Sierra Schmidt had 14 points and Ariel Austin pounded home nine kills as the 4th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team cruised to its 32nd win of the season with a thundering 25-6, 25-11, 25-14 win over Otero Junior College in sub-region play Thursday at Cougar Palace. “I thought we had a lot of fun out there and, again, we came out and played as a team,” Austin, the 5-foot-11 rightside hitter from Woodland Park, Colorado, said. “Our goal is always to get 10 percent better and I thought we did get that 10 percent better. We all got our serves over and got some good kills.”
The Cougars definitely were on their A game Thursday night as a number of Cougars stepped up to the plate, and they wasted little time in taking control.
WNCC quickly took a 7-2 lead behind two kills each from Austin and Whitney Roth and then pushed the lead to double-digits, 14-4, on five Schmidt service points. The Cougars pushed the lead to 19-5 as Kathryn Stock had four points, including two aces before Paulina Piegza finished off the Rattlers with four service points.
The second set was a tad closer. WNCC jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Cami Weimer’s serving, but that was soon erased as Otero tied the set at six on three Lindsay Thayer points. Otero kept playing strong, taking a 9-8 lead on a Sara Coe point.
WNCC rebounded by taking a 14-9 lead on five Kuulei Kabalis points on two Austin Kills. The Cougars continued playing strong as Schmidt served seven straight points, including two aces for a 22-10 lead. Stock finished off the Rattlers with two service points.
Austin said it was a batter of time that the Cougars would get untracked in the second set after trailing early.
“We had a couple of mistakes in that second set,” she said. “But we just snapped back and clicked together and got the lead back.”
The Cougars made quick work in the third set as Roth served five straight points for a 5-0 lead. WNCC continue playing strong, pushing the lead to double digits on a Roth kill and service point. From there, WNCC cruised to the third set win at 25-14.
The big key for the Cougars was their serving as the team combined on 10 kills and four different players finished with seven or more service points. Schmidt paced the team with 14 points and three aces, while Stock had 10 points and two aces. Roth and Kuulei Kabalis each had seven points.
“Serving was huge for us tonight,” Austin said. “It is one of the most important things that you have to get it over to have a play.”
The Cougars also received a balanced offensive attack. The team combined on .365 hitting for the contest as Austin paced the squad with nine kills with a hitting percentage of .347. Stock and Kaleinani Kabalis finished with eight kills each, while Roth had six kills.
Also for the Cougars, Paulina Piegza had two kills and five points; Kaleinani Kabalis added 11 digs and six points; Stock had four digs; Sabina Piegza had five kills, 29 set assists and two points; Weimer had three points and seven digs; Kuulei Kabalis had 10 digs; and Tania Torres had two kills.
The Cougars, 32-2, will continue its home stand Friday when they host Lamar Community College at 7 p.m. The Lamar contest is Family night where families that attend wearing blue and gold will be admitted for $1 each.
WNCC will then face Trinidad State Junior College on Saturday at 1 p.m. That contest is Girl Scout Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment