Cougar volleyball team claims two wins Friday in South Sub-region tourney

Friday's results of the South Sub-region tournament, which is being played at WNCC's Cougar Palace.

The first game of the night saw McCook Community College defeat Lamar Community 2-1 by scores of 30-16, 29-31, 15-8. The other first-round game was just as close as Otero Junior College took game three to earn the win 30-23, 28-30, 15-8.

The second matches of the day saw WNCC earn a straight-game win over McCook Community College 30-9, 30-14, 15-9. WNCC was led by Soriana Pacheco's seven kills, seven points and 20 set assists. Jennifer Eichler and Aidi Bauza each had six kills, while Stacie Meisner and Nayka Benitez each had eight points. The other second game saw Northeastern Colorado come back to earn a three-game win over Trinidad State Junior College 22-33, 30-16, 16-14 on a Thais Hollerback kill to end the match.

The final matches of the night saw WNCC sweep Lamar Community College 30-4, 30-9, 15-7, while NJC defeated Otero Junior College 30-22, 30-18, 15-8. In the WNCC match, the Cougars jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first game behind 12-straight points, including three aces, from Meisner. Benitez followed with five service points and two aces. Pacheco pushed the lead to 27-2 with eight service points and three aces. Chelsea Lyles and Fatiba Balza each had six kills. Lyles also had three blocks, while Balza had seven points and three aces. Meisner finished with 16 points and four aces, followed by Pacheco with 14 points and five aces. The team, as a whole, registered 18 aces in the match.

Action continues Saturday with matches starting at 9:30 a.m. with the final match, between WNCC and NJC, starting at 2:45 p.m.

WNCC soccer teams open up season in Great Bend, Kan., this weekend

Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer coach Todd Rasnic likes the make-up of this year’s ball clubs after four weeks of practice.

Now, Rasnic will see what the teams can do in a regular match as both soccer teams open play Saturday in Great Bend, Kan. The women open against Barton County Community College at 3 p.m. The men have a tougher opener, facing pre-season No. 3 ranked San Jacinto College-South at 1 p.m.

“Whenever you are playing an opponent like that (ranked third in the nation), it is always a challenge and 50 percent of the game will be desire and who wants the game worse,” Rasnic said about the men’s season opener. “Do we want to set ourselves in our first match as a contender for this year. It is a good test for and I didn’t plan on playing the No. 3 team in the nation right out of the hat. That is what happened and we will deal with that. It is an opportunity for us to see what we need to do to be successful.”

Same philosophy holds true for the Cougar women team. They, too, will have a tough test against a Barton County squad that will be improved over last year when WNCC defeated them 3-1 behind two goals from Bre Perkes.

"I don’t think they will lay down on the field and let us run over them this year,” he said. “Certainly Barton County is a competitive program. Last season they had a new coach and I expect this season the recruiting process has gone better.”

Both Cougar teams, though, are much improved from a year ago. Last year’s women’s team struggled with numbers. This season that same team has plenty of depth, if they can shake the injury bug.

“I believe we have done what we need to do to get quality players that can come in and step up the play for us,” he said. “We are battling pre-season injuries with three or four players who have been struggling with injuries, which has been a concern for me. But, I have my two players back who have been recovering from their ACL injuries – Perkes and freshman Tamika Smith.”

The Cougar women finished last season with a 6-8-1 record in fielding a team for the first time since the 2004 season. Rasnic said he will be disappointed if this team doesn’t with a better overall record.

“I look at it this way in that the women’s program should be a strong program this season. There is no question about that,” he said. “We have some great recruits and strong players we brought in, and down the road as the season progresses, we are going to continue to get stronger and stronger.

“I fully expect to come back with three wins this weekend because they are a strong team and very competitive players. They are not going to make excuses for their game because they are short a sub or two. They are going to come out and give it everything they got just as we did last year.”

Rasnic is also hoping for a much better record on the men’s side. Last year the men finished with a 5-9-1 record. Rasnic said his men’s team will get a taste of just how good they will be.

