Kaleinani Kabalis recorded her 1,000 career kill and the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team made it a happy sophomore night in registering an action-packed, five-set thriller over No. 12 Casper College at Cougar Palace. The fourth-ranked Cougars rallied from a 2-1 deficit to record a 16-25, 25-14, 21-25, 26-24, 15-9 win for their 35th victory of the season.
Kabalis finished the night with a season-high 28 kills, and she netted her 1,000th career kill on the first point of the fourth set.
But, it wasn’t just Kabalis that stepped up, the entire team had to dig deep to come out with the victory as three players finished with 15-plus digs. Emily Hoehn paced the defense with 22 digs followed by Brooke Blomenkamp with 18 and Kuulei Kabalis with 15.
Kaleinani Kabalis said this is a special win for everybody.
“This game was really big for us because it was like our sophomore night,” she said. “I felt this is the changing point for our team of how we got stronger without Sabi (Sabina Piegza, who is out with a knee injury). I think this win made us way stronger than before. We have more confidence in each and every person off the bench.”
The Cougars definitely had their backs to the ropes on many occasions. WNCC, however, found the drive to come away with the win. Kaleinani Kabalis said they just had to relax.
“We had to relax, calm down and play our game and remember that this is for us and one more step toward nationals,” she said. “We had to play with our heart instead of just our mind.”
Casper dominated the first set as Katya Kopanarova had five service points to push the T-bird lead to 10-4. WNCC never really mounted a threat in falling 25-16.
The second set was just the opposite as the Cougars started to find some rhythm. Casper held a 14-13 lead on two Marija Jovanovic points. WNCC’s Blomenkamp changed the complexion in a heartbeat as she hammered home a kill and then serviced seven straight points for a 22-13 lead. Kaleinani finished off the set with two thundering kills.
The third set was anyone’s set to take as WNCC jumped out to a 13-8 lead on three Kathryn Stock service points. The lead didn’t last long as Konefesi Vaisigano had three points and then Kopanarova had four points to give Casper a 19-16 lead. Kristin Glisczinski helped Casper to the set win with four points for the 25-21 win.
WNCC game out strong in the fourth set. On the very first point, Kaleinani Kabalis hammered home her 17th kill of the night, which was her 1,000th career kill. WNCC kept playing strong as Paulina Piegza had four service points and later Kaleinani had three points for a 10-3 lead.
WNCC raced to a 19-12 lead and seemed they were on cruise control. Casper had other ideas, as Vaisigano served six straight points to slice the lead to 22-19. The Cougars came within set point at 24-20 on a Kaleinani Kabalis kill, but Kopanarova tied the set at 24. Kaleinani Kabalis heated up, hammering home the final two kills to force a fifth set.
The final set was heated as both ranked teams wanted the win. Casper held a 7-6 lead before Paulina Piegza heated up with two kills to give WNCC an 8-7 lead. Moments later, Piegza hammered home another kill and then Kathryn Stock had three service points as Kaleinani Kabalis and Piegza had two huge blocks and Piegza had a kill for a 13-9 lead. Piegza finished off the Casper upset attempt with a kill and then the final service point for the match.
Blomenkamp finished with a triple-double, finishing with 18 digs, 11 points and 11 kills. A number of players collected double-doubles on the night. Kaleinani Kabalis finished with 28 kills, 14 digs, two blocks and eight points; while Kuulei Kabalis had 53 set assists, 15 digs, nine points, and three kills.
Also for the Cougars, Paulina Piegza had 12 kills, four blocks and six points; Stock had eight kills, 10 digs and nine points; Hoehn had 22 digs and three points; and Cami Weimer had 11 digs.
Kaleinani Kabalis said this win will be huge for the rest of the season, especially since the sophomores finished their career at Cougar Palace on a high note.
“It was tough for us to play tonight because we didn’t have Sabi, but in our hearts we played for her mostly,” she said. “When we were playing out there, we knew that she is still out there in mind, soul and spirit.”
The Cougars will have two more regular season matches left as they travel to Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., next Wednesday before facing McCook on the road on Oct. 30. Kabalis said they have to keep playing with plenty of heart to keep winning.
“Next week we will have to play tough,” she said. “We need to keep our confidence level up and keep trying our hardest.”
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