WNCC sweeps NJC, wins south sub-region regular season title

The No. 1-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team earned another sub-region title and the No. 1 seed in next months Region IX tournament with a 30-25, 30-27, 30-28 win over Northeastern Junior College Wednesday at Sterling, Colo.

The Cougars, now 49-1 and winners of 40-straight matches, used a workman-like performance to register the win against the No. 15 Plainswomen led by Leticia Kuhn with a 15-kill, 14-dig performance. Jennifer Eichler also put a exclamation mark on the game finishing with 14 kills, including the final two kills for the sweep.

“We are happy with the win but I just wish we could play at the highest level all the time and I think we still can improve. I think the girls know that,” WNCC coach Chris Green said. “I think we still can play better then tonight. We had some errors but it was a great win for us to go on the road and get a win against a very good team.”

Defense, though, was the name of the game for both teams. Green said NJC had precision passing all night long. But, as much as NJC dug up ball after ball, it was the Cougars passing that won the game. Bianca Rivera, who committed to play volleyball at Creighton University next year, finished with 22 digs followed by Kuhn and Kendra Schauermann with 14 each.

“NJC passed the ball really well. The first two games we never had an ace serve,” Green said. “You have to give credit to NJC’s passing because our team relies on our tough serving and they passed the ball to the setter all night long. For us to get a win despite their perfect passing says a lot about their team.”

The Cougars also stopped balls from hitting the ground, which is something that the team prides themselves in. It is that defensive toughness that has earned the Cougars their 49-1 and No. 1 ranking for a sixth straight week after the polls were released Wednesday.

“This team plays great defense and defense wins games. You saw a lot of ball saved by our defensive play [Wednesday night],” Green said. “Kendra had a great pancake, which won a point, and she also had some other digs. Bianca had digs all over the place. Those digs are what gives us those extra points and we only won by a few points each of the games. Each of those points we save on defense are very important.”

The Cougars dominated play in the first game only trailing twice before escaping with a 30-25 win on three Schauermann service points.

The second game was a little closer. WNCC held an 11-7 lead on a Kuhn kill. The lead was soon short-lived with NJC taking a 25-23 lead late. With the score tied at 27, Kuhn hammered home a kill and Schauermann served out the game for the 2-0 lead.

The third game was all NJC for the majority as the Plainswomen held a 24-19 lead on three Brittany Palmer serves. WNCC rallied behind a Kuhn kill and four Soriana Pacheco service points to take a 26-25 lead. NJC called a timeout and got a sideout to stop the run momentarily. But it was only temporary as Eicher hammered a kill that dented the floor and two serves later, hammered home the game winner.

The Cougars were led by a variety of players in several categories. Pacheco led the team with 12 points, two aces and five digs; followed by Kuhn with 15 kills, 14 digs, five and five points. Also, Rivera had 22 digs and five points, Schauermann 14 digs, eight points and two digs; Eichler with 14 kills and six blocks; Barbara Freitas with six kills, five blocks and three digs; Hailey Mueller with five kills; and Jillian Kelly with four points.

The Cougars are now off until next Wednesday when they travel to Laramie County Community College
for their final regular season contest before hosting the regional tournament Nov. 9-11.

WNCC sweeps EWC for 48th win

WNCC set for contest Wednesday against NJC on the road;
Match will be broadcasted by KPNY Radio

The Western Nebraska Community College and Eastern Wyoming College volleyball teams had a tussle in the first game of their volleyball match Tuesday night at the Verl Petsch Activities Center. But, the No. 1 Cougars withstood the Lancers upset bid winning game one 30-26 and then cruised through games two and three behind Jillian Kelly’s 22 service points to win 30-7, 30-16 to improve to 48-1 entering tonight’s 7 o’clock encounter with No. 16 Northeastern Junior College on the road.

The Lancers, 12-27, are off until Monday when they hope to rebound against Laramie County Community College in a key north sub-region contest at Torrington. WNCC freshman Jenny Eichler said the big key for the Cougars between the first and second games was serving.

“Our serving was really big in the second game and our hitting started to pick up,” Eichler said. “Jillian’s serving was huge. We were excited for her and she made a lot of points look easy.”

Early on, EWC stayed with the Cougars, especially in the first game when the Cougars built a lead of eight points on Soriana Pacheco’s ace serve. That was when the tide started to turn for the Lancers. Gipfert, who finished the night with seven points, served up three points to cut the lead to 20-16. Both teams continued their back and fourth play with Tanna Nussbaum sliced the lead to 24-21 on a kill. Moments later, Freitas had two kills to push the lead to 27-23 only to see Jill Lockie hammer home a kill herself.

WNCC’s Eichler followed with a kill followed by a kill by Alex Cook to slice the lead back to 28-25. No team managed a service run as Kendra Schauermann had a kill to put the Cougars to within game point. A missed serve game back to EWC only to see Shawntell Jones hammer home the final point.

Both teams continued their strong play in the second play. EWC only trailed 4-3 on a Natalie Villwock kill, but things changed quickly with the lead greowing to 10-4 on two Stacie Meisner points and 15-6 on two four Barbara Freitas points.

A missed Lancer serve and a Hailey Mueller kill pushed the lead to 16-7 sending Kelly to the service line. All the 5-foot-9 freshman from Loveland, Colo., did was serve 14 straight points behind three Freitas kills, and two kills each from Jones and Pacheco kills for the 30-7 win.

WNCC continued its strong serving in game three as Kelly served four straight points, including an ace, for a 16-6 lead. EWC rebounded cutting the lead to 23-15 on two Amy McCracken points. After the teams exchanged points, Kelly finished off the Lancers with four service points for the win.

What impressed Petsch the most was how his team rebounded from the second game white-wash and the third game comeback.

Freitas led WNCC with 11 kills followed by Eichler with 10, Jones and Pacheco with eight a piece, Bianca Rivera with seven, and Kendra Schauermann with six.

WNCC also saw Pacheco finish with 43 assists, eight digs, six points and four blocks; Freitas chip in with eight digs and five points; Eichler with six digs; Kelly with 22 points, one ace and seven digs; Schauermann with seven digs and four points; Rivera with 11 digs; and Stacie Meisner with nine digs, six points and two aces.

Amie McCracken paced the Lancers with six points and eight digs, while Charissa Innes had 10 assists, Sarah Blausey eight assists, Katie Bradfield four kills, and Tanna Nussbaum three blocks.

Eichler said they will need to utilize the effort they put forth in the second and third games today against NJC, who enters the contest with a 34-6 mark.

“We played really well, but we will have to play a lot better [today] to beat NJC,” she said. “It is on their home court and with a lot funs. Hopefully we won’t buckle under the pressure.”

The Cougars might be without leading hitter Leticia Kuhn for a second straight match today. Kuhn sat out the EWC game with a calf injury and her status for the NJC match is up in the air. Today’s contest will be broadcasted by KPNY-FM on 102.1 and the Internet at kpnyfm.com.

Soccer team end season at Regional Playoffs

It wasn't a good day for the men's and women's soccer teams at the Region IX Playoffs in Cheyenne, Wyo., Sunday. Playing in windy conditions (with a wind chill estimated at 32 degrees and regular temps at 42 degrees) the WNCC men fell 2-0 and the women 4-1 to Laramie County Community College.

In the men's contest, the two teams were scoreless after one half. Then, 14 minutes into the second half the Golden Eagles scored off a free kick. LCCC added another goal with 19 minutes to play for the final margin.

In the women's contest, LCCC scored with 27 minutes to play in the first half and then at the 14 minute mark to take a 2-0 lead. The Golden Eagles added two more goals in the secsond half to forge to a 4-0 lead. WNCC didn't quite as Stacy Agnew scored the teams first goal at the 28:49 mark. Then, Amanda Arrant had a near miss that that wind took to the right.

Cougar volleyball 3-0 on southern Colorado trip

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team went a perfect 3-0 on the southern Colorado sub-region trip running their record to 47-1 on the season and assures them of being No. 1 for another week.

The team opened the trip Friday when they swept through Trinidad State Junior College 30-18, 30-23, 30-24. Jenny Eichler, Hailey Mueller and Shawntell Jones each posted four blocks in the win, while Kendra Schauermann led the way with 12 digs. Leticia Kuhn pounded home 16 kills, while Barbara Freitas had 17 points including five aces.

The team followed that up with a 30-21, 30-16, 30-23 win over Otero Junior College Saturday morning. The Cougars then shot down Lamar Community College 30-21, 30-9, 30-23 to run their sub-region record to 9-0.

The Cougars will have three more matches before concluding their regular season. WNCC is at Eastern Wyoming College on Tuesday and then they have a tough, sub-region battle against Northeastern Junior College on Wednesday on the road.

Cougar soccer split with Coffeyville C.C. Saturday

The WNCC women's soccer team scored nine times to down the Red Ravens 9-0. The Cougar men weren't as fortunate falling 1-0 to Coffeyville Community College.

In the men's contest, Coffeyville scored in the 18th minute of the first half and then shut down the Cougar offense. The men had several opportunities to score, but couldn't find the back of the net.

The women didn't have problem finding the net. In fact, five different players scored goals. Paige Achatz paced the team with three goals and two assists. Bre Perkes and Stacey Agnew each had two goals, and Nancy Boyack and Amanda Arrants had one.

Perkes also collected three assists followed by Ashley Miller with one, Agnew with three, Boyack with two and Arrants with two.

The Cougar men and women will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to face the University of Colorado Gold team in Boulder.

WNCC goes 4-0, wins Seward County Invite

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team put on a defensive clinic Saturday in the second day of the Seward County Invite in Liberal, Kan.

The Cougars finished with 98 digs in a three-game sweep of No. 7 University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith in the morning. Amy Winters said through a text message that they played great defense in the 30-21, 30-25, 30-22 win.