“Honestly I don’t see any weaknesses in the lineup in any particular area for the men,” he said. “But this will be a great test for us and we will see where we fit into the spectrum of team’s nationally,” he said. “When you play a team that is ranked in the top five, what you come out with is the understanding of how close you are to that team. If we come out on top I will know that we have a good chance of going a long way this season. If we come out (with a loss) and it is a tough contest all the way to the end, I am still going to believe that we have the potential to be a team that can contend.”

The men’s team has loads of talent with a good combination of freshmen and sophomores. One newcomer that has really caught Rasnic’s eye is sophomore transfer Stephen Estrada from Puerto Rico.

“Stephen Estrada has made his presence known since he has been here. He is a sophomore and I expect great things from him,” he said. “As for returning sophomores, we look at Eloy to really get to that next level and produce more goals for us. Edwin Eriques, after his medical red-shirt last season, will also be looked for great things. Those players, in combination of the rest of the players, and we should have a good team.”

Other returners that will stand out for the men include Diego Campoverde of Quito, Ecuador; Renato Segalla of Santo Andre, Brazil; Geoff Critzer of Scottsbluff; and Aaron Oesterle of New Tripoli, Penn.

The rest of the men’s line-up are all freshman, including two goal keepers in Cesar Bazana of Americana, Brazil, and David Castillo of Aurora, Colo.

The other freshman include Chris Thompson of Gering, Morgan Wall of Alliance, Shayne Tower of Scottsbluff, Nikko Ouzounis and Lazzaro Torres of Aurora, Colo., Mark ZIgray and Antonio Herrera-Young of Windsor, Colo., Julio Cajes of Quito, Ecuador, and Carlos Miranda of Caguras, Puerto Rico.

Rasnic is very impressed with this year’s men’s team.

“The gentlemen we have do have are of high character who have an extremely high work rate,” he said. “This year’s team has come out demonstrating good character and that is what I am looking for; players that will play all the way to that last whistle and give me everything they have. We are 11 players and one team.”

The women’s team is loaded with depth and talent just like the men’s team and Rasnic is excited to see the potential from the women’s team, which stems from a good, hard-nosed sophomore class that bonded together as freshmen a year ago. The sophomores include Perkes of Plain City, Utah, Paige Achatz of Great Bend, Kan., Stacey Agnew of Leicester, England, Nancy Boyack of Gering, Krystin Wingert of South Jordan, Utah, and Amanda Arrant of Hooper, Utah.

“What is driving this squad is the heart of the sophomore crew,” Rasnic said about the women’s team. “They have more heart and desire to play the game with more passion then any players I have coached. I think that is one of the reasons that all the adversity (injuries) that we have faced, they will be able to step up to the challenge and perform well.”

In fact, the sophomores are the ones that are helping mold the freshmen into the players they are, said Rasnic.

“We battled in the games last year and each game it ended up being a battle to the end. That was a valuable lesson for those ladies for this season,” he said. “I think that spirit has been relayed to the incoming freshmen. I look for great things for the ladies.”

Adding to the sophomore’s talents is a freshmen crew that are top-notch. Leading the list is goalkeeper Terri Huntington of Bluffdale, Utah, who was a standout at Riverton High. Smith, a scoring forward from Greeley, Colo., also is expected to add some pop to the Cougar offense this season.

Others players that could make this season a memorable one are Andrea Ardito of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Lara Markey of Windsor, Colo., Claudia Gomez, Alisha Ropkin and Ashley Quintana of Aurora, Colo., LeAnna Paxton and Jessica Arreguin of Greeley, Colo., Mara Crouch of Hillsdale, Mich., and Maria Garcia of Denver, Colo.

“We do have a lot of depth on the women’s side and once we get everyone healthy, we will be good,” Rasnic said. “I am looking forward to the weekend and I think we will have a good time. I think it will be productive for us and we will be able to see where we are at, what we need to work on and where we should go from there.”

After Saturday contest with Barton County, WNCC will face Cloud County at noon on Sunday and then Neosho County Community College on Monday. Rasnic is hoping both teams will be 3-0 when they return late Monday evening.

