Award.
Two years ago as a freshman for Bethune Cookman, Agson played in 83 of 122 games and earned All-tournament honors in an early-season tourney. She had 112 kills that year.
This season at WNCC, Agson’s best match came against Northeastern Junior College on Oct. 19 when she totaled 17 kills and had eight digs. In the Cougars’ last seven matches, Agson is averaging 10 kills per match.
While WNCC has already put together another memorable season, Agson said adding a national championship would be the icing on the cake.
“I think we are prepared with our abilities. We just have to go in mentally strong,” she said. “What we’ll really need to do is set the tone and come out strong. We definitely have to play our game and have a strong serve and pass. We just need to do what we do and not worry about what other teams do. We need to focus on our assets and what we can do.”
Agson is hoping that her play this season and at nationals will land her back at the Division I level.
“I am hoping to go play at a Division I school, but I haven’t talked to anyone yet,” she said. “Hopefully, after nationals I will get some offers. It is just a waiting game basically.”
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