WNCC volleyball team sweeps EWC, goes to 22-2 on the season

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team got a little defensive Tuesday night in their contest with Eastern Wyoming College at Cougar Palace.

The Cougars, who won seven matches last week, including wins over three ranked teams, stayed at No. 4 in this week’s NJCAA poll. Tuesday night, the Cougars put on a defensive clinic in shutting down any hint of a Lancer upset bid as they won in straight sets 25-12, 25-6, 25-15 to move to 22-2 on the season.

“Defense and pancake saves are some of things that we have been working on because we haven’t been that great on defense lately,” WNCC coach Giovana Melo said. “I think it was good that they brought it out today, playing good defense and playing good volleyball.”

WNCC finished the match with close to 10 pancake saves, with five or six coming in the first set along. It is those long rallies that the Cougars won that set the tone for the match for both teams.

“We just didn’t have things go our way tonight in a lot of areas,” EWC coach Verl Petsch said. “Even some of those long rallies ended in some unusual type rolls of the ball. I really thought the rallies were pretty good tonight, but we didn’t score points on those long rallies and you would like to end the rallies on your behalf.”

Petsch said that his team miss fired in many areas on the night, especially the passing and hitting areas. He said you can’t win that way.

“We didn’t have much of an offense and that goes back to not passing the ball. We were pretty lethargic, we just didn’t move like you have to move like a team like the Cougars are,” he said. “When you don’t move and play better floor position, you are going to have these kind of problems. We will have to work really hard on some of those fundamentals.”

WNCC didn’t have a problem raising their energy level one bit as they controlled the tempo of the match from the beginning as the match was only tied three times – twice in the first at 1-1 and 2-2 and once in the second at 1-1.

In the first, Sabina Piegza served the Cougars to a 6-2 lead and then Kaleinani Kabalis had two straight aces for a 11-3 lead. EWC bounced back as Sammie Perkins served three points and Ariel Gass had a kill to slice the lead to 14-10. The lead was shortlived as Kathryn Stock served six straight points, including getting two backrow kills. WNCC ended the first set as Piegza had a pancake save to let Stock hammer home the set point.

The second set was all WNCC as Paulina and Sabina Piegza combined for 10 points to move the Cougars to a 12-2 lead. Moments later, Kabalis had four points with two aces and then Emily Hoehn served out the set with six straight points. The Cougars received clutch kills from Gering graduate Whitney Roth with two back-to-back kills and some monster kills from Ariel Austin.

WNCC started the third set where they left off in the second, Stock got the opening kill and then Roth served two points for a 3-0 lead. Sabina Piegza added to the lead with three points, 7-1. Kuulei Kabalis served up five points, including two aces, along with two kills from Roth and a thundering kill from Austin for the Cougar’s largest lead of the game, 14-4.

EWC kept fighting as Perkins served three straight points with two kills from Gass and a kill from Chelsi Lemmon to slice the lead to 15-8. EWC kept playing tough, cutting the lead to 16-10 on an ace serve. WNCC quickly rebounded as Piegza had a long-rally killing kill and then Cami Weimer served four points to push the lead to 21-10.

Alexa Welsh tried bringing the Lancers back with two points to within 21-13, but two Stock kills followed by Austin’s fifth kill of the match ended things for the Cougars.

WNCC had several players stand out as Stock led the team with 12 kills, nine points, four aces, and four digs. Kaleinani Kabalis finished with seven kills, nine points and four aces; while Austin and Roth each had five kills, and Tania Torres had four kills and five blocks.

Also for the Cougars, Brooke Blomenkamp had two kills; Paulina Piegza had four points; Sabina Piegza had 14 points, two aces, 38 set assists, and 11 digs; Kuulei Kabalis had six digs, six points and three aces; Hoehn had six points and five digs; and Weimer had three digs and four points.

Gass paced the Lancers with three kills, two stuff blocks and seven digs; while Erica Coats had three kills; Alexia Welsh had four set assists and three points; and Sammie Perkins had seven points.

The Cougars will next be in action this weekend when they begin sub-region play on Thursday against Otero Junior College followed by stops at Lamar and Trinidad State. The Lancers will be at home Thursday when they host North Platte Community College.

WNCC softball goes 2-3 at Triple Crown Invite

FT. COLLINS, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team’s offense came alive in the Triple Crown Tournament over the weekend.

The Cougars out hit their five RMAC opponents 50-43, finishing the tournament with a 2-3 mark. The Cougars, however, easily could have been 5-0 as they lost two 1-run games to Ft. Lewis College 7-6, scoring five runs in the seventh inning, and then 7-6 to Adams State. They also lost to Regis 8-4 on Saturday.

WNCC finished the tournament with two straight wins on Sunday in impressive fashion, topping Metro State 13-4 and then defeating Colorado School of Mines 8-3. In those two wins, the Cougars finished the games with 24 hits.

Freshman Katie Hill of Broomfield, Colo., said the way the team finished the tournament on Sunday shows plenty for the future.

“The team played very well on Sunday,” Hill said. “We came together as a team and came together no one could beat.

The offense picked up fast and furious in the Metro State contest and continued into the Colorado Mines contest. Hill said it was about time.

“In our two wins on Sunday, our offense was unstoppable,” she said. “We had great at bats and showed everyone why we have one of the best hitting teams. We put our hits together and scored the runs we needed win. We never gave up.”

Metro led after one 3-0 on a 3-run home run. After that, the Cougars took over, scoring twice in the third on a 2-run scoring double by Adena Hagen. WNCC added two more in the fourth on a 2-run scoring single by Ashton Hughes for a 4-3 lead.

Metro tied the game at four in the fifth, but WNCC retook the lead in the sixth before opening up the contest in the seventh play plating eight runs on 13 hits – all with two outs. The big hits in the inning was a 3-run double by Katie Groves that scored Hill, Allie Alverson and Hagen. Hughes and Michelle Glaze had run-scoring singles in the inning as well.

Taylor Anderson picked up the win in the circle by scattering five hits, striking out three.

Offensively, four players finished with multiple hits. Groves went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, Chara Horsley went 2-for-4, Hughes went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Alverson went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

WNCC continued it’s hot hitting in the tournament’s final game against Colorado Mines. The Cougars scored three times in the first and second innings to take a 6-1 lead. Hill and Hagen led off the game with singles. Groves scored Hill on a groundout. Hagen later scored on an error. Tonya Atencio scored the other run.

The Cougars three, second-inning runs all came with two outs. Hill started things by drawing a walk followed by four straight singles by Hagen, Groves, Horsley and Glaze.

WNCC added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Horsley had a double in the fourth to score Groves and Amanda Saldivar scored in the fifth.

Stephanie Townsend, Jordan Schoepflin and Ashton Hughes combined for the win, allowing Colorado Mines nine hits and striking out one.

WNCC finished the contest with 11 hits as Hagen went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three singles. Horsley finished the contest 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Glaze went 2-for-4 with a RBI.

The Cougars started Sunday by falling to Adams State 7-6, coming back with five runs in the last two innings to take a 6-5 lead, but let Adams score twice in the bottom of the seventh with two outs to squeak out the win.

Glaze paced the team a solo home run in the second. She also had two runs scored and two RBIs. Horsley finished the contest going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Hagen finished the game with two runs scored.

Freshman Britt Enterline threw five strong innings in giving up four runs and striking out four. Schoepflin pitched the final two innings, giving up three hits while getting the loss.

Hill said the team is finally coming together as a unit.

“The team is coming together great,” she said. “We communicated well, put hits together and really came out to play. We all have one common goal and that is to go out and have fun and win games.”

The Cougar softball team will next be in action this weekend in a tournament in Rangely, Colo. WNCC will wrap up the fall season with the Cougar World Series Oct. 12-16.

Saturday’s Games

First Game

WNCC 010 000 5 – 6 8 5

Ft. Lewis 300 004 x – 7 10 1

LP – Hughes.

Second Game

WNCC 000 100 3 – 4 9 0

Regis 340 010 x – 8 13 0

LP – Townsend.

Sunday’s Games

First Game

WNCC 010 003 2 – 6 9 4

Adams St. 004 010 2 – 7 6 1

LP – Schoepflin; 2B – Horsley; HR – Glaze.

Second Game

WNCC 002 201 8 – 13 13 0

Metro 300 010 0 – 4 5 5

WP – Anderson; 2B – Hagen, Groves.