“The coaches’ dream is to come out 3-0, but I have been in that position before and I am realistic that when you bring in a whole load of freshmen it takes a few games to adjust to the speed of play in this division,” he said. “I think we can do that. I have every confidence that they can go down and be 3-0. I think it would be an incredible boost to our players if they come out 3-0 this weekend. It would go a long way for the confidence for the team.”

WNCC volleyball team opens season with south sub-region tourney

Western Nebraska Community College sophomore Kendra Schauermann remembers vividly watching Iowa Western Community College celebrate a national volleyball title. Meanwhile, Schauermann and her teammates were watching teary-eyed after losing to Iowa Western in the title match.

This season, the Cougar volleyball team plans on being the team celebrating, not watching from the sidelines.

“Oh my gosh, I am excited for the season to get started,” the sophomore from Windsor, Colo., said. “I can’t even believe it is already back around again. With last year’s disappointing ending, I am really excited to get started again. Hopefully we will have a better ending to this season. We have been working so hard the last three weeks with two-a-days, running the monument, running the stadium, lifting at 5:30 in the morning and I think we are ready to get started and play games instead of being on the court practicing.”

The Cougars open the 2007 season today as they host the South Sub-region tournament at Cougar Palace. Tournament action kicks off today at 5 p.m. with Lamar Community College taking on McCook Community College and Otero Junior College meeting Trinidad State Junior College.WNCC plays at 6:30 p.m. against McCook, followed by a match-up with Lamar at 7:45 p.m. Northeastern Junior College is the other team playing in the tournament.

The tournament continues Saturday with WNCC facing Trinidad State at 11 a.m., Otero Junior College at 12:15 p.m. and then Northeastern Colorado at 2:45, which will be the prime contest of the tournament with two top-20 ranked teams from a year ago tangling on the court.

“I think that will be a pretty big contest because that is really our only competition in the region of who goes onto nationals.” Schauermann said. “It is always fun to play them early to see all the talent they brought in, and to see how the season will work out for us. We play them about three or four more times before regionals.”

WNCC's Mr. Volleyball on verge of another milestone

Submitted by JEREMY WOZNICK, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

In his first eight years as the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach, Chris Green has guided the program to about every achievement possible.

His Cougars have won the Region IX championship and advanced to the national tournament every year since 1999, they’ve been ranked No. 1 in the nation, they finished as national runner-up with a 56-2 record last year and he’s coached eight different National Junior College All-Americans, just to name a few.

As Green readies this year’s team for the season-opening South Sub-Region Tournament that begins on Friday in Scottsbluff, he’s on the verge of yet another achievement — 400 wins. With a record of 399-53, Green is by far the winningest coach in WNCC volleyball history. But as he looks back on his coaching career, it’s hard to imagine that none of it would probably have been possible if it wasn’t for a couple of hours of physical education credit he needed while attending WNCC after graduating from Gering High School.

“It’s actually kind of a funny story how I became interested in coaching volleyball,” Green said. “In order to graduate, I needed two hours of P.E. credit. At the time I thought it was silly that the college was requiring me to do that. So one of the activities I ended up taking was volleyball.”

Green ended up in a class instructed by former WNCC volleyball coach Cathy Schiller and a love for the sport was quickly developed.

“At the same time I was taking the class, Kathy was coaching and recruiting my younger sister Monica,” Green said. “She taught us how to hit the ball correctly, taught us all the fundamentals and then just let us play. She was impressed with my abilities and asked me to come hit at the girls that spring. So I kind of helped with practice in the spring and then Monica and I started playing doubles that summer in Colorado. That’s when I really fell in love with the sport.”

That love for playing the sport turned into a passion for teaching and coaching that’s led to a career that some coaches can only dream of. After graduating from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Green began his coaching career at the high school level with stops in Gering, Battle Creek and Kauai, Hawaii. In his first year at WNCC in 1999, he led the Cougars to their first regional title and national-tournament berth since 1988. Since then he’s averaged 52 wins per season over the course of the last seven years with five top-five national finishes.