The team then claimed a huge four-game win over No. 9 Hutchinson Community College to finish the tournament undefeated. The Cougars won against the Blue Dragons 30-25, 26-30, 30-17, 30-18.

In the win against Fort Smith, the Cougars had five players with double figure digs led by Bianca Rivera with 24, followed by Leticia Kuhn with 23, Kendra Schauermann with 15, Soriana Pacheco with 13, Stacie Meisner with 11. Jenny Eichler also had six and Barbara Freitas had five in the huge win.

Kuhn also was the only player to finish with double figure kills, finishing with 11.

WNCC, 44-1 and winners of their last 35 straight matches, will more then likely retain their No. 1 ranking next week. Their next games are this weekend when they head to the southern Colorado sub-region road trip.

WNCC survives NJC in five games on Tuesday

By ALEX HELMBRECHT
Star-Herald Sports Reporter

Ever since the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team earned its No. 1 ranking the Cougars have looked for a test.

Tuesday night they got their wish.

Northeastern Junior College pushed WNCC to the brink but the Cougars prevailed on Sophomore Night to win 30-23, 33-35, 30-23, 27-30, 15-13.

Tuesday's contest was the first five-game match the Cougars have played all season.
And WNCC sophomore Barbara Freitas hopes the scare NJC gave the Cougars won't happen again.

"[This game] shows us we need to work hard at every single practice," she said. "We need to workout and lift weights harder and push ourselves. And we all need to do what's best for the team."

Against the Plainswomen Freitas definitely proved how valuable she is to the team as she had a hand in everything. She finished with seven service points, one ace, six digs, 17 kills and four blocks.

"I just tried to do my best," she said. "I always try to help and talk a lot to my teammates while we're on the court. Tonight we kept pushing one another and I know we can play better."

WNCC cruised in the first game behind the strong serve of Soriana Pacheco. She provided six service points in the game and she also keyed several Cougar attackers from her setter position.
However, in the second game, WNCC couldn't overcome timely hitting mistakes. The Cougars had a 4-point lead (25-21) but NJC rattled off four straight points to tie. WNCC responded to take a 27-25 lead, but NJC tied it again. Both teams were unable to take control of the game and shared several game points, until NJC's Tamy Leipelt served for the win.

The Cougars responded in the third game with a solid win, but in the fourth NJC's talented freshman frontline players showed why they may be a force to reckon with in Region IX.
Addi Radke, Thais Hollerbach and Leipelt combined for eight kills and three aces to lead the Plainswomen to their second win.

Radke would finish the match with 17 kills and four aces. Defensively she had 15 digs. Hollerbach pounded out 13 kills and dug up 21 balls, and Leipelt had 11 kills.

In the fifth game no team had more than a 1-point lead until WNCC's Jennifer Eichler used a Pacheco assist to give the Cougars a 13-11 lead. After a WNCC kill attempt was tipped out of bounds, the Cougars' Leticia Kuhn served for the match.

But NJC wouldn't go down quietly thanks to Jessica Tjaden's match-saving kill. The Plainswomen's Stacy Manweiler served for the next point to make the game 14-13.
But Eichler tipped Manweiler's next serve and Freitas tapped the ball down for the final point.
Freitas felt the crowd played a big part in WNCC's dramatic win.

"The students and the people of the city make it [Cougar Palace] a good environment for us to play in," she said. "They help us play our best."

Sophomore Hailey Mueller, who only played briefly due to a sprained ankle, also believes WNCC has a wonderful home court advantage.

"It's great when our crowd cheers us on," said Mueller, who along with fellow sophomore Bianca Rivera have never lost at Cougar Palace. "We know the court, we know the lines and all the areas. And we practice here, so we're comfortable."

Several Cougars had an outstanding match, led by Kuhn. The freshman from Brazil recorded a triple-double - 14 points, 21 digs and 21 kills. Kuhn also served five aces.

Pacheco also recorded stellar numbers dishing out 51 assists. She also scored 13 points and had 11 kills. Defensively, she provided the Cougars with 15 digs and three blocks.
Jennifer Eichler attacked well for WNCC as she finished with 17 kills. Defensively, she had six blocks.

WNCC opens Seward County Tourney with 2 wins

The WNCC volleyball team ran its record to 42-1 with impressive straight game victoies. The team started things with a win over Barton County Community College 30-14, 30-25, 30-17 at the Seward County Invite Friday afternoon.

They followed that up by defeating the host team in three games 30-19, 30-12, 30-19, in which coach Chris Green received a yellow card.

The Cougars have two matches Saturday against ranked Arkansas-Ft. Smith and Hutchinson Community College.

In the win this afternoon match, Bianca Rivera had 13 digs, Leticia Kuhn had 16 kills and three blocks, Soriana Pacheco 12 kills, three blocks and 35 assists, Jenny Eichler 11 kills, Barbara Freitas three blocks, and Kendra Schauermann with 13 blocks on her 19th birthday.

WNCC volleyball win 40th match with triangular sweep

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team earned their 40th win of the season with convincing wins Thursday against Hastings College junior varsity and McCook Community College.

WNCC opened the day with a 30-14, 30-18 win over Hastings College as Leticia Kuhn had 10 kills, six aces and seven digs. The Cougars then remained unbeaten in the south sub-region with a convincing win against McCook 30-12, 30-10, 30-14.

WNCC, now 40-1 and ranked No. 1 in the country, will participate in the Seward County Invitational against some good teams. The Cougars will play Barton County Community College (27-6) at noon and Seward County Community College (15-16) at 6 p.m. on Friday and then N0. 7 University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith at 8 a.m. and No. 12 Hutchinson Community College at 2 p.m. All times are converted to MST times.

Perkes breaks record as WNCC soccer earns ties

Even though the Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer teams managed to earn ties Wednesday against the University of Colorado soccer teams, the day proved to be a historic one for women's player Bre Perkes.

Perkes netted two second half goals to break the single-season goal mark of 22 set in 2003 by Kylie Hanavan. The freshman now has 24 goals this season.

The women, though, tied the University of Colorado White team 3-3, while the men earned a double overtime tie against the Black team.

Perkes' two goals tied the contest after Colorado vaulted to a 3-0 lead early in the second half. Gering's Anna Rivera started the goal scoring, though, when she stole the ball and went in for the kill (the score). Goal keeper Jeannette Dittbenner made seven saves in net.

In the men's match, WNCC's Romeo Jaramillo recorded a first half goal off an assist from Francisco Gianzanti. Goal keeper Adam Rivera recorded nine saves for the Cougars.

Both teams will be back in action Saturday at home against Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. The men kick off the day at noon followed by the women.

Schauermann featured in Windsor-Beacon Newspaper

The success of the women's volleyball team is hitting the tri-state region by storm. Here, freshman Kendra Schauermann had a feature in the Windsor-Beacon newspaper. Here is what it said.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061007/WINDSORBEACON02/610070310/1132

WNCC softball goes 4-0 over the weekend

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team wrapped up the their fall season with a 4-0 weekend.

The team swept the University of Wyoming on Saturday 13-8 and 12-1, before taking two at the Chadron State College Jamboree over CSC 4-1 and the University of Wyoming 7-3.

In Saturday’s action against Wyoming, the Cougars pounded out 34 hits in the doubleheader. In the opener, Amanda Hensley went 6-for-6 with two triples, two runs scored and two RBIs. Amanda Torimaru also continued her torrid pace finishing with 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs.

Also collecting a multi-hit game were Whitney Foster (2-for-4), Kara Ryman (3-for-5), Ashley Eichelberger (2-for-4), Jessie McNabb (3-for-5), and Jessica Ventoza (2-for-4).

Pexton picked up the win in the circle going six innings in allowing just three runs. The Douglas, Wyo., graduate struck out one and allowed four hits.

The Cougars continued to roll in game two with a commanding 13-1 win, in which the team scored six runs in the second and five runs in the sixth for the win.

Torimaru continued her torrid hitting with a 3-for-4 performance including three doubles. Also collecting multi hits were Pexton (2 singles), Lauren Bourdan (single and triple), Eichelberger (2 doubles),

Pexton picked up her second win in circle going five innings, allowing no runs and just three hits.

WNCC wrapped up the fall season with two wins Sunday at the Chadron State Jamboree. The Cougars received an outstanding pitching performance from Natasha Dypchey, who went six innings allowing just three hits, while striking out six Eagle batters.

Several Cougars led the attack from the plate with a multi-hit game. Ventoza went 2-for-2 with a 2-RBI triple. Other include Foster with a 2-for-2 performance with a double, and Hensley 2-for-2 with a double.

WNCC wrapped up the fall season with a 7-3 win over the University of Wyoming, in which three different pitchers combined on the five-hitter. Offensively, Hensley went 3-for-4 with a 3-for-4 performance. Lauren Mills also went 3-for-3 with three singles, while Torimaru went 2-for-4 with a double.

The Cougars finished the fall season 16-7-1. They will now go through winter conditioning to prepare for the spring season. Their first games in the spring will be Feb. 9-10 at the Odessa Tournament.

Bre Perkes ties school record, Soccer teams down Dodge City

The Western Nebraska Community College and Dodge City Community College men’s soccer match on Sunday was destined for overtime. But freshman Eloy Matos changed all that with a minute remaining to give the Cougar men a thrilling 1-0 win over the now 7-3 Conquistadors.

Matos’ heroics was the icing on the cake of a perfect day for WNCC. Bre Perkes tied the school record for goals in a season as she continued her climb in the NJCAA national scoring ladders chart with four goals Sunday to pace the Cougar women to a dominating 5-1 win.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said Perkes’ effort keeps her among the nation’s best goal scorers.

“Bre came out and played a consistent game like she always does,” he said. “She put the ball in the back of the net four times and you can’t ask much more than from a player. We are very pleased with her effort.”