Third Game

WNCC 330 110 – 8 11 3

CO Mines 101 100 – 3 9 5

WP – Townsend; 2B – Horsley.

WNCC women's soccer team shuts out York College, men fall to UNL Club team

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team found plenty of offense Sunday in their match with York College in blanking the four-year school 5-0 In York.

The Cougars received a big offensive game from Gering graduate Keah Brost, who accounted for two goals and an assist.

The win was especially sweet since the Cougars lost to No. 4 Iowa Western Community College 1-0 in a heartbreaker Saturday.

“We needed this win because we lost on Wednesday to Laramie County and then we lost Saturday. We really needed this win,” freshman Lyanne Hernandez of Lafayette, Colo., said. “I think this game helped us to open up our offense as a team.”

Hernandez said while the win was nice, they could have played even better. York College had a 2-6-1 record coming into Sunday’s contest.

“I think we did good, but we could have done way better,” she said. “Most of weren’t in our game and we played down to their level.”

WNCC quickly took control of the match as Brost scored her first goal seven minutes into the contest from a pass from Ana Jacobo. The Cougars went up 2-0 at halftime as Jordan Lutkin scored an unassisted goal 40 minutes into the contest.

Brost registered her second goal of the match 15 minutes into the second half as Jamie Gastelle recorded assist. Gastelle scored five minutes later off a Jacobo pass. WNCC’s final goal came from Brooke Dudley off an assist from Brost at the 79 minute mark.

WNCC completely dominated York College with 20 shots on goal while limiting the Panthers to just two shots. Jessica Taylor was in net for the Cougars.

Hernandez is hoping the York College win will help jumpstart the Cougar’s for the rest of the season.

“We have to play like a team like we have been doing the past couple of games,” she said. “We just need to step it up a little bit more.”

The Cougar men also had a scrimmage with the University of Nebraska Club team and fell 2-0 in the contest as the Cougars couldn’t get any calls to go their way.

Both teams will be in action this weekend as the Cougar women will compete in the CU-Boulder tournament Friday through Sunday. The women will face the University of Arizona Friday at 5 p.m. and then Johnson & Wales Saturday at 8 a.m. Bracket play will start Saturday evening and run into Sunday.

The men will face the CU-Black team Sunday at 3 p.m.

“This game will prepare us for our games this weekend,” Hernandez said. “We are going to play some hard teams. We have Arizona first and this team lost to them last year, so we are up against a hard match.”

WNCC soccer splits with Iowa Western; win in overtime, women fall to the No. 4 team

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer team split their games Saturday afternoon against Iowa Western Community College.

The Cougar men received a a goal two minutes into overtime by Marcel Sales to register a 3-2 win.

The Cougar women hung with the No. 4 Iowa Western club before falling 1-0.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said that the men’s win gives them plenty of motivation.

“It was a pretty important win for the men’s team. They all ran over and dove on Marcel after he scored the winner. He also did a flip in mid air after scoring the goal. For the guys it was a very big victory for the unity of the team and just giving them confidence because Iowa Western beat LCCC 2-0.
The Cougar men trailed at halftime 2-1 to the Reivers and didn’t score their first goal until the 43^rd minute when Chris Guadarama scored off an assist by Nathan Southard on a header off a corner kick.

WNCC wasted little time in the second half in tying the score, getting a goal from Miguel Leon off an assist from Matt Hoffman just a minute into the second half.

Neither team scored again until the overtime period as Sales quickly ended the game just two minutes into the extra period. WNCC had nine shots on goal compared to Iowa Western’s 16 shots. WNCC goalkeeper David Castle had 14 saves in net.

The Cougar women were on the opposite end of the scoreboard falling 1-0. Iowa Western scored just six minutes in the contest. After that, Rasnic said it was a defensive struggle. The Cougar women, however, had opportunities to score but couldn’t find the net.

“We had quit a few opportunities. Of course Brittany [McNeil] is out and when you don’t have the speed up there, it opens up the defense,” Rasnic said. “The first goal they got was unfortunate. After that we just couldn’t come up with an the answering goal.”

WNCC finished the game with five shots on goal while the Reivers had six shots on goal. Jessica Taylor recorded five goals in net.

Both teams will be in action on Sunday. The Cougar men will face the University of Nebraska Club team at 10 a.m. in Lincoln, while the women will face York College at 2:30 p.m. on York.

WNCC downs Western Wyoming in four, goes to 21-2 on the season

Kathryn Stock and Paulina Piegza combined for 37 kills and the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team registered its 21^st victory of the season with a four-set win against Western Wyoming Community College.

The No. 4-ranked Cougars needed every ounce of energy to get by the Mustangs 25-22, 24-26, 25-20, 25-12.

Tania Torres, who finished with nine kills and five blocks, said it seemed as if the team was asleep at the beginning of the match.

“We have to wake up and start stronger. We have to not give up and always play strong no matter what team we are playing. We have to play every single point hard,” the freshman from Puerto Rico said. “Obviously, we can do better and maybe we were a little asleep at the start. It still was a really good game because we showed up at the end to show that we can be a really good team. “

It definitely wasn’t the Cougars’ best effort. WNCC pulled out set one after falling behind 4-0 at the start and then 18-17. The Cougars found that extra push as Paulina Piegza had two key kills, followed by a kill by Kaleinani Kabalis and Stock to finish off the first set.

Western Wyoming started off the second set with a 4-0 lead and led as much as 6-2. WNCC came back taking a 19-15 lead on a Kuulei Kabalis service point. WNCC was within one point, 24-20, of capturing the set, but the Mustangs served six straight points to capture the set. It as the first time the Cougars dropped a set in the Shootout.

WNCC sputtered in the third set, falling behind 2-0 and trailing 6-3 at one point. The Cougars regained the lead for good at 12-11 on a missed serve. Western Wyoming kept with WNCC, slicing the lead to 18-17 before a Paulina Piegza kill changed the momentum. Cami Weimer then served up four points, including an ace for a 22-17 lead. WNCC won the contest as Stock pounded home two kills.

The Cougars completely dominated the fourth set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead behind a kill from Torres and two kills from Stock. The Mustangs did, however, fight back to tie the set at 6-6, but an Ariel Austin kill and then four Kuulei Kabalis service points pushed the lead to 11-6.

Weimer expanded the Cougars’ lead to double digits, 18-8, as she served four points and WNCC cruised to the match win.

Torres said there really isn’t an excuse for the way the team played. They just have to realize they have to play strong from the start. WNCC played a tough match Friday night, defeating Northwest Wyoming in three sets, including a 28-26 third-game.

“I was kind of mad at myself that maybe I can do better when we lost that second set,” Torres said. “The team wasn’t playing with all their energy and that is why we lost that set. We just relaxed. We have a real good team and I don’t think being tired from last night is an excuse why we lost that second set.

The difference in the contest was hitting percentage. WNCC hit .257 while Western Wyoming hit .133. Paulina Piegza finished with a double-double for the Cougars, tallying 19 kills, 14 points, three blocks and six digs. Stock pounded home 18 kills and had nine digs, while Torres had nine kills and five blocks.

Weimer finished with nine points and 11 digs, while Kaleinani Kabalis ahd three kills, three blocks and two digs. Kuulei Kabalis had six points and nine digs, while Sabina Piegza had three kills, five points, 47 set assists, and four digs. Also for the Cougars, Austin had five kills and four blocks; Sierra Schmidt had three points and six digs.

Western Wyoming was paced by Alisha Kearsley with 11 kills followed by Lundyn Decker with nine and Chelsea Sorensen, the 6-foot-4 middle hitter with eight kills and five blocks. Carolyn Johnson finished the contest with a match high 21 digs, while Kirsti Knowles had 35 set assists.

In other action at Cougar Palace, Laramie County Community College had to drop out of the tournament after 14 of their 17 players, including assistant coach Heather Steggs, an Alliance graduate who played for the WNCC volleyball team in their national championship year, came down with what is believed to be food poisoning.

With LCCC dropping out, the matches were shuffled. Colby Community College dropped Trinidad State 25-12, 25-19, 25-20; Western Wyoming defeated Colby 25-16, 25-17, 25-14; and Sheridan College defeated McCook 25-21, 25-16, 25-12.

The Cougars, 21-2, will next be in action Tuesday night as they host Eastern Wyoming College at 7 p.m. The Leyton and Lingle-Ft. Laramie volleyball match will precede the college game beginning at 2:30 with the freshman contest with varsity action between the Warriors and Doggers starting around 4:30 p.m.