Although the success he’s enjoyed has been quite remarkable, Green’s focus has never been on his accomplishments.

“I really don’t keep track of wins or records,” said Green, who also teaches math at WNCC. “If I can get a team to play at a high level and play to their abilities, that’s a lot more important than wins.

“Three years ago we had a team that wasn’t as talented as some of the teams we had in the past. But they overachieved and finished fourth in the country. Talent-wise we probably shouldn’t have been in the top 10. But that team played at a high level and I was really proud of them for overachieving. That’s what I enjoy about coaching.”

Many might wonder what the secret to Green’s coaching success is at WNCC. Sure he’s recruited in some of the best players from around the country, and even from out of the country, as six of the eight all-Americans he’s coached have been players from outside of the United States.

But in addition to recruiting in some of the best talent around, Green’s simple philosophy has proven instrumental.

“I feel like I know where to play people and I know my personnel really well,” he said. “I also think I have a pretty good handle on the game. I’m still a student of the game. I try and learn as much as I can by going to different clinics and also by watching DVDs of other coaches talking about their philosophies.”

Eight of Green’s players have gone on to play at Division I schools, including two from last year’s squad — Bianca Rivera, who is now playing at Creighton University in Omaha, and Barbara Freitas, who is at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Two players off this year’s squad already have plans to continue their playing careers at the Division I level. Sophomore setter Soriana Pacheco will play at Kansas State University, while sophomore hitter Jennifer Eichler will play at the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla.

With Green’s resume of success on the national stage, and his ability to get players ready for the next level, the program at WNCC has become an attractive option for many of the top high school athletes.

“With our success, I think we’re becoming more and more recognizable,” Green said. “Being able to recruit at WNCC is great because we are almost fully funded. Being able to offer full scholarships to girls is a huge plus when some schools in our region can’t do that. WNCC also has a great thing going here with their ESL program. Being able to recruit internationally is a must if you’re going to be in the top 10 of junior college volleyball anymore. That program is another positive.”

In this weekend’s opening tournament, the Cougars will get an early look at what the rest of the region has to offer. WNCC returns six players off last year’s national runner-up team and looks to be loaded for another run at a regional title. After saying goodbye to two of its top players in Rivera and Leticia Kuhn, many coaches around the region might think of WNCC as vulnerable. But with Green’s track record, they will surely think again.

“We lost our best defensive player in Bianca and our best offensive player in Leticia, so statistically we lost our best offensive and defensive players,” Green said. “But I think we should be very good again this year, especially with our setter returning. We’re going to work our hardest and take it one step at a time.”

Rivera turning heads at Creighton

Former WNCC volleyball player Bianca Rivera is turning eyes at Creighton. In the Aug. 15 Omaha World Herald, there was a feature story on Bianca and a comment from Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook saying, "she can absolutely jump out of the gym. She's an amazing athlete."

The article added, "Nebraska coach John Cook and his assistants also took some serious looks at Rivera, but Cook said the Huskers didn't have enough spots open to bring Rivera to Lincoln. Still, Cook said there was no doubt that Rivera was talented enough to play for any college program."

To view the entire article, follow the following link.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3924&u_sid=10108319

Cougar volleyball team scrimmages alumni, wins all five games impressively

(Note: More action photos from the scrimmage at the bottom. If you click on the photo, a bigger image will appear.)
The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball players gave head coach Chris Green a glimpse of the talent they possess this season on Saturday as they defeated the alumni team in five games 30-13, 30-10, 30-23, 30-18, 18-16.

The games were close for periods of time early, but the reigning Region IX champs used strong serving and efficient hitting to handle the alumni. Still, the alumni held their own against the powerhouse Cougars. Take the first game when the alumni trailed 6-5. After that, strong serving by Stacie Meisner and Kendra Schauermann, and hitting from Jenny Eichler, Fatima Bauza, Shawntell Jones and Chelsea Lyles were too tough for the alumni.

