The Cougars opened the day with a 3-1 win over Missouri State-West Plains, downing the school 25-17,25-27, 23-25, 25-23 before falling to Miami Dade College in thre games 25-20, 25-19, 25-16. WNCC finished off the tournament by disposing of Jefferson College in four games 25-21, 25-20, 25-27, 25-21.
Despite the loss to Miami Dade, WNCC coach Giavoni Melo still thought her team played hard.
“I think we played pretty good. We had some ups and downs, but we played pretty well,” she said. “Against Miami, we didn’t play so well. I like I told them, I am taking the blame for the loss because I didn’t prepare them well enough.”
The loss to Miami Dade not only snapped the Cougars 28-match winning streak, but it could drop the Cougars from their No. 1 perch in the NJCAA national rankings when the new polls come out. Still, Melo said that sometimes a loss at this time of year can help re-focus and work to their advantage.
“I think the loss is good for us because we are able to see that we are not all there,” she said. “The loss came at the right time. It might hurt us a little bit in the rankings, but we are a team that can come back from and we did by defeating Jefferson. It was a good learning experience.”
Last year’s team also suffered a late October loss and that team went on to beat Miami Dade for the national title, so that is a good sign for the the Cougar faithful. Melo said it is not so important to be ranked No. 1 know as it is at the end of the season.
“The rankings help In a way, but it is more important at the end of season,” she said. “The loss will help us grow and make us get better.”
The Cougars opened the Halloween Classic on Friday when they swept through Lake Land College in three sets and then took care of Indian Hills Community College in four sets.
Saturday, the Cougars opened with a four-set win against Missouri State-West Plains as Kabalis and Gregner Quinones each had a double-double. Kabalis finished with 18 kills, 10 digs and eight points, while Quinones had 10 points, 13 digs and four aces.
Also for the Cougars, Fatima Balza pounded home 18 kills; Paulina Piegza ahd 13 kills; Sabina Piegza had 41 set assists and seven digs; and Brooke Blomenkamp ahd seven points, seven digs and two aces.
In the 3-set loss to Miami Dade, who the Cougars beat last year for the national championship, Kabalis led the way with 12 kills and four blocks.
Also for WNCC, Paulina Piegza had nine kills; Balza had eight kills and six points; Quinones had 13 digs; Sabina Piegza had 16 set assists; Blomenkamp had five digs; and Naomi Flinders had 11 set assists.
WNCC responded with a passion from the defeat as they took down the host school in four sets. Kabalis finished with a triple-double, finishing with 18 kills, 15 digs, 10 points and two aces. Sabina Piegza also had a double-double, collecting 12 digs and 29 set assists; followed by Paloma Alvarez with 14 digs and nine kills; Balza with 11 kills and five blocks; and Blomenkamp with seven points.
The road-weary Cougars, 49-3, will continue their road swing next week when they have four straight days of competition in Colorado beginning with a big match-up with Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., on Wednesday.
“When we get on Monday, we will give them some time off to rest,” she said. “Then we will come back and get ready to play the Colorado teams and then get ready for regionals.”
No comments:
Post a Comment