WNCC volleyball wins 20th match of the season with three wins at Wyo-Braska Shootout

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team continues to breeze through the Wyo-Braska Shootout after picking up three more wins on Friday at Cougar Palace.

The 4^th-ranked Cougars opened the second day of the Shootout with a 25-10, 25-19, 25-15 win over Colby Community College followed by a sweep of No. 17 Laramie County Community College 25-17, 25-19, 25-12. WNCC finished off the second day by topping Northwest College 25-16, 25-17, 28-26 in a battle of coaches that played at WNCC as Giovana Melo and Northwest’s Flavia Siquiera faced each other on the court.

The Cougars, in picking up the three wins on Friday, registered their 20^th win of the season. WNCC coach Giovana Melo was really impressed with the team’s play on Friday over some good ball clubs.

“It is hard to go on the road and lose a couple of games, but it was good for them to see that experience [of the losses in Salt Lake],” Melo said. “Now it is time for us to start piling up the wins and work hard against every single team we play and keep on winning.

“Today, I thought they came out really strong and knew what they wanted. It was a good game but we played well to win it.”

A big reason for the team’s success is that they are well-balanced and it starts with the setter, who knows how to distribute the ball and the hitters make plays when they need to.

“I think Sabi does a really good job of spreading it around and seeing where there weakest players are or seeing the block and what is going on on the other side of the net,” she said. “She equalizes out everybody and every single hitter had been doing well. I think when the team is playing together out there as a team, results like today is what happens. We don’t have one dominate player and I told them we need all of them.”

WNCC definitely elevated its game against Laramie County and Northwest Wyoming. In the LCCC win, Weimer finished with a double-double, collecting 11 digs, 11 points, and six kills.

The Cougars also received a balanced attack against the No. 17 team in the nation as Kaleinani Kabalis had nine kills, three blocks and eight digs; while Paulina Piegza had six kills, four blocks and 10 points; and Brooke Blomenkamp had six kills and four blocks.

Sabina Piegza, from her setting position, finished the contest with seven kills, four blocks, five points and 28 set assists. Tania Torres also stepped up big, finishing with four kills and blocks.

WNCC and LCCC were tied five times in the early stages of set one, but opened the contest as Paulina Piegza served six straight points with two kills from Torres to put WNCC up 17-10 and went on to win 25-16.

The second set was a little closer as LCCC held a 17-14 lead at one time. That all changed after Weimer finished her serves as WNCC streaked out to a 20-16 lead and the win.

The third set started out like the first one as both teams were tied five times early on, the last time at 9-9. Things changed in a heartbeat as Kuulei Kabalis served the team to a 13-9 lead and then Weimer pushed the lead to 21-10 on three service points a kill.

WNCC was just as impressive against Northwest, winning the first two 25-16, 25-17. The third contest was an all-out war. Northwest had their biggest lead of the set, leading 13-10 at one time. WNCC came back and led 19-16 and was facing match point on a Kaleinani Kabalis kill. The lead see-sawed until a Paulina Piegza kill put WNCC up 27-26. Then the Piegza twins combined on a block for the winner.

Kaleinani Kabalis pounded home a season-high 24 kills. The sophomore also had eight blocks. Paulina Piegza also hammered home double-figure kills in registering 12. She also had three blocks and three digs.

Also for WNCC, Stock had six kills, 10 digs and digs points’ Blomenkamp had six kills and three digs; Sabina Piegza had six blocks, seven digs, eight points and 43 set assists; Tania Torres had four kills and two blocks; Kuulei Kabalis 12 digs and three points; and Emily Howhn had eight digs.

In the team’s opener against Colby, the Cougars sputtered a little bit, but had enough depth to register the three-set win. The Cougars easily controlled set one racing out to a 20-6 lead behind five service points by Emily Hoehn.

The next two sets were a little closer, but the Cougars found the will to win behind Weimer, who had three points and two big kills in the second set. In the third set, the Cougars opened up a tight contest as Kuulei Kabalis served for four points and also received some clutch kills from Weimer, Kathryn Stock and Paulina Piegza for the win.

Stock paced the Cougars with 13 kills and four points, while Paulina Piegza finished with nine kills and five points. Weimer had an all-around match, finishing with four kills, five points, a solo block and six points.

Also for the Cougars, Emily Hoehn had seven points, Kaleinani Kabalis had two kills, two blocks, and four digs; Sabina Piegza had 27 set assists and five kills; Kuulei Kabalis had six points and five digs; and Ariel Austin had six kills.

WNCC will wrap up the Wyo-Braska tournament today as they face Western Wyoming Community College at 10 a.m. There are just four matches scheduled for today. The other matchups will see Trinidad State battle LCCC at 10 a.m., followed by Sheridan facing McCook and Colby taking in LCCC at noon.

There will be three matches at Torrington, Wyo., on Saturday with the Lancers facing Dawson and Lamar meeting Casper at 10 a.m., followed by Northwest Wyoming taking on Air Force Prep at Noon.

Other scores Friday in the tournament at Cougar Palace include LCCC over Dawson 25-10, 25-22, 25-10; Sheridan over Colby 25-17, 26-24, 25-23, NJC over Dawson 25-14, 25-9, 25-10, Air Force Prep over McCook 25-14, 25-9, 25-10; Northwest Wyoming over Colby 25-22, 25-20, 25-9; No. 17 LCCC over No. 12 NJC 25-22, 25-22, 25-20; and Dawson over McCook 25-19, 22-25, 25-17, 25-18.

WNCC volleyball wins two matches in first day of Wyo-Braska Shootout

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team swept through its two opponents in the opening day of the Wyo-Braska Shootout.

The No. 4 Cougars topped Air Force Prep 25-10, 25-15, 25-8 and then swept through Sheridan College 25-13, 25-21, 25-3 at Cougar Palace.

WNCC coach Giovana Melo said her team played well at times in picking up their 17^th victory of the season. Melo was especially pleased of how her team played in the third set, 25-3 win, against Sheridan.

“We did OK in the first two games and obviously in the second one I got on them a little bit for not being focused. It doesn’t matter who we are playing, we just have to be patient and work on the things that we need to do. That is what we did in that third game, where we were really focused and we when we patient with every ball that came to our side.”

It took the Cougars a while to get their explosive offense cranked up, and in the third set against the Generals, the Cougars showed just how deadly of an offense they have all the way around.

The offense all started as Kaleinani Kabalis pounded home a kill. After that, Sabina Piegza served nine straight points, with Tania Torres and Brook Blomenkamp providing some huge kills for a 12-1 lead.

Sheridan’s De-Ann Smith finally stopped the run, but it was short lived as Kuulei Kabalis served 10 straight points, including an ace to win the match 25-3.

Kaleinani Kabalis led the Cougars with 12 kills, five points and five digs. Paulina Piegza finished with eight kills, three blocks, six digs and four points, while Sabina Piegza had 10 points, two aces, 28 set assists, and eight digs.

Also for the Cougars, Kathryn Stock had seven kills, five points and seven digs; Torres had three digs and four kills, and Kuulei Kabalis had 12 points, three aces and eight digs.

WNCC was just as impressive in its opener against Air Force Prep as a variety of players stepped up to the plate. The Cougars cruised to win as the Cougars front row accounted for 36 kills and 14 blocks in the match. Kaleinani Kabalis paced the team with 15 kills, two blocks, seven points, three aces and four digs; while Paulina Piegza ahd five points and seven kills.

Also for the Cougars, Sabina Piegza had 30 set assists, three kills and five points; Kuulei Kabalis had nine digs; Kathryn Stock had five digs; Brooke Blomenkamp had three blocks; Tania Torres had five blocks; Cami Weimer had three kills; Ariel Austin had three kills; and Whitney Roth had three kills.

The Cougars will be back in action Friday with three matches in the Wyo-Braska Shootout. WNCC will face Colby Community College at 10 a.m., No. 17 Laramie County Community College at 2 p.m. and Northwest (Wyo.) College at 8 p.m. The nightcap will feature a contest between between former Cougar teammates as Melo will coach against Flavia Siqueira. Both were teammates at WNCC about eight years ago.

