Western Nebraska Community College’s Kaleinani Kabalis pounded home 33 kills and picked up the Most Valuable Player award after leading the Cougars to their 30th win of the season after sweeping two more opponents in the Landmark Real Estate Center Ozfest Invitational in Liberal, Kan., on Saturday. The No. 4-ranked Cougars took care of Midland College 25-12, 25-20, 25-17, before running through No. 11 Seward County Community College 25-22, 25-21, 25-14. WNCC finished 4-0 at the invitational after sweeping through No. 17 Hutchinson Community College and Arizona Western (who received votes in the national rankings) on Friday. Hutchinson finished second in the tournament.
“I think they worked and fought pretty hard for every single point today,” WNCC coach Giovana Melo said. “We got better as every game got a long. I think we played as a team and that is something that we have been working on. We have been working on playing as a team, being consistent and getting better. We did those things and we were able to win all of them.”
Kabalis finished the four matches in the tournament with 66 kills in leading the team to their 21st straight victory. Kuulei Kabalis and Sabina Piegza also were named to the all-tournament team.
In the opener against Midland, the Cougars were down 21-20 in the second set and then served three straight to go up 23-21 before winning 25-22.
The Cougars had three players hit the double figure mark in kills. Kaleinani Kabalis finished with 16 kills followed by Paulina Piegza and Brooke Blomenkamp each had 11 kills. Kabalis also had six points and a solo block.
Paulina Piegza had six assists, eight points and one ace. Also for the Cougars, Kathryn Stock had three block; Sabina Piegza with three blocks and 38 set assists; Kuulei Kabalis with 14 digs; Cami Weimer with 10 digs and five points; and Emily Hoehn with seven digs.
WNCC was even more impressive against No. 11 Seward County. After squeaking out a 25-22 win in the first set, the Cougars rolled to a 25-21 win in set two and then easily won the third set 25-14. WNCC raced to a 12-7 lead in the final set before holding commanding 22-12 lead.
The Cougars defense was stellar against the Saints as for players netted the double-figure plateau in digs. Kuulei and Kaleinani Kabalis, Hoehn and Weimer each had 10 digs each, followed by Sabina Piegza with nine digs.
Kaleinani Kabalis hammered home 17 kills in the match while also getting six points. Paulina Piegza and Stock also had good matches as Paulina had eight kills, two solo blocks and five assist blocks. Stock finished with six kills and four assist blocks.
Also for WNCC, Sabina Piegza had 35 set assists.
Melo was pleased with the team’s play over the weekend, which ran the team’s winning streak to 21 matches.
“We played very well and I thought we worked and fought really hard,” she said. “We played well defensively against Steward. Now we have to get home and get focused against Northeastern Junior College next week.”
WNCC will take on the No. 20 Northeastern Junior College on Tuesday at Cougar Palace. Melo said they need to play the same way they did this weekend to be successful against their rivals from Sterling, Colo.
“We have to keep playing the way we have been playing,” she said. “If we do that, it will be a good match. We can do it. If we keep playing well like we did this weekend, we are a good team.”
Tuesday’s home match will also be a volleyball/basketball doubleheader. First, the volleyball team will have Dig Pink night during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Dig Pink festivities include information on breast cancer awareness as well as give-a-ways. Also, breast cancer patients will be admitted free and anyone wearing pink will get $1 off their admission.
After the volleyball match, individuals will get a chance to see new men’s basketball coach Russ Beck’s team as the Cougar men will have a basketball showcase. The evening will give the fans a chance to meet and greet the players. There will also be a scrimmage, a 3-point shooting contest and a slam dunk contest during the evening.
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