Perkes, who tied Kylee Hanavan’s 22-goals in a season from the inaugural 2003 season, now sits at No. 6 in the NJCAA national statistics. But it took 40 minutes before Perkes netted her first goal and first goal of the match when she took a pass from Paige Achatz for a 1-0 halftime lead.

The Plain City, Utah, native then added three more goals in the second half within 30 minutes of play to push the lead to 4-1. Perkes’ 22nd goal and season-record tying goal came at the 29-minute mark.

WNCC’s other goal came with late in the match as Kiwi Wingert took a shot, which rebounded off of Dodge City goal keeper right to the foot of Achatz, who hammered the ball into the net for the clincher.

Rasnic said the women’s team is becoming a championship ball club.

“They are playing more and more organized every time they come out on the field,” he said. “Honestly, their level of play is getting higher and that is what I have been looking for this season. We are just going to continue encourage them that we can continue to win games.”

The men also played inspired ball as both goal keepers, Dodge City’s Sean Pederson and WNCC’s Adam Rivera, brought their A game to the field. Pederson stopped 12 of 13 shots on goal, while Rivera had seven of six shots on goal.

Dodge City had a great goalkeeper and Adam came up big on that last corner kick and made a great save to take that tying goal away,” Rasnic said. “But I can’t say enough about the men’s team today. They showed me commitment, desire and composure on the field and I am very pleased how they played.”

Rasnic said the men now have an opportunity to obtain some team goals.

“It was unbelievable today. Our guys came out and played with a since of unity that I have been trying to get them to play with all season and we put it together today,” he said. “This win puts our record (5-7) back into an attainable goal to make us an even team this year and also puts us in a good spot for the Region IX playoff.”

Both teams had scoring opportunities all match long. It wasn’t until the 44th minute of the second half that sophomore Andrea Artunduaga booted the ball ahead of Matos just in front of the circle. Matos then ran down the ball, went one-on-one with goalkeeper Pederson and blasted the ball into the back of the net.

Dodge City had one last opportunity to tie game 45 seconds later, but Rivera proved golden in stopping the shot off the corner kick to seal the win.

“We are sitting in a good position for both teams for the regional playoffs,” Rasnic said. “If we can continue to do the things we are doing correctly, and as we continue to move on down the road, we are going to continue to get wins.”

Both teams are scheduled to face the University of Colorado in Boulder on Wednesday before returning home for their last home matches of the season on Saturday against Coffeyville Community College.

WNCC downs Casper College in straight games

The WNCC women's volleyball team won their 28th straight match with a three-game sweep of Casper College on the road. The team won game one 30-22 and then followed that up with a near-loss 30-28. Amy Winters, assistant coach, next messaged and said they barely won game two. But, they survived and then breezed to the second game win 30-18.

The Cougars will now be off until Tuesday when they host Northeastern Junior College Oct. 10 in the Cougar's final regular season home contest before hosting regionals. It is also blue and gold night and all Cougars fans are asked to where blue to make it a "blue" night for NJC.

WNCC volleyball wins 26th straight match

The No. 1-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team didn’t look like a ranked team in the first two games Saturday night against Trinidad State Junior College. The third game was a different story as the Cougars played like the top-ranked team to prevail in straight games 30-18, 30-28, 30-11 Saturday evening at Cougar Palace.

“In the first game, I don’t think the girls were ready to play,” WNCC coach Chris Green said. “In the that first game, the score looks as if we won easily, but we didn’t start playing well until the third game.”

Freshman Kendra Schauermann was one of the players that stepped up in the third game. The 5-foot-8 hitter had four clutch kills and had some clutch serving to help lead the team. Schauermann, though, said they didn’t a game like the second one to wake the team up.

“We have played a lot of teams that we sometimes under look them and don’t play our game, and in that second game we didn’t play very good,” she said. “But we have to have a game like that to wake us up.”

Schauermann, though, was just one player that stood out. Leticia Kuhn and Jennifer Eichler finished the night with 14 and 12 kills respectively, followed by Schauermann and Barbara Freitas with eight each.

The big difference that turned the match around in the third game was the team’s all-around play, including strong serving runs. Kuhn did the most damage with runs of five and eight points on two separate occasions. In those runs, Kuhn had four aces. The 6-foot freshman finished the night with 16 points and five aces.

Schauermann said the third game is how his team should be playing all the time, but credited Trinidad State with their never-give-up attitude.

“The third game we came out like we are suppose to be playing,” she said. “But if we play like we did in the second game against anybody else, we will not be in good shape. Trinidad State is a good team. They are scrappy and they came out and played pretty well in the match, too.”

Green said there were a couple of players that weren’t at the top of their game, but despite that he was pleased with how they responded in that third game.

“We played well in that last game,” he said. “We served well, we blocked well and we played defense pretty well.”

Kuhn also finished with 14 digs and five blocks in the game, but it was Schauermann that had an all-around game. She finished with nine points, three aces, eight kills and two blocks. And, what impressed Green was that she wasn’t afraid to go up for a triple block against Trinidad’s State’s top hitter Mary Claire Bolo.

“Kendra had some nice hits. She listen wells and knows where the open spot is on the court. She is a smart player and a good defensive player,” he said. “She also went out there and triple blocked their big hitter over and over again and we don’t practice that in practice. She picked it up well. I think it helped us a little bit to slow her down and it was hard for her to hit around our block.”

The Cougars also saw Freitas finish with eight points, eight kills, two aces and six blocks; Eichler with three blocks to go with her 12 kills; Bianca Rivera with 15 digs and three points; Shawntell Jones with three kills; Soriana Pacheco with three kills, 38 set assists and nine points; and Stacie Meisner with two aces and five points.

WNCC, now 35-1 and winners of 26 straight matches, will be back at home for another sub-region contest Monday against Otero Junior College. Monday’s contest is the second to last home regular season contest. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

WNCC Cougar men drop soccer match

WNCC men drop home soccer contest

Something had to give when the Western Nebraska Community College and Garden City Community College men’s soccer teams took to the field Saturday afternoon at the Allen C. Landers Soccer Complex.

Both teams came into the contest struggling to score goals and after Saturday’s action, the Broncobusters just might have turned the corner claiming a 3-1 victory over the Cougars.

“I think we played pretty well. It has been a struggle the whole season in getting the second and third goals,” Garden City head coach Jeff Huffman said. “We have scored the first goal every single game this year and it is good to score that second and third goal.”

WNCC, though, was playing without several starters that were sidelined for disciplinary reasons. Still, Cougar coach Todd Rasnic said the players that did play put up a good effort, especially in the second half.

“The guys that we put on the field I thought performed well and really stepped up to the challenge,” Rasnic said. “I thought at one point there when we got our first goal we might be able to get it figured out and put a couple more in the net. But that just didn’t happen today. It was one of those days where it wasn’t meant to be.”

Garden City took an early 1-0 lead as Brian Arruda netted the first goal at the 21:20 mark on a little chip shot that off a deflected missed shot.

The score stayed that way until 11 minutes in the second half when the Broncbuster’s Gustavo Argusta took a pass from Julian Gonzales for a 2-0 lead. Justin Safer scored Garden City’s third goal 22 minutes into the second half for a commanding 3-0 lead.

WNCC didn’t fold. Two minutes after Garden City scored, Diego Maija took a pass from Alliance’s Tim Iodence to cut the lead to 3-1. The Cougars continued to be aggressive toward the net, but had many near miss passes and shots that were just off line.

Overall, both teams played an equal game. Garden City had 19 shots at net, while the Cougars had 14 shots. Garden City had five corner kicks to WNCC’s three.

Both goalkeepers, GCCC’s Brandon Ludtke and WNCC’s Adam Rivera each had four saves in net.

Huffman said this was a tough match, and it is a good win for his squad.
“It was a pretty tough game. They are a technical team and they like to knock it around and we like to do the same thing,” Huffman said. “It was a good game for us.”

Huffman said they will look to back it back-to-back wins when they face Laramie County Community College on their mini northern road trip.

“This has been a really good trip and we are trying to get back-to-back wins and really push forward,” he said. “We are done with our conference season and now it is all non-conference games. We are working to get better so we can win regionals.”

WNCC, who saw their record fall to 3-6, will try to put Saturday’s loss behind them when they host Cloud County Community Monday. The Cougar women begin the day at noon followed by the men at 2 p.m. at the Landers Soccer Complex.

“We will push hard again on Monday against Cloud County, which will be another tough match. We are just going to look at the next match, get prepared and get ready to play,” Rasnic said. “We are going to put this match behind us and go out and try to get a victory on Monday.”

Cougar volleyball team takes care of Lamar in three

The WNCC Cougars continued their impressive season with a 30-12, 30-12, 30-11 win over Lamar Community College in a match that saw several players standout. Sorana Pacheco and Bianca Rivera finished with double-double. Pacheco had 41 set assists and 13 points, while Rivera had 19 digs and 10 points. Pacheco also had three ace serves and seven digs, while Rivera had four ace serves and six kills.

Also standing out for the Cougars was Barbara Freitas with 11 points, seven kills and five digs; Leticia Kuhn with eight pints, 10 kills, nine digs and three ace serves; Kendra Schauermann with five points; Stacie Meisner with 11 points and three ace serves; Jennifer Eichler with three digs and 14 kills; Jillian Kelly with six digs and three assists; and Becky Hughes with three kills.

WNCC, now 34-1 and winners of their last 25 matches, will entertain Trinidad State on Saturday at 7 p.m. followed by a home contest with Otero Junior College Monday night and the a road trip to Casper College on Tuesday.

Soccer Fun Day scheduled for Saturday's home match

Soccer Fun Day scheduled for Saturday
during the WNCC men’s soccer match with Garden City

Western Nebraska Community College and the American Youth Soccer Association (AYSO) are teaming up this Saturday for the Soccer Fun Day during the Cougar men’s soccer match with Garden City Community College at the Allan C. Landers Soccer Complex. The contest kicks off at 12 noon, but there will be plenty of festivities as the two entities will contact raffles to help raise funds to place trees around the soccer complex.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said AYSO players that wear their jerseys will be admitted free into the men’s contest on Saturday. He said Saturday should be a fun day for the families.