Other scores in the tournament at Cougar Palace include Trinidad State over Dawson 25-22, 20-25, 25-17, 25-22; Sheridan over Trinidad 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23; Lamar over Dawson 25-19, 25-19, 25-17; Laramie County over Lamar 25-16, 27-29, 25-22, 26-24; Colby over Trinidad State 25-15, 22-25, 25-16, 25-16; Sheridan vs. LCCC; and Lamar vs. Colby.

Scores at Eastern Wyoming College include Northwest Wyoming over McCook -- 25-14, 25-14, 25-23; NJC over Western Wyoming -- 25-22, 25-15, 25-15; EWC over McCook -- 25-20, 25-18, 25-19;
Central Wyoming vs. Casper; Air Force Prep vs. Western Wyoming; NJC vs. Northwest Wyoming; McCook vs. Casper; Central Wyoming vs. Dawson; EWC vs. Air Force Prep; NJC vs. Casper.

WNCC tops Air Force Prep in Wyo-Braska Shootout

Photos of the tournament are at http://wncccougars.smugmug.com/Cougar-Volleyball

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team won it's opening game of the Wyo-Braska Shootout with a 25-10, 25-15, 25-8 win over Air Force Prep Thursday afternoon. WNCC will face Sheridan College at 4 p.m. That game can be heard on the radio at KOZY, 101.3 or the Internet at www.kozy1013.com.

In the first contest, Sabina Piegza had 30 set assists, three kills and five points; Paulina Piegza had five points and seven kills; Kaleinani Kabalis had seven points, three aces, four digs, 15 kills and two blocks; Kuulei Kabalis had nine digs; Kathryn Stock had five digs; Brooke Blomenkamp had three blocks; Tania Torres had five blocks; Cami Weimer had three kills; Ariel Austin had three kills; and Whitney Roth had three kills.

Other scores in the tournament include Trinidad State over Dawson 25-22, 20-25, 25-17, 25-22;

WNCC men, women fall to Laramie County in soccer action

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team was in striking range of knocking off the No. 9 ranked Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles.

LCCC, however, scored two late goals and took advantage of a major turn of momentum to record a 5-2 win over the Cougars at Landers Soccer Complex Wednesday afternoon.

While the Cougar women netted two goals against the Golden Eagles, the Cougar men found the scoring a little tougher, getting shut out by LCCC 1-0.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said that his ladies team dominated play in the second half, racing back from a 3-0 deficit to slice the lead to 3-2.

“I wasn’t disheartened at all. We certainly dominated play a good portion of the game,” Rasnic said. “Most of their goals were scored off of quick countering-type of plays. That is something we can fix and that is the good news. Overall, it was that bad. We just didn’t get our offense going that well today.”

“When you play a good team like LCCC who is ranked No. 9 in the nation, you have to play a great game every time and that means both offensively and defensively. We fell short today and I think we will pull ourselves together off of this game and I think the next time we will meet up will be a different story.”

WNCC definitely controlled the momentum in the second half after LCCC jumped to a 3-0 lead. The Golden Eagles held a 2-0 lead at halftime as Michaela Boyd scored off an assist from Kelly Parkhurst nine minutes into the contest. LCCC added a second goal, with 15 minutes left in the half as Kelsey Gapter hit the back of the net for the 2-0 halftime lead.

LCCC wasted little time scoring their third goal, taking just 17 seconds of the second half to score as Emi Tamamoto scored off an assist from Parkhurst.

That was when WNCC started dominating play. Ana Jacobo scored the Cougars first goal at the 40 minute mark after taking a pass from Keah Brost. WNCC scored seven minutes later as freshman Brittany McNeil received the ball from Jacobo and planted the ball in the back of the net, slicing the lead to 3-2.

WNCC goalkeeper Jessica Taylor then made two huge saves on LCCC shots. WNCC, however couldn’t get the equalizing goal. The big momentum swing came with about five minutes left in the half when McNeil went down with a knee injury. The five minute halt in play changed the complexion of the contest and LCCC scored two late goals from Boyd and Gapter to seal the win.

Rasnic said that injury timeout did take a little bit of the momentum out of sails of his team.

“We started to come back but we didn’t get the equalizer goal which made us push a little bit harder on top. We took more risks then we normally did, which then we gave up the other two goals at the end,” he said. “I wasn’t disappointed; we just have a lot to work on. We are certainly a team that can play with LCCC and that will be one of our biggest challenges is to get by them in Region IX.”

The Cougars did play even with the No. 9 team in the country, recording nine shots on goal to the Golden Eagles’ 10. Taylor recorded seven saves in net.

The Cougar men’s story was a different story. Both teams failed to score in the first half, settling for a 0-0 tie. Both goalkeepers were pitching a shutout much of the second half, that was until the 19:37 mark when LCCC’s Jakob Baraket found the back of the net on a slow roller that slipped through the hands of the goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead.

WNCC had plenty of changes to score as well. In the first half, Marcel Sales launched a 30-footer that hit the cross bar and sailed away.

In the second half, Tony Rocha had a good shot on net at the 35 minute mark, only to see the ball sail high. A couple minutes later, Salas missed on another shot high. Salas and Kevin Lopes also missed prime scoring opportunities.

After LCCC scored, WNCC had two more chances to tie the contest, but Lopes missed high at the 17 minute mark and then Rocha missed on a shot just high with four minutes to play.

Rasnic said his team just couldn’t find the net.

“There are days that it just isn’t meant to be,” he said. “The goal they scored is one that would be scored in probably one in 150 shots. It just barely dribbled through the goalkeepers legs. Other than that, we played a pretty flawless game. Offensively, we didn’t get the kind of pressure that I would like to see, but we did figure some things out about our opponent and that is what we were out here today to do. “

LCCC registered 10 corner kicks to WNCC’s one. Also the Golden Eagles had five shots on goal compared to WNCC’s three. WNCC did outshoot the Golden Eagles 9-7.

Both teams will be back in action this weekend as they travel to face Iowa Western Community College on Saturday. The Cougar men will then face the University of Nebraska Club team Sunday morning followed by the Cougar women meeting York College Sunday afternoon in York. Both of Sunday’s contests were added to the schedule late.

WNCC, EWC host Wyo-Braska volleyball tournament beginning Thursday

Area fans will have an opportunity to see plenty of volleyball the next three days as Western Nebraska Community College and Eastern Wyoming College will co-host the Wyo-Braska Shootout.

Action will begin Thursday at noon and conclude Saturday afternoon.

EWC volleyball coach Verl Petsch, Jr., said it will be a wide-open competition for volleyball supremacy as five nationally-recognized teams make their way to the Wyo-Braska area.

“We have some good teams coming in and I can’t remember when we [Region IX] had five teams that received national recognition in this tournament,” Petsch said. “There is some real balance and potential for some upsets and some really outstanding volleyball. I think there could be some really good matches and we have seen some of that this year with some surprises and long rallies in relationship to the regular season. I am sure that will carry over to this tournament.”

WNCC enters the tournament at 15-2 and ranked No. 4 in the latest NJCAA standings. The Cougars are coming off a hard-fought, come-from-behind victory over No. 18 Casper College on Tuesday night.

Other ranked teams include No. 12 Northeastern Junior College, No. 17 Laramie County Community College, No. 18 Casper College and Northwest (Wyo.) College, who received honorable mention votes in this weeks’s poll.

Petsch said obviously WNCC is one of the top teams in the tournament, but there have been plenty of other teams playing well this season.

“The Cougars stand out along with NJC and Casper is starting to come into their own. I saw those results from Tuesday [from the WNCC and Casper match] and obviously they [Casper] has some potential to jump on some people. Laramie County has that nice record and we still need to see them play some of the upper people, but they have some potential. We played them and they have the talent.”

The Cougars and Laramie County enter the tournament with the best record, both boosting 15-2 marks. LCCC faced Dawson Community College Wednesday evening in Cheyenne, Wyo.

WNCC will open tournament action Thursday at noon against Air Force Prep at noon followed by a contest with Sheridan College at 4 p.m. The Cougars will have three matches on Friday, facing Colby Community College at 10 a.m., LCCC at 2 p.m. and then Northwest Wyoming at 8 p.m. WNCC will wrap up tournament play on Saturday at 10 a.m. against Western Wyoming Community College.

The Lancers, who enter the tournament with a 5-14 mark, will open play Thursday at 2 p.m. against McCook Community College followed by a matchup with Air Force Prep at 8 p.m.

