Cougars finish South Sub-region tournament unbeaten with wins over Trinidad, Otero, NJC

Scores and photos from the second day of the South Sub-region tournament

Otero over McCook -- 30-26, 28-30, 15-10
Lamar over Trinidad State -- 30-22, 20-30, 15-12
Western Nebraska over Trinidad State -- 30-12, 30-16, 15-12
Northeastern Colorado over McCook -- 30-16, 30-22, 15-6
Western Nebraska over Otero -- 30-15, 30-19, 15-8
Northeastern Colorado over Lamar -- 30-13, 30-14, 15-4
Otero over Lamar -- 23-30, 30-24, 15-9
Trinidad State over McCook -- 30-28, 30-32, 15-7
Western Nebraska over Northeastern Colorado -- 30-12, 30-17, 15-6

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball started the season 5-0 as they swept through the South Sub-region tournament with an unblemished record. The Cougars have yet to drop a match in the sub-region tournament in the nine years head coach Chris Green has been at the helm.

The Cougars finished the tournament in impressive style defeated last year's No. 16 team in the nation Northeastern Junior College 30-12, 30-17, 15-6 behind a balanced offensive attack. Jennifer Eichler, who is headed to Tulsa University next year, paced the team with eight kills, five points and three blocks. The left-handed Eichler finished Saturday's play with 27 kills in three matches.

The Cougars also defeated Trinidad State 30-12, 30-16, 15-12 and Otero Junior College 30-15, 30-19, 15-8.

Eichler was just part of the hitting story for the Cougars as sophomore Kansas State recruit Soriana Pacheco finished with nine kills along with freshman Fatima Balza. Aida Bauza chipped in eight kills as well.

As much as the Cougars were sizzling with their hitting, they were also stellar on defense and serving. Nayka Benitez led the team with nine digs as well as five service points. Pacheco added eight digs along with eight points, two aces and 29 set assists.

WNCC took control of game one early on behind power hitting by Eichler to forge ahead 10-5. From there, the Cougars serving took over as freshman Daphine da Silva served up three straight points to go ahead 13-5. Benitez and Pacheco each combined for five points for a 21-8 lead.

NJC sliced the lead to 10 points late, 22-12, but a missed serve put the ball into Shawntell Jones' hands and she served out the game with seven points for the win.

The second game was back and fourth with neither team going up more than two points through the first half of the game. With the score tied at 10, Pacheco opened up some breathing room for the Cougars with four service points, including a power kill by Eichler for a 15-10 lead. The Plainswomen kept battling, slicing the lead to 19-14 on a Jessica Tjaden service point, but NJC couldn't maintain a service run through the game, and the Cougars swept to the win 30-17.

The win over NJC was dramatic after the team won earlier matches against Trinidad State and Otero Junior College. The Cougars started the day downing Trinidad State 30-12, 30-16, 15-12. In the first game, the Cougars strong serving was key as the team combined for eight ace serves. Nayka Benitez started things with six straight points, including three aces, to jumpstart the Cougar offense to a 7-1 lead. Pacheco added five points on two aces, Schauermann had two points and Jones had four points and two aces to run the lead to 21-5. Benitez finished off the Trojans with an ace serve.

Trinidad State played the Cougars tougher in game two, trailing 14-10 at one time, but strong serving at the end helped the Cougars to the win. In game three, Cassie Vrooman had eight service points, including an ace to help the Cougars to the 15-12 win.

Benitez finished with 14 points, six aces and seven digs, followed by Pacheco with 10 points, five aces, and 19 set assists. Eichler led the team in hitting with nine kills and three blocks, while Chelsea Lyles and Aida Bauza each had six kills.

In the second match of the day against Otero, Eichler continued her hitting ways collecting 10 kills to lead the team. She also had three blocks. But, once again, it was the team's serving that proved key as Schauermann led the way with 10 points and Jones had nine points with four aces. Jones also chipped in six blocks, while Fatima Balza had seven kills.