“AYSO and RECCOS Futball club are selling raffle tickets and other things to raise money for a tree project at the Allan C. Landers Soccer Complex,” Rasnic said. “All the proceeds go to putting trees in. And, if you have been out at the field in a wind storm, you realize why they are going to put in trees.”

Rasnic said it is important for the college to back the community.

“What we at WNCC want to do is to make sure we are being part of our local community, supporting our local students in their efforts to making the soccer complex a better place to be. The goal for us at WNCC is to put on a good face with our participation. We feel it is important for the youth of our community to see the level of play that goes on at the college division and we think this is a good way to encourage them to attend and watch one of our soccer matches.”

The Cougar men’s and women’s team have 15 former AYSO players. The men’s players are Aaron and Drew Oesterle, Geoff Critzer, Adam Rivera, Martin Linz-Soto, David Thurow, Cade and Coote Mulloy, Brad Nielsen, Brad Soske and Tim Iodence. The women’s players include Jenny Dittbenner, Kristen Heath, Nickole Mueller and Anna Rivera.

Rasnic said that his goal is to incorporate more and more of the AYSO players into the team. Rasnic said so far his is finding success mixing the different levels together.

“I believe looking at the players on my men’s and women’s team, there are some players that come out of our local program that play with an extremely high level of play,” he said. “That makes me happy because somewhere along the line, someone with our youth program has trained these kids to be decent technical players, giving them the proper training instead of putting the focus on win-at-no-cost mentality. I really believe that is why some of these kids are being successful at the college level.

“Hopefully, we will get to a point where we can incorporate more and more of our local players onto the team. This season along, we had 12 players on the men’s and women’s team from the area. That is something we will continue to strive for. But we are going to put the best players we can find out on the field , no question about that. And when we look for those players, we will find them right here in our community.

AYSO has been around the area since the early 1990s. Rasnic said he has continually seen the numbers rise from about 150 kids when they started to as high as 1,000 participants a few years ago.

“AYSO is a great program,” he said. “It has really grown to around 800 kids this year.”

After Saturday’s contest, the Cougar men and women will be back in action Monday when they host Cloud County Community College at noon, and then Wednesday when the two teams host Laramie County Community beginning at 3 p.m.

Cougar softball goes 1-3 at Triple Crown Invite

Cougar softball goes 1-3 at Triple Crown Invite

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team finished 1-3 at the Triple Crown Invite in Ft. Collins, Colo., over the weekend faring well against four-year competition. The Cougars only win in the tournament came against the University of Northern Colorado 2-1. They also lost a heartbreaker to Montana State 7-6. They also fell 9-0 to Regis University and 11-0 to Colorado State University.

WNCC fell behind 1-0 after three innings in the Northern Colorado game. The Cougars bounced back in the fourth with two runs as Amanda Torimaru reached base on an error and scored on a Amanda Hensley double. Hensley came around to score on a ground ball for a 2-1 lead.

That was all the runs WNCC needed as pitcher Natasha Dypchey fanned seven UNC Bears for the game, while scattering seven hits.

In the near-miss game against Montana State, WNCC trailed 5-1 entering the sixth inning, but put up a four-spot to tie the game. The Cougars had three doubles and a triple in the inning.

Lauren Mills started the inning with a double to left field. With two outs, Torimaru ripped a run-scoring triple to open the flood gates. Ashley Eichelberger and Jessica Ventoza followed with run-scoring doubles followed by run-scoring single by Jessie McNabb.

Montana State came back with a run in the bottom of the sixth, before WNCC tied the game in the top of the seventh on a single by Whitney Foster, who scored on a 2-out double by Kara Ryman.

WNCC’s other two losses came against top four-year schools. Regis University held the Cougars to just three hits on its way to the 7-0 win. Against Colorado State, the Cougars managed just one hit, a third-inning single by Foster.

The Cougar’s next action is this weekend in the 3-day Lamar Community College tournament. WNCC will face Barton County Community College and Northwestern Community College on Friday, Trinidad State Junior College and Seward County Community on Saturday, and Ft. Lewis State College and Colby Community College on Sunday.

WNCC soccer drops matches to Iowa Western

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams found the going difficult against Iowa Western Community College Saturday afternoon. The Cougar women fell to Iowa Western 5-0, while the men lost 4-1 dropping both teams record to 3-5.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic was especially pleased with the way his women’s team competed despite the loss. “They were the best team we played all year. They were better than Laramie County and Butler County,” he said. “We played well together. We just ran out of gas at the end with limited substitutions.”

The Iowa Western women held a 1-0 lead at halftime before scoring four goals in the second half for the win.

The Cougar men were playing tooth and nail with the Reivrs. After Iowa Western took a 1-0 first half lead, David Thurow scored off an assist by Drew Oesterle to tie the match at 1 at intermission. The second half was all Iowa Western as they scored four unanswered goals to solidify the win.

Both teams will be off a week before returning to action. The men will host Garden City Community College Saturday at noon in AYSO day at the Landers Soccer Complex. Both teams will then be back in action Oct. 2 when they host Cloud County Community at noon and 2 p.m. in a game that was added a few weeks ago.

Saturday's Wyo-Braska Shoot-out Schedule and Results

Here are Saturday's Wyo-Braska Shoot-out Results and Final Team Standings

Matches at WNCC:
9 a.m. -- NE Colorado over Laramie County 30-21, 30-17, 30-28
9 a.m. -- Sheridan College over Dodge City 30-26, 30-21, 30-24
11 a.m. -- WNCC over Central Wyoming 30-16, 30-15, 30-27
11 a.m. -- NE Colorado over Seward County 30-16, 30-26, 30-19
1 p.m. -- Central Wyoming over Seward County C.C. 33-31, 30-13, 26-30, 27-30, 15-12
1 p.m. -- Laramie County over Dodge City 30-18, 30-11, 30-20

Matches at EWC
9 a.m. -- Central-Columbus over EWC 30-15, 30-15, 30-26
9 a.m. -- Western Wyoming over Colby 30-26, 33-35, 30-25, 30-21
11 a.m. -- Air Force Prep over Northwest Wyoming 20-30, 30-28, 30-21, 30-28
11 a.m. -- Western Wyoming vs. McCook C.C. 30-11, 30-13, 30-20
1 p.m. -- Sheridan College over Air Force Prep 25-30, 30-26, 25-30, 30-18, 15-11
1 p.m. -- Central-Columbus over Casper College 27-30, 30-26, 30-23, 30-23

Final Team Standings
1 -- Western Nebraska C.C. (7-0) [21-0 in games]
2-- Central C.C.-Columbus (7-0) [21-2 in games)
3 -- Western Wyoming C.C. (6-1)
4 -- Northeastern Junior College (6-1)
5 -- Colby Community College (4-3)
6 -- Central Wyoming (3-3)
7 -- (tie) Eastern Wyoming, Seward County, Air Force Prep, Laramie County (3-4)
11 -- (tie) Casper College and Northwest College (2-4)
13 -- Sheridan College (2-5)
14 -- (tie) McCook C.C. and Dodge City (0-7)

Friday's Wyo-Braska Shoot-out Schedule and Results

Here is the schedule and results for Friday's Wyo-Braska Shoot-out.

Schedule/Results from WNCC Site
10 a.m. -- NE Colorado over Casper 30-27, 30-22, 30-15
10 a.m. -- Colby C.C. over Sheridan 30-10, 30-23, 31-29
Noon -- WNCC vs. Northwest Wyoming 30-12, 30-13, 30-18
Noon -- Central-Columbus over Sheridan 30-12, 35-33, 30-25
2 p.m. -- WNCC over Dodge City 30-8, 30-12, 30-17
4 p.m. -- NE Colorado vs. Sheridan
4 p.m. -- Central-Columbus over Northwest Wyoming 30-20, 30-27, 30-18
7 p.m. -- WNCC over Western Wyoming 30-19, 30-19 30-28
7 p.m. -- Central-Columbus over Dodge City 30-17, 30-21, 30-22

Schedule/Results from EWC Site
10 a.m. -- EWC over Air Force prep 30-24, 19-30, 30-15, 30-24
10 a.m. -- Western Wyoming over Seward County 30-17, 27-30, 30-23, 30-25
Noon -- Laramie County over McCook 30-24, 30-21, 30-24
Noon -- Central Wyoming over Air Force Prep 30-26, 30-17, 30-28
2 p.m. -- Seward County over EWC 30-17, 30-22, 30-21
2 p.m. -- Colby C.C. over Casper College -- 30-24, 30-25, 30-25
4 p.m. -- Central Wyoming over McCook 30-28, 30-21, 30-23
4 p.m. -- Air Force Prep over Laramie County 30-28, 30-22, 19-30, 30-24
7 p.m. -- Colby C.C. over EWC 30-24, 30-26, 30-19
7 p.m. -- Casper vs. McCook 30-18, 30-16, 30-19

WNCC vs. NW Wyoming Stats: Leticia Kuhn had 12 point, six digs, seven kills and six aces; Barbara Freitas ahs nine points, four kills, two blocks and three aces; Soriana Pacheco had nine points, four digs and 22 set assists; Jenny Eichler had 10 kills, six points and four blocks; Kendra Schauermann had five kills and six digs; Hailey Mueller had six kills; Bianca Rivera had five kills, 13 points, nine digs and four aces; Stacie Meisner had six points and six digs; Jillian Kelly had four kills and six points.

WNCC vs. Dodge City Stats: Jenny Eichler 15 kills, three digs and four blocks; Bianca Rivera 11 digs; Stacie Meisner nine digs, six points and two kills; Soriana Pacheco eight digs, eight points, three aces, three kills, two blocks and 40 set assists; Jillian Kelly five digs, five kills and eight points; Kendra Schauermann three digs, five kills and nine points; Leticia Kuhn two digs, two aces and seven kills; Shawntell Jones two blocks and three kills; Hailey Mueller two blocks and seven kills.