EWC will have three contests on Friday, facing Trinidad State Junior College at noon, Lamar Community College at 6 p.m. and Central Wyoming at 8 p.m. The Lancers will finish tournament action Saturday at 10 a.m. against Dawson Community College.

Petsch is hoping his team can pick up some momentum heading into the final month of the season from this tournament.

“We hope to get a nice performance out of everybody and get back on the winning track,” he said. “We hope to put a few W’s together and we think we are capable of that if we can get some consistency. We really struggled playing an entire match. We have been working hard the last couple of weeks on that consistency and we are hoping it is time for it to pay off.”

Petsch thinks the volleyball fans will enjoy some exciting action this weekend.

“Right now this is going to be one of the premier tournaments in the region with the number of nationally ranked teams and the balance,” he said. “I think this is a great opportunity for people in the area to get out and see this outstanding volleyball because it will be here for 2 ½ days.”

Thursday’s Schedule
@ Cougar Palace, Scottsbluff
Noon – WNCC vs. Air Force Prep, Trinidad vs. Dawson; 2 p.m. – Trinidad vs. Sheridan, Lamar vs. Dawson; 4 p.m. – WNCC vs. Sheridan, Lamar vs. Laramie County; 6 p.m. Trinidad vs. Colby; 8 p.m. – Sheridan vs. Laramie County, Lamar vs. Colby.

@ Verl Petsch Activities Center, Torrington
Noon – Northwest Wyoming vs. McCook, NJC vs. Western Wyoming; 2 p.m. EWC vs. McCook, Central Wyoming vs. Casper; 4 p.m. – Air Force Prep vs. Western Wyoming, NJC vs. Northwest Wyoming; 6 p.m. McCook vs. Casper, Central Wyoming vs. Dawson; 8 p.m. – EWC vs. Air Force Prep, NJC vs. Casper.

Friday’s Schedule
@ Cougar Palace, Scottsbluff
10 a.m. – WNCC vs. Colby, Dawson vs. LCCC; Noon – Sheridan vs. Colby, NJC vs. Dawson; 2 p.m. WNCC vs. LCCC; 4 p.m. McCook vs. Air Force Prep; 6 p.m. – Northwest Wyoming vs. Colby, NJC vs. LCCC; 8 p.m. – WNCC vs. Northwest Wyoming, McCook vs. Dawson.

@ Verl Petsch Activities Center, Torrington
10 a.m. – Lamar vs. Central Wyoming, McCook vs. Western Wyoming; Noon – EWC vs. Trinidad, Northwest Wyoming vs. Central Wyoming; 2 p.m. – Lamar vs. Western Wyoming; 4 p.m. Trinidad vs. Casper, Sheridan vs. Central Wyoming; 6 p.m. EWC vs. Lamar, Trinidad vs. Casper; 8 p.m. – EWC vs. Central Wyoming, Air Force Prep vs. Casper.

Saturday’s Schedule
@ Cougar Palace, Scottsbluff
10 a.m. – WNCC vs. Western Wyoming, Trinidad vs. LCCC; Noon – Sheridan vs. McCook, Colby vs. LCCC.

@ Verl Petsch Activities Center, Torrington
10 a.m. – EWC vs. Dawson, Lamar vs. Casper; noon – Northwest Wyoming vs. Air Force Prep

WNCC volleyball team wins five-set thriller against Casper on the road

CASPER, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team was facing a 2-0 deficit Tuesday in its match with Casper College and things did not look good as the T-Birds was ready to hand the Cougars their third defeat on the season

The No. 4-ranked WNCC Cougars responded in dramatic fashion, coming back to register an exciting 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-11, 15-13 victory for their 15^th win on the season. It was a win that put a smile not only WNCC coach Giovana Melo but the players as well as they exited Swede Erickson gymnasium.

““In the first two sets, they did not look like the same team, they looked completely lost and they looked like they never played volleyball,” Melo said. “Sets like that happen, and it was happening to every single one of them and not just one person who wasn’t playing well; everybody was pretty much out of it.

“I tried to keep my patience and to keep their patience. I just had to try to bring them back to the team we really are and I think, slowly, we were able to do that. Those starts happen and obviously Casper came out and did a good job against us.”

The win was also the first time the Cougars won a five-set contest after trailing 2-0 since Oct. 14, 2005, against Hutchinson Community College at the Seward Invite. The win was also reminiscent of last year’s national tournament third-place match with Iowa Western Community College, which they had to win in five sets. In that match they had to play with heart and they needed that again Tuesday.

“The difference between the second set and the last three was the team was playing with more heart,” assistant coach Nicole Gonzalez said. “They were down after the first two sets and they were not playing with heart. In the last three they played with a lot of heart to get the win.”

After falling behind two sets, WNCC won a tough third set 25-21 and then breezed to the fourth set win 25-11. The fifth set proved to be a nail biter. WNCC took a 7-4 lead early before Casper came storming back, tying the match at 8-8. The Cougars responded on kills by Kathryn Stock and Paulina Piegza to take a 10-8 lead.

Casper called a timeout and came back to tie the game three more times, the final time at 13-13. Stock then hammered home a kill before Kuulei Kabalis serving up the final point for the winner.

Kaleinani Kabalis had a near 20-20, finishing the contest with 19 kills and 20 digs. She also had two assisted blocks and four points.

WNCC finished the contest with 55 total kills. After Kaleinani, Stock chipped in 17 kills and one solo block; Paulina Piegza has 12 kills and two assisted blocks; and Brooke Blomenkamp had seven kills.

Also for the Cougars, Sabina Piegza had a double-double with 13 digs and 43 set assists, while Cami Wiemer had 12 digs; Kuulei Kabalis getting nine digs, nine points and an ace; Emily Hoehn collecting 14 digs; Tania Torres getting five blocks; and Sierra Schmidt serving four points.

Melo credits Casper for coming out and playing well, but she also believes this is a wake-up call for her team.

“It seemed like everything they did in the first two sets, was working just right for them. I am glad we came back and pulled it out,” she said. “It was a wake-up call. It came down to yesterday where the same thing was like today. I told them that you play the way you practiced and you can get beat. Hopefully this is a point that I am proving that you play all the way.”

WNCC will next be in action Thursday as they co-host the Wyo-Braska Shootout along with Eastern Wyoming College. WNCC will face Air Force Prep at noon Thursday followed by Sheridan College at 4 p.m. The Cougars will then have three matches on Friday as they take on Colby at 10 a.m. followed by No. 18 Laramie County Community College at 2 p.m. and then No. 20 Northwest Wyoming at 8 p.m. The Cougars will wrap up the Shootout with a contest against Western Wyoming Saturday at 10 a.m.

WNCC men's and women's soccer at home Wednesday against Laramie County

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams have been road warriors through the first four weeks of the season. That will all change Wednesday afternoon when the Cougars will battle their rivals from Cheyenne, Wyo., in Laramie County Community College at the Landers Soccer Complex in Scottsbluff.

The WNCC men, who have the best record on Region IX with a 2-2-1 mark, will kick things off with a 2 p.m. contest against the 2-6 Golden Eagles. The Cougar women enter with a 3-2 record and will face the No. 9-ranked Golden Eagles (5-1-1) at 4 p.m.

The WNCC teams are definitely excited to be playing at home. They are also excited to be back on the field after a 10-day break in action.

“That break can be a plus or minus,” freshman defender Pedro De Leon said. “The plus would be that we recovered with our injuries and the minus would be that they have been playing some high level games the past week and we haven’t. Hopefully, that won’t be a factor.”

The last time the Cougar men stepped on the field, they tied Western Wyoming Community College in a Region IX contest 1-1 and then bounced back to top Westminister College junior varsity 3-0. The LCCC men topped Laramie County 6-0 before falling to Westminster College 3-2 in double overtime.

De Leon said it doesn’t matter what happened before, it is what happens on the field Wednesday that matters the most.

“I don’t like to go by scores because we tied Western Wyoming 1-1 and they beat Western Wyoming 6-0,” he said. “Scores to me are just a number; it is all about taking care of it on the field. It will be a very big game for us. First off we had a great chance to put away Western Wyoming in our first region game, so coming out tomorrow and beating our rivals will be big just in the standings.”

The Cougar men will put a different team on the field then they have at the beginning of the season, after changing their formation in their 3-0 win against Westminster. De Leon said that was a positive move on their part.

“That changing of formation helped us to figure out our weak spot, which was our midfield,” he said. “We were getting beat at that certain spot and it allowed the other teams to know where to attack us from. Now we can hit them with a stronger midfield and score more goals on top and make it easier for our defense.”