In the third game, the alumni were down big and then slowly started a comeback before losing 30-23. The alumni also battled hard in the final game forcing overtime before falling 18-16. In fact, they took their first lead of the night in the fifth game at 9-8. From there it was back and fourth. Both teams were tied at 15 and later 16 before WNCC finally won.

Playing for the alumni were several former stars including Jennifer Pedersen, Laura Pinedo, Leslie Reeh, Missy Marsh, Molly Tabke, Dayna Harned, Renee Ellis, BJ Clark, Jamie Meisner, Bethany Dillman and Brittany Isakson.

The Cougars will open the season for real this Friday and Saturday as they host the South Sub-Region tournament.

Soccer teams fare OK in Thursday's scrimmages in Denver

The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer teams played in the shadows of the Colorado Rapids' Dick Sporting Goods stadium Thursday evening and fared OK against Denver Elite soccer teams.

The women played one 30-minute period against three different Elite teams from around Denver and tied 1-1. WNCC's lone goal came in the first match-up as Bre Perkes, who set a school record last season with 26 goals, took a pass from freshman Tamika Smith of Greeley, Colo. for the score.

The women's team then tied the second team they played 0-0, before falling 1-0 in the third contest in the higher altitude.

The men's team also tied in their scrimmage 2-2 against the Colorado Elite Team, who just won a state title the weekend before. Most of the players on the Chiva's team range in age from 25 t0 35 with a vast knowledge of the game.

WNCC's two goals came in the second period as sophomores Eloy Matos and Stephen Estrada, both from Puerto Rico and on their countries national team who will play Cuba early next month for a spot in the Beijing Olympics, each finished with a goal.

Both teams will open the season next weekend, Aug. 25 in Great Bend, Kan. The women will open against Barton County Community College, while the men will open against pre-season ranked No. 3 San Jacinto College-South.

Clark, Harned excited to return to Cougar Palace for alumni scrimmage

B.J. Clark and Dayna Harned were teammates for the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team and come Saturday night, the two once Cougars will team up again for the alumni volleyball scrimmage at 7 p.m.

For the two, it will be a time to get re-acquainted with former players. It will also be a time to play against the current Cougar team to see just how good this year’s volleyball team will be.

“It is definitely a different feeling being on the other side of the court,” Clark said. “But it is fun to see all the new talent.”

Harned agreed. “I think it is exciting to see what the new team will be like and how good they will be,” she said. “I love that I get asked to come back and play, but the best part is that I get to see some old friends that I don’t get to see normally.”

Clark and Harned, who played for the Cougars in the 2002-03 season while winning 100 matches in two seasons and two regional titles, said playing against “the younger girls” is not so much trying to win, it is just playing volleyball again in Scottsbluff.

“Well as for the alumni team, I don’t really think it is about winning as much as it is about just getting out there and having a good time,” Clark said. “It is always fun to see my old teammates. As for other teams (opponents) this coming season, they are going to need luck (to defeat this year’s team).”

Harned said it will take plenty of skill to top this year’s Cougar team on Saturday.

“Considering that most of us don’t play a lot it, it will take a lot of heart,” she said. “We will have to pull out some of the skills that we have put away for some time.”

Other former players expected to show up Saturday for the scrimmage include Molly Tabke (2004-05), Bethany Dillman (2004-05), Leslie Reeh (2003-04), Brittany Isakson (2003-04), Missy Marsh (2002-03), Renee Ellis (2002-03), Jamie Meisner (2005) and Jennifer Pedersen (1994).

Clark is looking forward to see her old teammates once again.

“Coming back to WNCC means a lot to me,” she said. “For me, at least this was the place that I really got to play competitive ball and got the chance to really shine.”

Clark finished her career with 304 kills, 938 digs (11^th all-time), and 643 points (13^th all-time). After her two years at WNCC, Clark went on to play two years at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. She graduated this past May from the University of Wyoming, and is now working at Biolife Plasma Services. She is hoping to go back to get her master’s degree in counseling.

Harned, who will graduate in December, has found memories have playing volleyball for the Cougars and coach Green.