WNCC vs. Western Wyoming: LeticiaKuhn had 21 digs and 18 kills; Jenny Eichler had 13 kills and three blocks; Bianca Rivera had 23 digs, four points; Hailey Mueller had six blocks and six kills; Kendra Schauermann had 14 digs, three blocks, five points and five kills; Soriana Pacheco had 10 digs, three blocks (2 solo), eight kills and six points; Stacie Meisner had nine digs and four points.

Wyo-Braska Shootout Thursday Match Results

Results of Matches Played at WNCC Site
Noon -- WNCC over Casper 30-13, 30-18, 35-33
Noon -- Seward County over Sheridan College 30-25, 30-27, 30-20
2 p.m. -- Central Nebraska over Laramie County 30-18, 30-24, 33-30
2 p.m. -- Colby C.C. over Central Wyoming 30-26, 30-28, 30-26
4 p.m. -- WNCC over Sheridan 30-10, 30-19, 30-26
4 p.m. -- Casper College over Seward County 27-30, 25-30, 30-21, 30-28, 16-14
6 p.m. -- Central Nebraska over Central Wyoming 30-24, 30-20, 30-32, 30-22
6 p.m. -- Laramie County over Colby C.C. 25-30, 30-19, 27-30, 30-26, 15-12
8 p.m. -- WNCC over Colby C.C. 30-16, 30-17, 30-20
8 p.m. -- Seward County over Laramie County 30-23, 33-30, 26-30, 30-27

Results of Matches Played at EWC Site
Noon -- EWC over Dodge City 30-27, 30-25, 30-19
Noon -- Western Wyoming over NE Colorado 30-24, 30-20, 28-30, 30-32, 15-7
2 p.m. -- Northwest Wyoming over McCook 30-21, 30-21, 30-25
2 p.m. -- Western Wyoming over Air Force Prep 30-23, 30-17, 30-23
4 p.m. -- NE Colorado over EWC 30-20, 26-30, 30-19, 30-20
4 p.m. -- Northwest Wyoming over Dodge City 30-19, 30-13, 24-30, 30-22
6 p.m. -- Air Force over McCook 30-23, 31-29, 30-17
6 p.m. -- Western Wyoming over Dodge City 30-17, 30-9, 30-9
8 p.m. -- EWC oveer McCook 27-30, 30-22, 30-24, 30-25
8 p.m. -- NE Colorado over Northwest Wyoming 30-8, 30-17, 30-20

Match Statistics/Highlights
WNCC vs. Casper -- WNCC's Leticia Kuhn finished with 16 points, eight aces, 10 kills and five digs; Barbara Freitas had 11 points, two aces, five kills; Stacie Meisner had 10 points, 10 digs, four aces; Jenny Eichler had eight kills, four blocks, two points.
WNCC vs. Sheridan -- Stacie Meisner had nine digs, 10 points; Jenny Eichler had seven kills, four blocks; Barbara Freitas as 10 points, four aces; Soriana Pacheco 10 points, 21 assists, three digs; Hailey Mueller four blocks; Leticia Kuhn three aces, seven points, five blocks, six kills.
WNCC vs. Colby -- Leticia Kuhn finished with 12 kills, 13 digs, nine points and three aces; Jenny Eichler with eight kills and five blocks; Barbara Freitas with seven kills and four points; Soriana Pacheco six kills, three blocks, eight points, five digs and 40 set assists; Kendra Schauermann with eight kills, three points and 12 digs; Stacie Meisner with two kills, 10 points and eight digs; Bianca Rivera with nine points and 14 digs; Shawntell Jones with four blocks.

WNCC Volleyball Team No. in the nation

WNCC volleyball makes history with No. 1 ranking in NJCAA polls

Don’t mind the little extra swagger the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team now possesses when they take to the court.

That swagger is warranted after the Cougars vaulted to the No. 1 spot in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association rankings that were released Wednesday morning. It is the first time the Cougar volleyball team has been ranked in the top spot. It is also the third time ever that a Cougar team has been ranked No. 1. In 2004, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams garnered the top spot with the men staying there for five weeks and the women just one.

“I think the girls are excited about the ranking,” WNCC head coach Chris Green said. “For me it really doesn’t mean a lot. It is still early in the season and it is only the second poll that has come out. It would be better to be ranked No. 1 at the end of the season, but we are up there and if we keep winning I suppose we will stat at No. 1. That is a good thing that we control our own destiny.”

For freshman Kendra Schauermann, the ranking is still a shock.

“Honestly, it is almost unbelievable. But it feels really good to be able to say that we are ranked No. 1 in the country,” the outside hitter from Windsor, Colo., said. “However, at the same time, it won’t mean anything unless we play up to it and keep it. To do this, we will have to remain level-headed and just play our own game no matter who the opponent is.”

Stacie Meisner, a Gering High graduate who has been part of a winning tradition for the Bulldogs all through high school, knows that they can’t too excited.

“It’s really exciting to be ranked No. 1, but it doesn’t really change anything for us,” she said. “We’ll continue to work hard like we have all season and the only pressure we have is what we expect from ourselves.”

WNCC is worthy of the ranking sitting atop the rankings with a 26-1 record. Their only defeat came to North Idaho College, who is No. 2 in the polls. Rounding out the top five is Iowa Western Community College, Jefferson College and Blinn College.

Miami-Dade Community College, last week’s No. 1 team, lost three times last week to Lake Land College, Missouri State-West Plains and Jefferson College to fall to No. 8. The Cougars return to the courts, with their No. 1 ranking in tow, Thursday through Friday when they host the Wyo-Braska Shootout.

The Cougars rise to the top is warranted considering that the team has defeated five of the to 20 teams or other teams that received votes. WNCC defeated North Idaho, Salt Lake Community College and Snow College at the Salt Lake tournament, in which the Cougars won for the first time in school history.

WNCC also has defeated Iowa Western Community and Central Community College-Columbus (No. 13 in Division II) two weeks ago. The team also handed Northeastern Junior College two defeats.

Green said the players realize they have to keep improving to stay on top.

“They want to prove and show everyone that they really deserve to be No. 1,” he said. “ I think it is a good thing for us, and I don’t think this group of girls will become cocky or anything like that. They realize that they need to keep improving. I think it will make us a better team because they want to show everyone that they are really No. 1. They are working hard to prove that.”

Jennifer Eichler, who didn’t play last year when the team went through the regular season with one loss, realizes they cannot stop now.

“I have never been on a team that has been ranked this high before,” she said. “It’s really great that people are expecting a lot from us now. I think that we can do really well and stay at the top. But we will definitely have to work our hardest and not get off track. It will take everything everybody has at time to stay there.”

The Cougars have won four tournaments so far this season and are currently on a 44-game winning streak, and a 72 match winning streak against Region IX teams.

Green said the No. 1 ranking adds to other teams wanting to defeat the Cougars.

I think everyone wanted to beat us to begin with, so being No. 1, I don’t know if that is much of a difference,” he said. “If you go into a match and you are the No. 2 team in the country, the other team is looking to beat at just as bad. It is not like we are a dominate No. 1. We just need to keep working hard, and continue to improve maybe now faster then the teams that we already played.”

Women soccer wins, men lose to Barton

WNCC's Bre Perkes continue to make a climb on the NJCAA scoring ladder. The freshman knotched two more goals and added an assist in powering the Cougar women to their second win of the season with a 3-1 win over Barton County Community College Sunday afternoon.

The men, on the other hand, weren't as fortunate. The Cougars out-shot Barton 15-12, but couldn't get the ball in the back of the net. Barton scored their lone goal in the 75th minute.

Both teams will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to Western Wyoming Community College.

WNCC volleyball captures another tourney title

No. 2 Cougars win 17th in a row, improve to 26-1

By JEREMY WOZNICK
Star-Herald Sports Reporter

GARDEN CITY, Kan. — Another tournament, another tournament title for the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team.

In what’s becoming a trend this season, the Cougars rolled to three more victories Saturday to capture first-place honors at the Garden City Invite in Garden City, Kan. The tournament title was WNCC’s fourth of the season and improved the Cougars’ overall record to an impressive 26-1.

“Overall, we played pretty well,” said WNCC coach Chris Green, whose team has won 17 matches in a row without dropping a single game. “We served the ball really well in this tournament and that was one thing we were looking to try to do after a couple of home games where we didn’t serve very well. We did serve extremely well in this tournament and that was one real good positive.”

Gering High School graduate Stacie Meisner was one of a number of Cougars who really stepped up in the serving department. In a 30-7, 30-18, 30-21 win over West Texas, Meisner totaled 22 service points and fired three aces.

“Stacie’s serving was incredible,” Green said. “She just has a great float serve and she’s a weapon when she goes back there to the serving line.”

Jenny Eichler and Leticia Kuhn each recorded nine kills to pace WNCC in hitting against West Texas, while Hailey Mueller led the team in blocks with four. Freshman Soriana Pacheco registered 30 set assists from her setter’s position and sophomore Bianca Rivera totaled a team-leading 11 digs in the match.

Against the host school Garden City, Meisner served 15 points and had 12 digs to help pace the Cougars to a 30-18, 30-12, 30-13 win. Kuhn finished with a double-double in the win with 11 kills and 11 digs, and Eichler had three blocks. Pacheco totaled 32 assists and Rivera recorded 18 digs and served seven aces.

In WNCC’s other match on Saturday, Eichler pounded 11 kills to lead the Cougars to a 30-14, 30-24, 30-20 win over Colby Community College. Mueller again led the team in blocks with six and Kuhn finished with 12 points and nine digs. Also for WNCC in the match, Pacheco had 31 assists, Rivera had nine digs and Barbara Freitas had two aces and four points.