De Leon said it won’t be an easy contest. LCCC is a good team and they have to play their game.

“I know they are really good in communication and I have heard they are good in their midfield,” he said. “If we can take them off their game in the midfield, then we can control the game.”

The WNCC women will be entering this contest with plenty to prove, especially after suffering a disheartening Region IX loss to Western Wyoming on Sept. 11. The Golden Eagles also have a sense of revenge on their mind after the Cougars toppled LCCC in last year’s Region IX tournament championship game.

“They are going to be really pumped up to play us and ready to play and win after that loss [last year],” sophomore forward Ana Jacobo said. “They will come out in their full game, but we should, too.”

The contest just be pretty equal. LCCC enters the contest with a 5-1-1 record but split a pair of matches over the weekend, tying the University of Colorado Gold team 1-1 before beating the CU Black team 2-0. WNCC, 3-2 on the season, were bounced by Western Wyoming 2-0 on Sept. 11 before coming back to topple North Idaho College 2-0.

Jacobo said that, just like the men’s team, they also have a new formation that has made them a stronger team.

“That change helped us because with more midfields, it is way better then what we ran before,” Jacobo said. “We get to see more of the field now and the formation helps us get more attacking opportunities and it helps the defense.”

The one thing that the Cougars will need to do is put the ball in the back of the net. That could be a problem for both teams as both goalkeepers are among the best in the nation. WNCC’s Jessica Taylor has made 45 saves and given up five goals for a 1.22 average. LCCC’s Emly Michna is allowing .86 goals a game, while making 29 saves.

“It is a really big game for us,” Jacobo said. “It is a team we don’t get along with so it will be an important game. The focus will be on scoring and playing as a team. We really need to focus on what we are doing and keep positive thoughts on the field.”

WNCC softball falls to Colorado State

FT. COLLINS, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team faced the Colorado State University in a doubleheader on Sunday and competed hard, but fell to the Rams 9-1 and 11-3.

The Cougars actually were within striking range of the Rams in the opener, trailing 2-1 after one inning. WNCC then let CSU score seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings on seven hits.

WNCC tied the score at 1-1 in the fourth as Megan Burditt and Katie Groves singles. Burditt’s hit broke up a perfect game bid by the CSU pitcher. Burditt later scored on a 2-out base hit from freshman Michelle Glaze.

Taylor Anderson took the loss in the circle, allowing 12 hits while not allowing a walk or getting a strikeout.

WNCC pounded out five hits in the loss. Tonya Atencio had the only extra base hit in the opener, slapping a fifth-inning double.

The Cougars got behind the eight ball early in the second game as the Rams scored six first-inning runs. WNCC answered with two runs in the second on a just one hit. Burditt had a base-loaded single to cut the lead to 6-2. It wasn’t enough as the Division I team won 11-3.

Stephanie Townsend took the loss in the circle, allowing 12 hits while striking out three.

The Cougars finished the game with six hits. No Cougar had more than one hit.

WNCC’s next scrimmage will be Thursday when they host Chadron State College before competing in the Triple Crown Tournament in Ft. Collins, Colo., Saturday and Sunday.

First Game

WNCC 000 100 – 1 5 4

CSU 100 134 – 9 12 0

LP – Anderson; 2B – Atencio

Second Game

WNCC 020 010 – 3 6 2

CSU 601 103 – 11 13 0

LP – Townsend.

WNCC volleyball drops Garden City, Laredo in straight sets; goes to 14-2 on the season

STERLING, Colo. – Kaleinani Kabalis pounded home 34 kills and 21 digs and the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team swept through the Pizza Hut Invite in Sterling, Colo., with a perfect 4-0 record.

WNCC finished off the tournament with sweeps on Saturday over Garden City Community College 25-18, 25-13, 25-8 and then swept through a talented Laredo (Texas) Community College squad 25-12, 25-23, 25-18.

On Friday, WNCC topped Barton Community College in three sets and then No. 11 Seward County Community College in four sets.

The tournament title pushes the Cougars’ record to 14-2. This weekend’s tourney was also the first competition for the Cougars in over 10 days and WNCC coach Giovani Melo was pleased with how her team played.

“I thought we did an excellent job,” she said. “We did a couple of great things that we have been working on in practice. As the day went one we were playing better.”

The Cougars received excellent team play as everybody contributed in some way. Melo couldn’t be happier with that aspect of the Cougar’s game.

“Everybody played well,” she said. “We played as a team. Everyone on the court did their job and the ones on the bench was very supportive. “

In Saturday’s opener against Garden City, Cami Weimer and Kaleinani Kabalis recorded double-doubles. Kabalis finished with 14 digs, 18 kills, five points and two aces; while Weimer had 14 digs, 16 points and two aces.

Also for the Cougars, Kuulei Kabalis had eight digs; Paulina Piegza had nine kills and a solo block; Ariel Austin had five kills; and Sabina Piegza had 34 set assists, nine points and two aces.

WNCC continued its stellar team play against Laredo Community College, a team that lost to No. 1 Blinn in four sets to open the season, with the straight set win.

Kaleinani Kabalis pounded home 16 kills, while getting seven digs, seven points and two aces. Also for the Cougars, Sabina Piegza had 30 set assists, eight points and an ace; Paulina Piegza had seven kills, 11 points, and two aces; Brooke Blomenkamp had eight kills; Kathryn Stock had five kills, 10 points and two aces; Kuulei Kabalis ahd 13 digs and five digs; and Emily Hoehn had five digs.

Melo said that this weekend’s tournament was definitely good for the squad as they faced some very talented teams and it will help them as they prepare for a busy next seven days.

“I thought it was really good competition,” she said. “It will help us next week. It will be good to be at home and to get the crowd behind us. We are excited for next week’s home tournament.”

The Cougars will next be at Casper on Tuesday before hosting the Wyo-Braska Shootout with Eastern Wyoming Thursday through Saturday. WNCC will open the tournament Thursday at noon against Air Force Prep before facing Sheridan College at 4 p.m. They will then have three matches on Friday against Colby Community College, No. 18 Laramie County Community College and No. 20 Northwest Wyoming. WNCC will finish off the next week’s tournament with a Saturday match-up with Western Wyoming Community College.

Saturday's WNCC volleyball action

The WNCC volleyball team went to 14-2 on the season after going 4-0 at the Pizza Hut Invite in Sterling, Colo. over the weekend.

The Cougars wrapped up the tournament by dropping Garden City Community College and Laredo Community College on Saturday. WNCC defeated Garden City 25-18, 25-13, 25-8 and the defeated Laredo Community College 25-21, 25-12, 25-18, as Kathryn Stock got the ace serve for the match winner.

WNCC will next be in action Tuesday when they face Casper College at Casper, Wyo., and then they will be at home for the Wyo-Braska Shootout Thursday through Saturday.

Volleyball updates from Pizza Hut Invite

No. 4 WNCC Cougars are 12-2 on the season after capturing both their matches Friday at the Pizza Hut Classic in Stering, Colo.

WNCC topped No. 11 Seward County Community College in four games in dramatic fashion, 20-25, 26-24 25-17, 25-17.

The Cougars went to 11-2 on the season as they dropped Barton Community College 25-19, 25-21, 25-19 in straight sets.

The games this weekend are broadcast on the radio at 101.3 FM – KOZY. WNCC will finish off the tournament with two matches on Saturday as they play Garden City Community College at 9 a.m. and Laredo Community College at 1 p.m. The contests can be heard on the radio and the Internet at http://www.kozy1013.com/

Softball team improving during fall season

(photo courtesy of Alex Helmbrecht, Chadron State Sports Information).

Ever since the Western Nebraska Community College softball team opened up the fall season with a heart-breaking 2-1 loss to Chadron State College Saturday in the WNCC Fall Classic, the Cougar women have quietly been gelling together as a team.

WNCC finished the Fall Classic with a 3-1 record topping North Platte Community College 3-1 on Saturday, then picking up two wins on Sunday as they defeated McCook Community College 4-3 and North Platte 5-0. Chadron State finished the tournament going 4-1, winning two games on Sunday. The Eagles had a come-from-behind win against North Platte, and then blanked the University of Wyoming as Cassie Humphrey and Katie Bolin each had first-inning 2-run home runs.

