[11/3/2012] MCCOOK
– The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will be making a 14th
straight trip to the national tournament after sweeping past Northeastern
Junior College 25-19, 25-10, 25-17 in the championship of the Region IX
tournament in McCook on Saturday.
Not only did the Cougars earn
another regional championship, the team also picked up plenty of individual
honors. Yoro Tovar, who pounded home nine kills in the win Saturday, was named
the tournament Most Valuable Player.
Also earning all-tournament
honors was Danika Youngblood, who pounded home a match-high 14 kills, and Luiza
Martins, who was also named the Region IX Setter of the Year as well as Region
IX Freshman of the Year.
Four Cougars were also named to
the All-Region team in Youngblood, Martins, Alex Rivera and Kat Agson. WNCC
coach Giovana Melo, who was tabbed the Coach of the Year, said this is a pretty
special team, considering how far they have come from a bad showing in the
Regis University scrimmage in August to now.
“They are a pretty good group.
We have come a long ways from that Regis scrimmage to now and it is a really
different team,” Melo said. “We knew we had talent. We knew it would take a
well. We knew where we were able to get and it was just a matter of time. This
group is a really good group and they work really hard. They know what they
want.”
The Cougars moved to 37-2 on the
season and have won 31 straight matches. There last loss came on Sept. 1
against North Idaho College.
Saturday’s encounter with
Northeastern Junior College was a battle in the first set, but afterwards, the
Cougars put on the afterburner to pick up the championship trophy. Melo said it
feels great to bring home a regional title to this storied program.
“It is obviously a great feeling
and just not about this year but the success we have had in the program
overall,” she said. “It shows how hard the girls have been working this year
and it obviously feels really good to go home with another title.”
Well the opening set was close,
after that Melo said the players stepped up their game.
“They were pretty anxious and
excited and there was a little bit of emotions in the beginning of the match,”
she said. “But once we got past the first game, it was obvious how much they
wanted it.”
WNCC jumped to a 13-7 lead at
one time only to watch NJC slice the lead to 19-17 late, but Tovar finished off
the set with a hammering kill.
The second set was all WNCC as
Martins served four straight points to start the contest and the Cougars went
up 15-7. After an Agson kill, Priscila Mendes served five points for a 21-8
lead. Tovar then served the final two points for the 25-10 win.
Martins started the third set
off with four straight points for a 5-1 lead. After NJC cut the lead to 9-7,
WNCC put on the afterburner with three points, including two aces, from Alex
Rivera followed by Martins getting two points for a 19-9 lead. WNCC led 24-12
before the Plainswomen put together a four-point run, but Youngblood finished
off the match with a championship kill.
WNCC pounded the ball with
authority, registering 37 total kills. Youngblood had 14, Agson 13, Tovar nine,
Mendes seven, and Megan Johnson four.
Melo thought all the hitters
stepped up in different situations and hitting rotations.
“I thought all the hitters got
pretty involved,” she said. “We have been working on distributing the ball a
little bit more. We told our setters to distribute the ball because we do have
a lot of options with a lot of kids that are doing a good job in putting the
ball away for us.”
Martins, Region IX South’s setter and freshman of the year, finished with a triple-double with 15 points, 40 set assists, and 15 digs. She also had one ace. Also for the Cougars, Rivera had seven points, five set assists, and 15 digs; Youngblood had 12 digs; Mendes had nine digs, two blocks, and two aces; and Tovar had two blocks, seven digs, and six points.
Martins, Region IX South’s setter and freshman of the year, finished with a triple-double with 15 points, 40 set assists, and 15 digs. She also had one ace. Also for the Cougars, Rivera had seven points, five set assists, and 15 digs; Youngblood had 12 digs; Mendes had nine digs, two blocks, and two aces; and Tovar had two blocks, seven digs, and six points.
With
the win, the Cougars will now take part in the national tournament with hopes
of capturing its second national championship in three years. They last won the
title in 2010. WNCC first won a national title in 2007.
Melo
said this team can compete for a national title, but they need to eliminate the
little mistakes that they are making and become more consistent.
“We
make some errors on certain plays where we really don’t have to,” she said. “I
think we will have to work really hard for that because we can’t mistakes that
we are making against really good teams when it comes down to one or two
points. When we are at nationals, everybody that we will be playing will be up
to our level. Hopefully we can get them ready for nationals in the next week.”
The
national tournament will be played Nov. 15-17 in West Plains, Mo. Pairings for
the tournament should be out this week.
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