“The competition in this tournament wasn’t as good as what we’ve been used to,” Green said. “Garden City has a pretty good team and we played well enough to dominate them. That was encouraging.”

WNCC, which is ranked No. 2 in this week’s NJCAA poll, will be back in action at Cougar Palace Thursday through Saturday at the WyoBraska Shootout. The Cougars will play seven matches in the tournament, which WNCC co-hosts with Eastern Wyoming College.

WNCC continues to roll

By JEREMY WOZNICK
Star-Herald Sports Reporter

A long road trip to southern Kansas did little to slow down the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team Friday evening at the Garden City Invite in Garden City, Kan.

WNCC, ranked No. 2 in this week’s NJCAA poll, blitzed Vernon College out of Vernon, Tex., 30-9, 30-16, 30-13 to improve to 23-1 on the season. The victory also was the Cougars’ 14th in a row. The key to WNCC’s strong play proved to be serving, as the Cougars recorded 20 aces in the match.

“We served very well. We served 20 aces and had only 9 service errors, so we served tough,” WNCC coach Chris Green said. “They [Vernon College] struggled with serve receive and the match was over very quick. In the first game, I think we rotated one time.”

Leading the Cougars’ serving charge was Soriana Pacheco and Gering High School graduate Stacie Meisner. The duo both served 15 points and fired five aces. Pacheco also recorded 31 set assists from her setter’s position to lead WNCC.

Sophomore Bianca Rivera led WNCC’s hitting attack with nine kills. She also paced WNCC defensively with 11 digs.

Redshirt freshman Jenny Eichler continued her stellar play in the front row for the Cougars in the match as she pounded six kills and led the way with five big blocks.

WNCC is expected to get a stiffer test today when the Cougars close out the tournament with three matches against Colby Community College, West Texas and the host Garden City. The Cougars have already won three tournament titles this season.

Soccer drops matches to Northern Oklahoma

The WNCC men's and women's soccer teams not only had to endure a physical Northern Oklahoma team, but they had to manage 40 to 45 mph winds. The women lost 3-2 and the men lost 2-1.

In the women's contest, the Cougars led 2-0 at halftime. Nickole Mueller took a pass from Paige Achatz at the 28th minute for a 1-0 lead. A little bit later, Bre Perkes, who is No. 8 in scoring in the nation, nailed a penalty kick for the 2-0 halftime lead.

The second half was a different stroy as Northern Oklahome kept taking shots as they had the wind for the wind. Also, Mueller left the match in the second half with ashma troubles because of the wind and dust, and Perkes was head-butted in the second half. Jenny Dittbenner saved 10 shots while in goal for the Cougars.

As for the men's contest, Northern Oklahoma took a 1-0 halftime lead and went up 2-0 with a goal in the 66th minutes. WNCC came back and netted a goal in teh 78th minutes as Andrea Antunduaga took a pass from Eloy Matos for the team's first goal. WNCC out-played Northern Oklahoma, but couldn't get the ball into the net. WNCC outshot the other team 18-7 and Adam Rivera had five saves.

The team will return to action Sunday when they face Barton County. The women go at 11 a.m. MST and the men at 1 p.m.

Softball team takes two at North Platte tourney

The WNCC softball team ran its fall record to 5-1 with two victories at the North Platte tournament, which features a collection of four-year and two-year schools.

The Cougars opened the day with a 4-3 win over Colby Community College with Natasha Dypchey picking up the win. The team then defeated Hastings College 10-9. In that contest Jessica Pexton picked up the win. Amanda Torimaru blasted a 3-run home run. The team has one more game tonight and the bracket play on Sunday.

WNCC volleyball team too much for Casper

It was a workman-like effort for the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team as 10 of the 13 players recorded a kill in sweeping past Casper College Thursday night at Cougar Palace.

Leticia Kuhn and Jenny Eichler led the way with 12 kills each in the 30-15, 30-22, 30-20 win giving the No. 2 Cougars their 22nd victory of the season.

"All-around we played pretty good," Scottsbluff's Becky Hughes said. "We were still sloppy in some areas, but we came together and played as a team and finished like we know how. Our hitters are very talented and it is good to see them step up to the plate."

WNCC notched 51 kills as a team in registering its 74th straight win over a Region IX victory dating back to 2004. W NCC head coach Chris Green was pleased with how his team started and finished the match.

"I think we came out pretty strong despite having some defensive lapses. But I think the first game went pretty well," he said. "The second game we had a little bit of a letdown and we struggled a little bit. Then I think in the third game, the line-up that was out on the court played very well. I was happy how they finished."

Thursday's match saw a plethora of players step up. Eichler and Kuhn might have finished with 12 kills each, but several players stepped up as well Bianca Rivera and Barbara Freitas each had six kills followed by Soriana Pacheco with five, Kendra Schauermann with four, Hailey Mueller with three, and one each from Becky Hughes, Shawntell Jones and Jillian Kelly.

But, it wasn't just the attacking the stood out Thursday, the team also had seven players record service points, seven with blocks, as well as five with ace serves. Gering graduate Stacie Meisner led the team with 12 points and one ace, followed by Pacheco and Rivera with eight points, Schauermann with seven, Kuhn with five, Freitas with four and Cassie Vrooman with two.Jones, Freitas and Hughes each finished with three blocks on the night. And it was Freitas and Hughes' double block that sealed the win for the Cougars.

"It is always exciting getting the last point," Hughes said.

WNCC's rolled in the first game running to a 17-10 lead behind the killing and serving of Kuhn. The 6-foot freshman had five kills and two points in the early going. After that, Meisner served up four straight points followed by four by Schauermann to push WNCC to the 30-15 win.

The Cougars were just as dominating in the early parts of game two running to a 17-10 lead behind a Eichler kill, before Casper's Bridget Neal served up three points to cut the lead to 18-14. The Thunderbirds had the lead down to 24-20 at one stretch before a triple block by Mueller, Schauermann and Eichler sealed the win.The third game was give and go between both teams. Casper's Julia Gruszecka hamered home a kill to nknot the score at 13. After that, things changed in a heartbeat as Vrooman had three service points for a 17-13 lead. Several rotations later, Hughes hammered home a kill to push the lead to five, 20-15.

Meisner's sizzling services baffled the Casper defense with four straight points and a 28-18 lead and consequently the 30-20 win.WNCC will have little time to rest as they head out at 7 a.m. today for the Garden City tournament. The Cougar's first match is scheduled today at 5 p.m. against Vernon (Texas) College.

"It might not as tough as Salt Lake or the Columbus tournament, but every time we step out on the court the other teams want to beat us because we are the No. 2 team in the country," Green said. "We have a pretty big target on our back. That is what happens when you are ranked."

WNCC volleyball sweeps McCook

The Western Nebraska Community College’s Jennifer Eichler pounded home 16 kills and three Cougars finished with double-figure points as the Cougars swept McCook Community College 30-12, 30-9, 30-20 Tuesday evening at Cougar Palace.

Eichler, though, was just one of the heroes on the night as Barbara Freitas, Soriana Pacheco and Kendra Schauermann each had stellar games in the serving department. Schauermann finished the night with 15 points followed by with Pacheco 14 and Feitas 13.

WNCC coach Chris Green said while several people stepped on the serving end, his team had more errors then aces. Green complimented McCook’s defensive play. “Our goal was to have more aces then errors and I don’t think we had that tonight in our serving,” he said. “I think McCook actually passed pretty well and we weren’t serving very aggressive.”

But what the Cougars were doing was terminating kills and making serving runs of three, four, five and even longer runs periodically all night long. In the first game, Freitas and Schauermann were the serving heroes. Freitas had six points behind the hitting of Eichler, who had three kills during the stretch to help WNCC to a 19-9 lead.

A couple rotations later, Schauermann iced the game as her floating serve rattled the McCook defense for seven straight points, including an ace to help WNCC to a 28-11 lead, and consequently the 30-12 win.

Soriana Pacheco started the Cougars on the right foot in game two with four straight points for a 5-0 lead. Then it was Schauermann’s turn to at the service line and the 5-foot-8 Windsor, Colo., graduate served up six points behind two Freitas and Echler kills, and two Eichler blocks for a 12-1 lead.

WNCC stretched the lead to 22-4 as Jillian Kelly had five straight service points. Freitas wrapped up the game with four straight points, climaxing with a Eichler kill.

The third game was back and forth in momentum. WNCC jumped out to a 5-1 lead before McCook’s Candace Smith, a Gering graduate, sliced the lead to 5-4 on two service points. The Cougars responded back jumping back to an 8-4 lead behind Freitas’ three points, including two aces. Later, Cassie Vrooman served up four points for a 13-5 lead.

McCook wouldn’t fold as the Indians battled back cutting the lead to 18-15 behind Kelsey Kathman’s three points. McCook cut the lead to three once again, 20-17, before Bianca Rivera served up three points for a 26-18. Pacheco finished off the match with two service points. Green is pleased with how Eichler and Freitas are coming around.

“Eichler has been doing a great job lately and I can’t say enough about her,” he said. “This past weekend, too, she did a great job, especially in the championship match against Iowa Western. She is jumping well and she is hitting a high ball.”

Eichler was no match for the McCook defense as she hammered home 16 kills. She also had three blocks on the night.

Eichler’s performance was mirrored by Freitas, who had a complete all-around match. The 5-11 sophomore from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, finished with 13 points, two aces, six digs, nine kills and four blocks.

“Barbara did a nice job [Tuesday night],” Green said. “She has been improving steadily through out the season. We have three middle blockers that are doing a pretty good job and she is right in the mix.”

Also for the WNCC, Leticia Kuhn had five digs and six kills; Pacheco had 14 points, 32 set assists, five digs and three blocks; Schauermann 15 points and eight digs; Rivera nine digs, five points and four kills; Kelly seven digs, two blocks and six points; Hailey Mueller six kills and two blocks; and Vrooman five points and five set assists.