Wednesday, Chadron State and WNCC hooked up in a 12-inning scrimmage and WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff liked the improvement she saw from her players.

“We cut our strike outs down at the plate and I felt that our pitchers were more comfortable in the circle,” she said. “We still have a long way to go but we looked more like our team today.”

Two players that stood out in the Chadron State scrimmage were freshman pitcher Ashton Hughes and freshman infielder Michelle Glaze.

“Michelle did a nice job at the plate where she went 2-for-2 with two walks,” Winn-Ratliff said. “I felt like Ashton really threw well today, facing nine batters in three innings of work and getting five strikeouts.”

Glaze also had a strong weekend from the plate. In Sunday’s action, Glaze, and Jordan Schoepflin had excellent games. Schoepflin scattered nine hits, seven in the final two innings to get the win against McCook. Schoepflin, a freshman from Arvada, Colo., struck out 11 batters, including the first two in the seventh inning to get the win.

Offensively, Schoepflin was also hot as was Glaze. Glaze, from Brighton, Colo., went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI, while Schoepflin was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. Katie Hill, another freshman from Broomfield, Colo., also had two hits, going 2-for-2 with two singles and a walk.

WNCC finished off the tournament as freshman hurler Taylor Anderson of Riverton, Utah, threw a complete game, scattering five hits and striking out five. She walked just one batter. The Cougars struck for five runs, all from the fourth inning on. WNCC scored three runs in the fourth, and then added two insurance runs in the sixth. Sophomore Adena Hagen led off with a triple and scored on a deep sacrifice fly by Katie Groves. Redshirt freshman Chara Horsley then hit a solo home run that hit the top of the scoreboard. Chadron State will be back in action this weekend at the North Platte tournament, while WNCC will travel to Ft. Collins, Colo., on Sunday for a doubleheader against Colorado State University.

Harnish a contributor on children's book about basketball

When former Scottsbluff Star-Herald sports editor Bab Schaller approached WNCC women’s basketball coach Dave Harnish about collaberating with him on producing a children’s book about basketball, he jumped at the opportunity.

Harnish contributed to “The Everything Kids’ Basketball Book,” released this month.

“At its core, basketball isn’t that hard,” Schaller and Harnish write in the book. “It’s about hustling on defense and offense, paying attention, taking good shots, and making good passes. If you can do all those things, you’re on you’re way to becoming a good basketball player.”

The book is an entertaining way for children to learn the sport and is filled with fun facts, stats, and stories about basketball stars past and present, the best offensive and defensive moves, up-to-date statistics and records of NBA teams, and fun games like “Around the World” and “H-O-R-S-E.”

The book contains mini-games such as connect the dots and matching.

The Everything© Series Books provide an enjoyable and easy way to learn. Other books in the series include digital photograhy, writing children’s books, and the Civil War, among others.

Schaller has written nearly 50 books on everything from covering Husker sports to profiling such sports personalities as Tom Osborne, Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner, and Denver Bronco Kenny Walker. Schaller worked for the Star-Herald in the 1990’s.

The book gives credit to Harnish for his contributions: “Dave Harnish is the head basketball coach at Western Nebraska Community College. His teams have won the Region IX Tournament five of the six years to advance to the national tournament, and have won at least 30 games in six of the last seven seasons. They have not lost more than nine games in a season since 1993. He lives in Scottsbluff, Neb.”

The book can be found online at any retailer, or ordered through Cooperfield Books at Monument Mall.

WNCC picks up two wins in second day of Fall Classic

The Western Nebraska Community College and Chadron State College softball teams each picked up two victories Sunday in the WNCC Fall Classic at Volunteer Field.

WNCC recorded a thrilling 4-3 win against McCook Community College before recording a 5-0 shutout against North Platte Community College.

Chadron State picked up a come-from-behind win against North Platte before shutting down the University of Wyoming 12-0 behind an 11-hit attack including 2-run home runs from Cassie Humphrey and Katie Bolin.

CSC finished the tournament with a 4-1 record, while WNCC went 3-1.

The Eagles opened the day with a come-from-behind win against North Platte. The Eagles led 2-0 through four innings before North Platte scored 3 runs in the fifth inning. The Eagles came back in the bottom of the inning scoring one in the bottom of the fifth as Katelyn Moore reached on an error and scored on a Nikki Ritzen single.

CSC won the game in the sixth inning as Allison Hendricksen reached on an error and scored the winning run on a 2-out single by Stephanie Hillman.

The Eagles had five hits in the contest. Ritzen had the only multiple hit game, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Kim Pender picked up the win in the circle by allowing just five hits and striking out three.

Chadron State opened up the offense in its final game of the Fall Classic against Wyoming by scoring eight runs in the first inning. Ritzen started things by drawing a walk followed by Humphrey blasting a 2-run home run. Hendrickson followed with a double before Bolin hit the second home run of the inning. CSC also had a double by Jamie Mazankowski in the inning.

The Eagles plated three more runs in the fourth and a single run in the fifth for the 12-0 win. Christina Lewis picked up the win allowing just four hits, while striking out two.

Offensively for the Eagles, Humphrey went 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBIs, and a run scored, while Moore went 2-for-2 with a double, RBI and a run scored. Also for CSC, Ritzen went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs; DeNae Quijas went 1-for-2 with a run scored and RBI; and Kayln Land went 0-1 with two walks and a run scored.

WNCC also had two exciting contests. Against McCook, the Cougars jumped out to a 4-0 lead only to hold off the Indians in the seventh inning.

WNCC scored a single run in the first inning as Michelle Glaze doubled and scored on Jordan Schoepflin’s double. The Cougars added a single run in the third on back-to-back singles by Amanda Saldivar and Adena Hagen for a 2-0 lead.

The Cougars added two huge insurance runs in the fifth inning as Brittany Chacon walked. Glaze and Schoepflin followed with run-scoring, back-to-back doubles. McCook added a single run in the sixth and two more in the seventh. The Indians had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position before winning pitcher Schoepflin got the final out on a ground out.

Schoepflin scattered nine hits, seven in the final two innings, but struck out 11 McCook batters, including the first two in the seventh inning.

Schoepflin and Glaze paced the Cougars offensively. Glaze went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI, while Schoepflin was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. Katie Hill also had two hits, going 2-for-2 with two singles and a walk.

WNCC finished off the opening tournament of the fall season with a 5-0 win against North Platte. Both teams were hooked up in a pitcher’s duel early before WNCC opened the scoring in the fourth inning with three runs on just three hits. Megan Burditt started things with a bunt single that put runners on first and second. After that, Katie Groves singled in Allie Alverson and Burditt. Hagen scored the third run of the inning.

The Cougars added two more runs in the sixth inning. Hagen led off with a single and scored on a deep sacrifice fly by Groves. Chara Horsley topped off the scoring as she had a solo home run that hit the top part of the scoreboard.

Taylor Anderson picked up the shutout win, allowing five hits and striking out five and walking just one.

Hagen led the Cougars with a 1-for-2 game with two runs scored, a triple and a walk. Also for WNCC, Ashton Hughes went 1-for-2 with a double; Stephanie Townsend 1-for-1 with a double; Jacqui Cappuccilli was 1-for-2; Horsley was 1-for-3 with a home run; Groves was 1-for-2’ and Burditt was 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Chadron State will next be in action this weekend when they go to the North Platte tournament, while WNCC will take on Colorado State n Ft. Collins, Colo., on Sept. 20.

McCook 000 001 2 – 3 9 0

WNCC 101 020 x – 4 7 0

WP – Schoepflin; 2B – Schoepflin 2, Glaze 2.

WNCC 000 302 – 5 6 0

North Platte 000 00x – 0 5 0

WP – Anderson; 2B – Hughes, Townsend; 3B – Hagen; HR – Horsley.

North Platte 000 030 – 3 4 4

CSC 101 011 – 4 5 3

WP – Pender

CSC 800 31 – 12 11 1

Wyoming 000 00 – 0 4 1

WP – Lewis; 2B – Moore; HR – Humphrey, Bolin.

WNCC women's soccer shuts out North Idaho 2-0; Jacobo scores two goals

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team put Friday’s Region IX loss behind them and came out on Sunday picking up a huge win over North Idaho College, the team that knocked the Cougars out of the District Playoffs last year.

WNCC, in fact, dominated North Idaho this year, winning 2-0 as Ana Jacobo and Jessica Taylor stepped up big for the Cougars.