“I loved playing at WNCC. It was so much fun playing here,” Harned, the 5-5 libero from Brush, Colo., said. “I never played for a team that won a title or even made it anywhere like nationals, so it was a great experience for me and I would not of changed anything.”

Both agreed that their 2002-03 teams could have competed with last year’s national runner-up team. As far as winning, it is hard to judge.

“I think that we would definitely put up a really good fight,” Clark said. “I think all the previous teams for WNCC had something special about them that made them pretty unbeatable.”

Harned added, “I believe that our team could beat them back in the day. We had a lot of heart and depth to our team both years i was there.”

The one thing that Clark wishes that was different from when she attended WNCC was that it was a four-year institution.

“If there was one thing that I could change is that WNCC would have been a four year college,” she said. “I would have loved to spend my full four years of college getting my education from there and playing for coach Green.”

Deloney ready to help Cougar basketball to the top

J.D. Deloney has always had a knack for coaching. All of the teams he has coached have been successful.

Deloney is hoping to continue his streak of success at Western Nebraska Community College in the coming years as he joins first-year Cougar coach Brian Joyce’s coaching staff as an assistant coach. When Deloney isn’t coaching, he will be the residence life director of Pioneer Hall.

“I am very excited to be here. Western Nebraska has a history of success and they are the team everybody else is thriving to be,” Deloney said. “Having coach Joyce come in with the success he has had at Northeastern Junior College, we will have an opportunity to do some great things. I am very excited to see what we can come up with this season and the future.

“Like I said, the school has a history of success and coach Joyce has a history of success so putting those two things together, I am expecting a couple regional championships and national championships.”

Deloney does have a knack for bringing out the best in his players. While at Patrick Henry High School in Minnesota, Deloney took over a girl’s basketball program that won six games in four years and made them into winners. Before that head coaching position, Deloney served as the assistant coach at Patrick Henry from 1997-2003.

“(The girl’s head coaching position) was like a match in the waiting. I was on the boys staff where we won four straight state championships and I was looking for another challenge,” he said. “In the offseason I worked the girls out, and when the coach left, the administration asked me if I wanted to take over the girls program. I decided to give them the opportunity to play hard and have a chance to win.

“I took the job and the first year we finished .500, like 14-14 which is amazing because it was the same kids (from the previous year). We had all the same starters and subs and they won 14 games. It was amazing with the change of attitude and work ethic. They had an opportunity to see what it feels like to win and work hard. That is how I got into girl’s coaching and it helped me out because it gave me some experience running a program, which is totally different from being an assistant coach. It is kind of a match made in heaven so to speak.”

Deloney coached the girls team from 2003-2006 before taking over the boys head coaching job last year.

“I am competitive so we increased our schedule and competition. That is the only way to get better is to play competition,” he said. “We played seven of the top 10 teams in the state. We had a very difficult schedule and we were competitive in most of those games.”

Basketball, though, runs deep in Deloney’s family. He is a coaches’ son. Deloney also played two years at Bethel University.

“My Pop kept me surrounded around basketball. When he came home we talked about strategies and he started grooming me to be a coach without me knowing,” he said. “Then, playing is what inspired me to coach. Even as the point guard in college, I was always a coach on the floor.

“Coaching has always been a passion of mine including the impact that you could make on young men’s lives. The extended relationships you build with players is more important than coaching. Once you get done coaching them, you still are not done with them. I still have kids from 10 years ago that call me for advice or to just check up on things. It is the relationship that you build.”

Deloney is now hoping to grow even more as a coach under Joyce at WNCC. He is expecting great things and excited to get started.

“I saw a new opportunity at Western Nebraska and Joyce was looking for a quality assistant coach. He is very familiar with our program and what kind of kids we have. It was a natural fit,” he said. “That is why I am here. Brian Joyce is a great coach and I believe I can get a lot of information from him. I think this is a stepping stone to eventually where I hope to end up. My goal is to possibly be a head coach at a Division II school or an assistant coach at the D-1 level. I am definitely aspiring to get to the highest level I can.”