WNCC, 21-1, will be back in action Thursday night as they host Casper College. Green said Casper will be a good test for his team. “We hate to see the third game end up like it did where we kind of lost momentum, especially going into a tough match on Thursday,” Green said. “Casper is a lot better team then some of the teams that we have had here so far this season. We are expecting a tough match on Thursday night. Hopefully against Casper we will have a lot of people in the stands.”

Cougar softball team goes 1-1 in final day of Cougar Classic

It was a bitter sweet Sunday for the WNCC women's softball team in their own Cougar Classic at Volunteer Field. The team opened the second day with an impressive 5-0 win over McCook Community College before falling to North Platte Community College 5-3.

In the opener, pitcher Natasha Dypchey went 5 1/3 innings striking out 11 McCook batters and allowing just three hits. Offensively, the Cougars pounded out 10 hits in the win.

The Cougars got on the scoreboard first in the third inning. Kara Ryman reached base on a fielding error by the thirdbaseman and scored on a Ashley Eichelberger double for a 1-0 lead. The Cougars plated two more runs in teh fifth. Ryman, again, led off with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Amanda Torimaru. Eichelberger then smacked a triple (or a hard-hit grounder that that left fielder couldn't stop) and then scored the second run on a Lauren Bourdon triple for a 3-0 lead.

WNCC added another two more runs in the sixth. Jessica McNabb led things off with a single to left field. Then, with two outs, Torimaru singled to score McNabb. Torimaru scored on a double by Eichelberger for the 5-0 win. Eichelberger was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and two RBIs. Torimaru also had two hits, singles, as she went 2-for-3.

In the team's final game with North Platte, North Platte scored four runs in the fourth inning on six hits to take the game 5-3. Jessica Pexton pitched three strong innings allowing just one one run on one hit before giving way in the fourth.

The Cougars biggest victim in this game was their inability to get the big hit to break open a tight ball game. WNCC scored the first run in the top of the first as McNabb reached base on an error. She later scored on a two-out single by Torimaru. Eichelberger then singled before the team left runners in scoring position when the third out was made.

North Platte answered with one run in the first before WNCC took the 2-1 lead with a run in the third. With one out, Eichelberger walked and then gave way to pinch-runner Stephanie Hamilton. Hamilton score on a Lauren Mills fielder's choice. WNCC added another run in the fifth as Bourdan reached base on a fielder's choice and scored on a Whitney Foster single for the final run before time limit was up.

Other scores in the tournament saw North Platte Community College down Chadron State 9-6 and McCook Community College used a last inning rally to get past Chadron State 6-5.

Cougar men's, women's soccer downs Western Wyoming

WNCC's Bre Perkes scored four goals and assisted another as the women's soccer team collected their first win of the season with a 11-0 win over Western Wyoming Community College. The team als received two goals and two assists from Amanda Arrant, two goals and an assist from Paige Achatz, a goal and assist from Kiwi Wingert and Nancy Boyack, a goal from Nickole Mueller and an assist from Stacy Agnew.

The Cougar women led 6-0 at halftime and never looked back as Paige Achatz scored the opening goal just two minutes into the match. Minutes later, Bre Perkes registered the first of her four goals on a penalty kick at the seven minute mark, followed by Kiwi Wingert netting a goal with nine minutes gone in the game.

The Cougar men also played well in their 3-0 win against Western Wyoming. For the men, Eloy Matos broke loose and scored two goals to show his quick-strike, strong leg. Eloy scored on a rifle shot 11 minutes into the game. Five minutes later, Daniel Ocampo netted a goal to give WNCC a 2-0 halftime lead.

The second half was a defensive struggle until Eloy took a pass from Francisco Granzanti and registered his second goal at the 35 minute mark for the 3-0 win.

The Cougar men will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to Laramie County Community College. Then, both teams will be in Great Bend, Kan., for matches against Barton County and Northern Oklahoma this weekend.

Cougars win Raider Invite, run record to 18-1

The Cougar volleyball team continues picking up the wins as they won yet another tournament. This time, the Cougars won the Raider Invite without dropping one game.

After going 3-0 on Friday, the team won for matches on Saturday. They started the contest disposing of Neosha County Community College 30-20, 30-12. That put the Cougars as the No. 1 seed in the tournament. In their first bracket play contest, the Cougars defeated Laramie County Community College 30-12, 30-16. They they downed Northeastern Junior College 30-24, 30-24 and the beat Iowa Western Community College 30-28, 30-24 for the title.

The Cougars will be back in action on Tuesday when they host McCook Community College and then Casper College on Thursday.

WNCC softball team opens fall season with win

The WNCC women's softball team, despite misty weather, turned in a good performance in their fall season opener downing Chadron State College 7-3 in the first game of the WNCC Cougar Classic.

The Cougars received several clutch hitting performances in the game. Amanda Torimaru, Ashley Eichelberger, Kara Ryman and Lauren Bourdon each collected two hits in the contest and each had a single and double. Eichelberger also had two RBIs, as well as Bourdon and Ryman. Bourdan's 2-run scoring double in the fourth inning put the Cougars up 4-3. In the fifth, Ryman delivered another 2-run double to put the Cougars up 7-3.

Natasha Dypchey picked up the win for the Cougars going six innings, allowing three runs, two hits and striking out one. Dypchey gave up one home run, a 2-run shot by Chadron High graduate Cassie Humphrey in the third.

The tournament continues Saturday and Sunday. Any postponements on the tourney or schedule changes because of the weather will be posted here.

Cougar volleyball 3-0 at Raider Invite

The WNCC women's volleyball team ran their record to 16-1 on the season with impressive wins at the Raider Invite in Columbus, Neb., on Friday.

The team opened the tournament with an astounding 30-18, 30-13 win over Cloud County Community College Friday morning. They then bounded host Central Community College-Columbus 30-21, 30-15. The team then finished the first day with a 30-21, 30-15 defeat of Laramie County Community College.

The Cougars will have one more pool match on Saturday against Neosha County Community College and then enter bracket play.

WNCC, Chadron State softball teams open fall season at Cougar Classic

The Western Nebraska Community College and Chadron State College softball teams will open the fall season Saturday at the WNCC Cougar Classic at Volunteer Field in Scottsbluff. The two Panhandle colleges will meet in the first game of the four-team round-robin classic. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. The Classic continues through Sunday.

Other games on Saturday will see Chadron State facing North Platte Community College at Noon, McCook Community College taking on WNCC at 2 p.m. and North Platte meeting McCook at 4 p.m.

Action Sunday has WNCC facing McCook at 9 a.m., Chadron State meeting McCook at 11 a.m., North Platte taking on Chadron State at 1 p.m. and the WNCC wrapping up the Classic at 3 p.m. against North Platte.

WNCC opens the fall season with 13 players on the roster with just two sophomores on the team. Ashley Eichelberger returns from last year’s record-setting team, while Jessica Ventoza transferred from Highline Community College in Washington. The other members of the team are first-year players, and Douglas, Wyo., freshman Jessica Pexton said she is anxious for the season to start.


“I’m really excited for the season to start, because we have a great group of girls with a lot of talent,” she said. “We have really good team chemistry and we are going to dominate this year!”

Pexton will also compete against her high school teammates Bobbi Bath and Amber Tucker, freshmen for Chadron State.

“It will be interesting to play against these girls again because I played on the field with them for four years,” she said. “They are good players and it will be an exciting change to play against them.”

Pexton’s reunion is just one of many for players this weekend. Several players will be back in Scottsbluff after outstanding high school careers at Scottsbluff, Gering and Chadron high schools.

Chadron State has four players returning including Chadron High’s all-star duo of Cassie Humphrey and Katelyn Moore. Humphrey was the Star-Herald softball player of the year for three consecutive years, while Moore was the top shortstop in the region. The Eagles also feature Gering’s Linsey Trackwell and Scottsbluff’s Melanie Michael.

North Platte features three area players. Returning to the Knights this season are Scottsbluff’s Jenn Lang and Chadron’s Sasha Catches. Chadron’s Carmen Barth is also a member of the North Platte team.

Pexton said it should be an interesting tournament and after two weeks of practice, it will be nice to play games for real.

“Practice has been going really well,” she said. “We get along so well on and off the field, so it will be exciting to finally play in a game this weekend and see how we do.”

Pexton is one of just five pitchers on the Cougar team this year, which will be one of team’s strengths.

“Our pitching staff looks very strong this year and with five pitchers, we will be able to use the variety that we have,” she said. “If we show one pitcher against a team, we then can throw a different one against them later on so they will never know what to expect. We also have good, solid defense and it is going to be hard for the opponents to score on us.”

Women's soccer losses, but wins

The scoreboard read 4-1 in favor of Laramie County Community College. But in the eyes of the WNCC women players, they won the game in their hearts Sunday afternoon at Cheyenne, Wyo.

The Cougar women put on a defensive show that that the No. 3 team in the nation scratching their head of how to get the ball into the net. LCCC scored early, at the 10 minute mark. That was it as the Cougars frustrated the Golden Eagle players to trail 1-0 at halftime. The key moment in the first half was a Jeanette Dittbenner save in goal on a penalty kick.

The Cougars managed just one shot on goal in the first half, but 15 minutes into the second half Bre Perkes ignited the Cougar team by scoring to tie the match. A few minutes later, LCCC scored again on an "oopsey" goal. Still, the Cougar defense kept playing tough as the contest was anyones until wiht nine minutes to play when LCCC added two insurance goals for the heck of it.

Whatever the case, the Cougar women's play on the field, considering the Cougars are actually a first-year program, deserves some accolades. The game plan was superb and minus the difference in the number of players, WNCC showed that Cougar women''s soccer is coming back full force.

The Cougar women will return to action at home against Western Wyoming Community College this Saturday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m.