“Ana was absolutely stellar. The other ladies also played well in organizing the field,” WNCC women’s coach Todd Rasnic said. “The last goal that Ana made, she chipped the ball over the top of the defender and went to get it and put it in the net.”

Rasnic said this win was definitely an improvement over Friday’s 2-0 loss to Western Wyoming Community College. It was also the first time that the Cougars lost to the Mustangs.

“We had more desire today [over Friday] where we got caught on our heals,” Rasnic said. “We got out played on Friday.”

One of the big differences in the contest was the change in formation on the field. Rasnic said that that philosophy worked for the men on Saturday, so he wanted to try it on the women’s team.

Both teams went scoreless in the first half. The second half was a different story. Two minutes into the half, Jacobo took a pass from Keah Brost and sailed it into the back of the net.

Jacobo nailed her second goal with about 12 minutes to play as she took a pass from Brittany McNeil, beat a defender and fired it into the net.

WNCC finished the contest with 12 shots on goal, while North Idaho had 15 shots on goal. Jessica Taylor made all 15 saves to help the Cougars to the win.

WNCC, 3-2 on the season, will host Laramie County Community College on Sept. 23 at 4 p.m. at the Landers Soccer Complex.

WNCC men shut out Westminister College

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. - The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team shutout Westminster College Saturday evening at Rock Springs, Wyo., earning a 3-0 win over the four-year school.

WNCC held a 2-0 lead at intermission.

Tony Rocha scored the first goal for the Cougars followed by Jose Macias to put WNCC up at halftime. Miguel Leon finished off the scoring as the freshman scored on a penalty kick for the final goal of the match.

WNCC men's coach Todd Rasnic shoveled the line-up and it worked.

``We changed the formation of how we play and it worked really well,'' he said. ``We are going to stay with it because we had continuous offense.''Westminster College tied Western Wyoming Community College in double overtime. The WNCC and Western Wyoming men had to settle for a 1-1 tie on Friday. The Cougar women will finish off the Rock Springs road trip when they take on North Idaho College at 11 a.m. today. Western Wyoming fell to North Idaho 1-0 in overtime.

The Cougar men (2-2-1) will next be in action Sept. 23 as they host Laramie County Community College at 2 p.m. at Landers Soccer Complex.

WNCC softball goes 1-1 at Fall Classic

Photos of the games located at wncccougars@smugmug.com

The Western Nebraska Community College and Chadron State College softball teams opened the fall season with impressive wins in the first day of the WNCC Fall Classic at Volunteer Field.

The Eagles opened the tournament with an exciting win against WNCC, topping the hosts 2-1. Chadron’s Cassie Humphrey picked up the win in the circle, tossing a six-hitter while striking out five and walking two.

Chadron State followed that contest up by falling to North Platte Community College 7-5 before coming back to blank McCook Community College 8-0.

WNCC picked up their first win of the fall campaign with a 3-1 win over North Platte as Stephanie Townsend picked up the win, allowing two hits and striking out three. The other game of the tournament saw North Platte drop McCook 15-0.

Action continues Sunday in the tournament with six games. WNCC starts the day by facing North Platte at 9 a.m. followed by the University of Wyoming facing McCook at 10:45 a.m. The rest of the schedule sees North Platte facing Wyoming at 12:30 p.m., North Platte battling Chadron State at 2:15 p.m., WNCC meeting North Platte at 4 p.m., and Chadron State and Wyoming tangling at 5:45 p.m.

In the opener, CSC struck first. Humphrey led off the first by reaching on an error and scored on a 2-out single by Stephanie Hillman for the 1-0 lead.

The score stayed deadlocked until the sixth inning when WNCC finally scratched across a run. Tonya Atencio started the inning with a single to left field. Atencio then scored on a two-out double by Adena Hagen to tie the score.

Chadron State answered back in the bottom of the sixth. Allison Hendrickson led off the inning by drawing a walk and scored on a one-out double by Hilman for the 2-1 lead.

The Cougars had an opportunity to tie the game in the seventh as Jordan Schoepflin started things with a pinch-hit single. WNCC couldn’t get the tying run in as Humphrey got the next three batters to ground out and fly out for the win.

Taylor Anderson took the loss for WNCC despite throwing six strong innings. Anderson, the freshman from Riverton, Utah, allowed five hits while striking out two.

Chadron State was paced offensively by Hillman, who had a 2-for-3 game with a double and two RBIs. Scottsbluff’s DeNae Quijas finished the game 1-for-1 with a double and a walk, while Hillman had three walks and a run scored.

WNCC was paced by Schoepflin with a 1-for-1 game. Hagen had the only extra base hit for the Cougars as the sophomore went 1-for-2 with a double and a RBI. Also collecting singles for WNCC were Megan Burditt, Katie Groves, Stephanie Townsend, and Tonya Atencio.

WNCC picked up their first win of the fall season against North Platte as Townsend picked up the win, going six innings and tossing a 2-hitter. Townsend struck out three in the win.

North Platte scored first, scoring a single run in the fourth. WNCC came right back by scoring twice in the bottom of the frame. Katie Hill led off by reaching on an error. Schoepflin followed with a single to center field. Groves came through scoring Hill and Alllie Alverson with a double to right field. WNCC added an insurance run in the sixth as Schoepflin singled in Hagen.

Schoepflin paced the Cougars with a 2-for-3 game with a run scored and RBI. Groves went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Glaze, Hill and Atencio also had base hits for the Cougars.

In Chadron’s other two contests, they lost a heartbreaker to North Platte 7-5. North Platte held a 5-2 lead after four innings before the Eagles sliced the lead to 5-4, but couldn’t get any closer.

Christina Lewis took the loss in the circle for the Eagles.

Offensively, Kayln Land had a double and two runs scored, while Humphrey had two doubles. Also, Jamie Mazankowski went 1-for-3, Lynette Ebert went 1-for-1 with two runs scored, and Jonella Yrkoski had a run-scoring double.

Chadron came back to drop McCook Community College 8-0 as the Eagles pounded out 14 hits. Ebert finished the game with a double and o RB, while Blair McEndaffer had a double, and two RBIs. Chadron’s Nikki Ritzen, a freshman, paced the team with a 3-for-3 game with two runs scored and a RBI.

The big blast of the game was turned in by North Platte freshman Brittany DeBord, who had a fourth-inning solo home run.

Eagle senior Amanda Brown picked up the win in the circle.

McCook 000 0 – 0 3 0

Chadron State 300 5 – 8 14 1

WP – Brown; 2B – Ebert, McEndaffer; HR – DeBord.

Chadron State 001 121 – 5 6 3

North Platte 112 12x – 7 10 3

LP – Lewis; 2B – Land, Humphrey 2, Yrkoski.

WNCC 000 001 0 – 1 6 1

Chadron State 100 001 x – 2 5 0

WP – Humphrey, LP – Anderson; 2B – WNCC (Hagen), CSC (Hillman, Quijas).

North Platte 000 100 – 1 2 1

WNCC 000 201 – 3 7 1

WP – Townsend; 2B—Groves.

WNCC men tie Western Wyoming, women fall to Mustangs in soccer action

Submitted by JEREMY WOZMICK, Star-Herald Sports

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. - The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team played to a 1-1 deadlock at Western Wyoming Community College on Friday in Rock Springs, Wyo.

In women's action, WNCC was on the wrong end of a 2-0 shutout against Western Wyoming.

Both matches were the first Region IX action of the season for WNCC.

``They were pretty even soccer matches that could have gone either way,'' WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said. ``I think this is an indication of how all of the matches in this region could go. All of the teams are even.''

Matt Hoffman scored WNCC's lone goal in the men's match. Hoffman's score came in the fifth minute of the second half and tied the match at 1-1. That would be all of the scoring by both squads, as the match remained tied after two overtime periods.

WNCC totaled 25 shots in the match. Ten of those were on goal. Western Wyoming finished with eight shots on goal.

In the women's match, Rasnic said the Cougars had plenty of opportunities to score. Western Wyoming held a 1-0 lead before scoring its second goal late in the second half.

``Western Wyoming played an outstanding soccer match. We didn't play bad either,'' Rasnic said. ``We had plenty of opportunities, but just didn't finish.''

The Cougars finished the match with just six shots on goal. Jessica Taylor was in goal for WNCC.

The WNCC men will be back in action today against Westminster College. The Cougar women will take on North Idaho College on Sunday.

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