The No. 5-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will face a plethora of top 25 teams in the first three weeks of the season as it sets to open the season this weekend at the Reiver Classic at Iowa Western Community College.
The rigorous schedule also includes a home opener on Sept. 15 against No. 6 Iowa Western Community College. It is the first time the Iowa Western has came to WNCC in a non-tournament appearance.
The Cougars, who finished 42-4 and third at the national tournament a year ago, get the season started this weekend against a talented field at the Reiver Classic. WNCC opens the season Friday against Hutchinson Community College at 11 a.m. and Marshalltown Community College at 3 p.m. Saturday’s action will pit WNCC against No. 2-ranked Missouri State-West Plains at 9 a.m. and Jefferson College at 1 p.m.
“This weekend will be a pretty good show of the year will be like,” WNCC third-year coach Giovana Melo said. “The competition there has always been good the past couple of years. There are a couple teams there that are nationally ranked, so it will be good for us to compete against them. So far we have been doing some good things when we play and we have some pretty good talent.”
The following weekend, the Cougars will face No. 3 Salt Lake Community College and No. 1 College of Southern Idaho at the Salt Lake Invitational. Southern Idaho won the national title a year ago, while WNCC defeated Salt Lake for third place. The Cougars title run last season was halted in a five-game thriller to MSU-West Plains in the semi-finals a year ago.
“I set up the schedule this year so we can go play against really good teams,” Melo said. “I want to see where we are at in the beginning and see what the competition is like. The tough early-season schedule will help us to see what we need to do to get better throughout the year.”
This year’s squad is laden with plenty of talent. The Cougars return six players that saw action a year ago, led by outside hitters Ariel Austin and Kathryn Stock, middle hitter Tania Torres, and defensive specialists Kuulei Kabalis and Emily Hoehn. Also returning is Gering High graduate Sierra Schmidt as well as Scottsbluff High’s Mackenzie Westphal, who red-shirted a year ago.
Melo added plenty of fire power to the line-up with the incoming class. This year’s squad has all the makings to be one of the talented teams at the college. Melo is cautious entering the season because they have a rugged road ahead.
“It is good to hear from other people that they think we have a lot of talent and that is nice,” she said. “We do have the talent and we do have a good team. The good thing about last year is we are able to say that we were able to play as a team at the end of the season. So, if we can get to that same point this year, maybe we can be just as good. That is the question with each team year in and year out; we have the talent to be better and good every year, but you don’t know if it will happen because it depends on whether you can play as a team.”
The incoming class adds plenty of talent to the roster and they include three from Brazil, and one each from California, Utah and Nebraska. The three Brazilians include 5-9 setter Fernanda Goncalves, 5-10 outside hitter Debora Araujo, and 5-11 middle hitter Lais Soares. The other incoming players include 5-11 outside hitter Tori Bozzo of Salinas, Calif., 5-7 setter Sara Hirschfeld of Moab, Utah, and 6-0 middle hitter Jodi Huddleston of Scottsbluff.
Melo said they have plenty of depth at the hitting position this season.
“The outside hitting positions is pretty good for us right now. For the system that we play we don’t need tall hitter because we want to play fast,” Melo said. It is really good to know that we have this depth at the outside and rightside hitters. We have different types of players. We don’t have a couple of hitters that are the same – just powerful. We have one that can play the offside of volleyball, we have another one that can jump, and one is real smart and sees the court really well. I think we will have a good mix of outside hitters and they are not the same.”
Melo said that what is important is how the team utilizes the talent. She is anxious to see how this team handles the completion during the first three weeks of the season.
“I want to see them competing against good teams and seeing what we are like when we are behind, when we are ahead, and how we come back when we lose games,” she said. “That is what is important because we are going to be behind, we are going to lose games, and we are going to win games. But what makes a team in how we come back from a loss or being behind.
“I think we should have a pretty good year. I think it will be exciting to have a little bit more competition in our house and I hope they come to watch us and watch us compete.”
2010 Cougar Volleyball Roster
1/7 -- Mackenzie Westphal, 5-10 outside hitter from Scottsbluff; 2 – Ariel Austin, 5-11 rightside hitter from Woodland Park, Colo.; 3 – Kathryn Stock, 5-11 outside hitter from Thibodaux, La.; 4 – Sara Hirschfeld, 5-7 setter from Moab, Utah; 5 – Tori Bozzo, 5-11 hitter from Salinas, Calif.; 8 – Sierra Schmidt, 5-6 setter/DS from Gering; 9 – Debora Araujo, 5-10 outside hitter from Belo Horizonte, Brazil; 10 – Tania Torres, 6-1 middle hitter from Camuy, Puerto Rico; 11 – Fernanda Goncalves, 5-9 setter from Belo Horizonte, Brazil; 12 – Lais Soares, 5-11 middle hitter from Sao Rio Preto, Brazil; 13 – Jodi Huddleston, 6-0 middle hitter from Scottsbluff; 14 – Emily Hoehn, 5-5 libero/DS from Kearney; 15 – Kuulei Kabalis, 5-6 libero/DS from Hilo, Hawaii.
2010 Cougar Volleyball Schedule
August
27-28 – @ Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
September
3-4 -- @ Marriott Residence Inn Volleyball Invite in Salt Lake City, Utah; 7 -- @ Eastern Wyoming College; 15 – Iowa Western Community College, 7 p.m.; 17-18 -- @ Pizza Hut Invite in Sterling, Colo.; 21 -- @ Casper College; 23-25 – Wyo-Braska Shootout; 28 -- @ McCook Community College; 30 – Otero Junior College, 6 p.m.
October
1 – Lamar Community College, 7 p.m.; 2 – Trinidad State Junior College, 1 p.m.; 8-9 – @ Seward County Community College Invite; 12 – Eastern Wyoming College, 7 p.m.; 14 -- @ Otero Junior College; 15 – @ Lamar Community College; 16 -- @ Trinidad State Junior College; 20 -- @ Northeastern Junior College; 22 – McCook Community College, 6 p.m.; 23 – Casper College, 7 p.m.; 26 – @ Iowa Western Community College; 28 – Northeastern Junior College, 7 p.m.
November
4-6 -- @ Region IX Tournament in La Junta, Colo.; 18-20 -- @ NJCAA National Tournament in West Plains, Mo.
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