WNCC TOURNAMENT CHAMPS!!!!!

The Cougars are the 2006 Salt Lake Invite tournament champions after defeating Lake Land Community College. The scores were:

First game -- WNCC won 30-26.
Second game -- WNCC won 30-28
Third game -- WNCC won 30-23
Tournament Champs.

As for individual honors Leticia Kuhn was named the MVP of the tournament. No other Cougar player made the all-tournament team. Kuhn finished with 18 kills and 9 digs. Jenny Eichler also had a good match with 12 kills. Shawntell Jones had 6 blocks followed by Hailey Mueller with 4. Bianca Rivera had 16 digs followed by Kendra Schauerman with 12.

Cougars in title game of Salt Lake Tourney

For the second year in a row, the Cougars earned a berth in the title game of the Salt Lake Invite after play on Saturday.

The Cougars earned the berth after knocking off North Idaho College in three straight games 30-24, 30-25, 30-17. The win avenged Saturday morning's loss to NIC when the Cougars won the first game 30-18 and then fell 30-16, 15-13 for the team's first loss of the year.

In the win, assistant coach Amy Winters said it was a team effort and they played well. Jenny Eichler led the team wiht 16 kills followed by Leticia Kuhn with 15 and Soriano with 10 kills. Bianca Rivera led with 12 digs followed by Leticha with 10 and Kendra Schauermann with 9. Stacie Meisner led with 12 points, while Shawntell Jones had seven blocks followed by Hailey Mueller with six.

The Cougars play in the championship match at 5 p.m. against a yet to be determined opponent.

Cougar volleyball team finish day one 4-0 at Salt Lake

The WNCC women's volleyball team showed why they are ranked No. 5 in the pre-season polls after starting the Salt Lake Tournament off in fine fashion with a perfect 4-0 mark.

The squad started things by running past Snow College 30-18, 30-12, Yavapai 30-24, 30-22 and then defeating the defending national champs College of Southern Idaho 30-25, 30-28. It was the first time Green has beaten Southern Idaho. The team then finished off day one with a heart-wrenching 3-game win against Salt Lake Community College 30-16, 28-30, 18-16. Amy Winters, assistant coach, text messaged and said that the players were tired the last two games. and it was a tough win.

In the win against Snow College, pre-season first team all-American selection Bianca Rivera was electric from the serving line finishing with a team high seven aces. Gering's Stacie Meisner finished with four aces. Leticia Kuhn led the team with seven kills followed by Jenny Eichler with four kills.

Against Yavapa Leticia Kuhn and Jenny Eichler each had 11 kills and Soriana had four blocks; and against Southern Idaho, Leticha had 11 kills and two blocks and Bianca Rivera had eight digs.

In the big win against Salt Lake, Leticha finished with 19 kills followed by Shawntell Jones with four blocks, Jenny Eichler with three blocks, Soriana with 30 set assists and Bianca with 20 digs.

The Cougars, 4-0 in the tournament and 9-0 overall, will have one more pool play match Saturday morning against another top-20 ranked team in Northern Idaho before beginning bracket play that afternoon.

Way to go Cougar ladies! You are awesome!

Cougar women ready for soccer home-opener Saturday

It has been over a year since the last Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team took to the field.

Saturday that will all change when WNCC hosts Butler County Community College in a 1 p.m. contest at the Allan Landers Soccer Complex.

“We are really excited to have a lot of the Scottsbluff fans to come out see what we have to offer,” freshman Ashley Miller said. “I know there will be a bunch of people that are going to come out. The whole men’s soccer team will be out there cheering us on, and all the host families will be out there. They are all excited to have a girls team again.”

WNCC will take a 0-2 record into the match against a Butler team that is 2-0 after beating Coffeyville Community College 14-0 on Monday and then Northern Oklahoma Wednesday 7-2

The Cougars, on the other hand, are refocused after nearly defeating Rochester Community and Technical College. WNCC fell 3-2 after leading 2-0 at halftime. That narrow defeat came after a disappointing loss to Iowa Central Community College 7-0 the day before.

“That [narrow win] was a big eye-opener for me because the day before we didn’t play very well and I was worried about the rest of our season. I didn’t think we would do very well,” Miller said. “The Rochester game that we lost 3-2, made me real excited for the season. Now, I think we will do really well.”

The Cougars only have a roster 12-deep, and minus a few injuries here and there, the players play a full 90-minute game without any breaks. Miller said that is tough at times, but it will make them better for the future.

“There is much more running involved in soccer and playing with just enough players doesn’t allow you have a break,” she said. “Your break is your walking time and ball goes out of play on the field. You also need to know you can’t get hurt because we would be down some players.”

Miller said there still is plenty of talent on the team and the more they play together, the better they will be in the future.

“Our team will be really close because of this,” she said. “Than next year will have a lot more players and we will be really good.”

A win in the home-opener will also do a lot for the player’s moral down the stretch this season, including a big Region IX encounter with Laramie County Community College on Sunday. That match has a 11 a.m. start in Cheyenne, Wyo.

“I really hope to beat Butler,” Miller said. “It will give our team a lot of motivation and then it will get us really excited for LCCC.”

WNCC volleyball ranked 5th in preseason poll

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team is living up to its pre-season hype.

The Cougars, fresh off a 5-0 start at the South Sub-region tournament Saturday, learned Monday that they are the pre-season 5th-ranked team in the nation after the National Junior College Athletic Association released the poll earlier that morning. For some, the ranking did not sit well; they thought it should have been higher.

“I think we are good and I don’t think we should be ranked that low. We should be ranked higher” sophomore Hailey Mueller said. “I was expecting more. I thought we were going to be third again like last year. But that is O.K., we can move up.”

Miami-Dade, last year’s national tournament runner-up, sits atop the pre-season rankings. The Sharks finished last season 33-3 and return three starters back from last year. Miami Dade eliminated WNCC in the Final Four last year at the national tournament, and then fell to the College of Southern Idaho in the championship game.

Other teams ahead of the Cougars in the poll include Hutchinson Community College, Missouri State University-West Plains and the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Southern Idaho, last year’s national championship, is absent from the polls after being placed on one year’s probation for seven rules violations stemming from illegal visits, giving extra financial assistance and other violations. The probation means there is no post-season play as well as national rankings for the seven time national champs.

WNCC’s presence, on the other hand, in the polls is due in part to the tradition Cougar coach Chris Green has brought to the program. And, this weekend, the Cougars will face several national-ranked teams at the Salt Lake Invite.

The Cougars will face Snow College, Yavapai College, Southern Idaho and Salt Lake Community College on Friday, before playing Northern Idaho College on Saturday. Salt Lake is ranked 6th and North Idaho is ranked 12th. Also at the tournament is 2nd-ranked Hutchinson and 3rd-ranked MSU-West Plains.

“This weekend will be really tough. There will be some really hard teams,” Mueller said. “It is going to take a lot of effort and team work [to repeat what we did last year at this tournament].”

Other notables in the pre-season rankings include Northeastern Junior College at number-9, who the Cougars defeated Saturday at the sub-region tournament. WNCC will also face Seward County Community College (No. 15), Iowa Western Community College (No. 13) and Casper College (honorable mention) later in the season.

Actually, what the pre-season poll did was make the Cougars hungrier to improve to show they deserved to be higher.

“I know we can do better and we will improve,” Mueller said. “I know we will go up higher. There are a lot of areas we can improve on, but it just takes time and effort. We are still trying to feel each other out.”

Cougar soccer drops two on Sunday

It was a so-so Sunday for the Cougar soccer team in Ft. Dodge, Iowa. The men fell to Marshalltown Commnity College 3-0 to even their record at 1-1. Coach Todd Rasnic said his team just wasn't there, coming out flat.

The women also lost, but played a lot better then the previous day loss to Iowa Central Community College. Sunday, the women fell 3-2 to Rochester Tecnichal College. Freshman Breanne Perkes scored both goals for WNCC, but it wasn't enough. The players played with just 11 players due.

The men will be back in action Tuesday when they travel to Hastings to face the Hastings College junior varsity. The women will be back in action this weekend when they will host Butler County Community College at 1 p.m. at the Allan Landers Memorial Soccer Complex on Sept. 2. They will then travel to Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne for a 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 3.

Cougar soccer split with Iowa Central

The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team received a goal from Francisco Gianzanti at the 70 minute mark to down Iowa Central Community College 1-0 in the team's season opener. Drew Oesterle recorded the assist for the Cougars, who are 1-0 on the season.

The women were not as fortunate falling 7-0 to the No. 6 ranked Iowa Central Community College on the road.

Both teams will play against Sunday when the men face Marshalltown C.C. and the women meet Rochester Technical College.

Cougar volleyball undefeated in sub-regional tourney

The WNCC volleyball team opened the 2006 season in impressive style at the South Sub-region tournament in La Junta, Colo., Saturday finishing the tournament with an unblemished 5-0 mark. The team defeated all of the south sub-region teams, including a big win over Northeastern Junior College.

The Lady Cougars started the day by rolling over Trinidad State Junior College 30-9, 30-16, 13-15. The team followed that up with impressive, hard-fough victory over Northeastern Junior College 30-26, 23-30, 15-11. The team also claimed a win over Otero Junior College 30-10, 30-14, 15-12 to start the season at 3-0. WNCC coach Chris Green said that freshman setter Soriana Pacheco has been playing well, while freshman Stacie Meisner had a strong serving game in the win against NJC.

The Cougars finished off the tournament by sweeping Lamar Community College 30-11, 30-13, 15-12 and then running through McCook Community College 30-11, 30-15, 15-11. Leticha Kuhn paced the team with 10 kills against McCook. Assistant coach Amy Winters said that they played everyone and was running different lineups throughout the final two games.

The Cougars will now head to the the Salt Lake City Invitational next Friday and Saturday, Sept. 1-2.

Go Cougars!