WNCC volleyball picks up two more wins at Iowa Western Invite, now 4-0 on season

                COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team finished off the Iowa Western Invite with a perfect record after sweeping Iowa Lakes Community College and Jefferson College in action on Saturday at Council Bluffs, Iowa.

                Debora Araujo finished with a double-double in both contests on Saturday. The Cougars opened with a 25-13, 25-19, 25-16 win over Iowa Lakes and then finished the tournament with a sweep over Jefferson College 25-13, 25-18, 25-17.

                WNCC opened the season on Friday with a four-set win over Hillsborough Community College and a sweep over Missouri State-West Plains.

                The top-ranked Cougars received plenty of support on the day. Against Iowa Lakes, Araujo led the team with 18 kills and 14 digs. Abbey Wade and Lais Soares each pounded down seven kills. Also for the Cougars, Alex Rivera tallied 24 kills, while Fernanda Goncalves ahd 33 set assists.

                WNCC was even more dominating against Jefferson College. Araujo and Danika Youngblood each finished with a double-double in the win. Araujo had 14 kills, 10 digs and two blocks, while Youngblood finished with 10 kills, 10 digs and two blocks.

                Also for the Cougars, Rivera had 15 digs and two ace serves, Jodi Huddleston had three blocks, Goncalves had 36 set assists, and Dani Grace had two aces.

                WNCC, 4-0, will next be in action next weekend when they take part in the Salt Lake Invite. The Cougars are scheduled to face ranked Salt Lake Community College and the College of Southern Idaho.

                 WNCC will then open the home portion of their schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 6 when they face Highway 26 rival Eastern Wyoming College at 7 p.m.

WNCC volleyball opens season with two wins

                COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa –Debora Araujo had a double-double and the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team started the season off with a bang capturing two victories at the Iowa Western Invite in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Friday afternoon.

                In the season opener, Araujo finished with 14 digs and 14 kills to help the Cougars to a 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21 victory over Hillsborough Community College. Araujo then pounded down 12 kills in a sweep over Missouri State-West Plains 25-17, 25-14, 25-13.

                The top-ranked Cougars will finish the tournament Saturday with matches against Iowa Lakes Community College and Jefferson College.

                In Friday’s opener, the Cougars had a balanced attack from several players. While Araujo had the double-double, Lais Soares pounded home 12 kills and also had four blocks. Scottsbluff’s Jodi Huddleston also came on strong, finishing with seven kills.

                Also for the Cougars, Alex Rivera had 15 digs, Fernanda Goncalves had seven digs, three aces and 39 set assists, and Danika Youngblood had nine digs.

                WNCC was even more impressive in the win against MSU-West Plains. Araujo led the team with 12 kills and eight digs. Freshman Megan Johnson also had a nice contest, finishing with seven kills, four blocks and two ace serves.

                Also for the Cougars, Soares had seven kills and three blocks, Rivera had 10 digs and two aces, Dani Grace had eight digs, and Goncalves had three aces and 32 set assists.

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WNCC women's soccer team opens season Sunday

                The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team will open the season Sunday with hopes of capturing a Region IX title.

                That dream definitely can come true as the 18-member squad prepares for the season opener Sunday against the Colorado School of Mines in Denver before hosting four straight home contests in six days beginning Sept. 2.

                WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said that this team has plenty of skill to make a run for a third Region IX title. The last time the Cougar women won regionals was in 2008. Last year they qualified for districts as the Region IX runner-up.

                “They have a lot of potential,” he said. “We played some pretty tough contests this weekend. We played short a little bit and we now have this week to work out the bugs to get us back into a position where we can get organized and win some games. They should contend again for that Region IX championship. I fully expect they will turn the corner and start working at a high level and hit full stride.”

                This past weekend, the Cougars were shutout against two of the prime NCAA Division II soccer programs in not only the nation, but the RMAC in Metro State and Regis University. Regis is picked to finish second in the conference and received three first place votes, while Metro State is picked fourth. Colorado Mines, the team’s season-opening opponent, is picked to finish third in the conference.

                “When you play a couple teams that are nationally ranked and both are picked in the top four in the RMAC, you will see players that have a lot of speed, size and are physical,” Rasnic said. “Some of the ladies are not used to that, but we will be OK. I think one of the best things we can do for the ladies is show them that level; show them what it is like to be under a great deal of adversity. That will give us an idea see what kind of character they demonstrate on the field. There were moments where we were faltering this weekend, but the ladies pulled it together and had some great moments on the field.”

                The Cougar women return eight players from last year’s Region IX runner-up team. That includes four of the top five scorers from a year ago. The returners include Brittany McNeil of Milliken, Colo.; Kristi Blicharz of Littleton, Colo.; Rachelle Tekler of Kersey, Colo.; Fernanda Acorinte of Brazil; Ashley Gleason of Loveland, Colo.; Leticia Lopes of Henderson, Nev.; Quincey Jackson of Colorado Springs, Colo,; and Tiffany Snethen of Rapid City, S.D.

                Added to these eight sophomores is a freshmen group that boasts plenty of talent. They include Kelsey Newby and Ashley Baker of Centennial, Colo.; Carolina Rojas of Cupey, Puerto Rico; Adriana Torres of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico; Bridget Stanton and Breanna Smith of Longmont, Colo.; Celia Carmona of Madrid, Spain; Bailey Wenz of Gillette, Wyo.; Ariana Herrera of Grand Junction, Colo.; and Laura James of Castle Rock, Colo.

                The women have just 13 matches on their schedule. After the season opening contest against Division II national power Colorado Mines, the team will face Dodge City Community College at home on Sept. 2. The Cougars will also face Region IX opponent and No. 5 ranked Laramie County Community College twice along with an encounter with Hutchinson Community College, who the Cougars faced last year in the District playoffs.

                The Cougar women also picked up a game earlier this week when they added a game at Boulder, Colo., against the University of Colorado Gold team.

                Rasnic said the women have a tough schedule.

                “It will be a pretty grueling schedule,” he said. “We certainly feel that this year’s teams, both men and women, will be worthwhile coming out and watching. We certainly hope we can get a lot of fans out to cheer on the Cougars and help us move into a positive direction.”

WNCC men's soccer team opens season Saturday in Cheyenne

               Western Nebraska Community College soccer coach Todd Rasnic is cautiously optimistic about the kind of success his men’s soccer team might have this season.

               Rasnic attributes his optimism to the type of play the Cougars showcased in posting a 1-1-1 record against four-year NCAA Division II schools during the preseason.

               “We are cautiously optimistic about our changes this year,” the seventh year head coach said. “We have seen in the first three competitive efforts an improvement in the level of play. This team is a little bit different than in years past in that our roster size is good. The players are pretty consistent with the starting 11 and then the players coming in after that. The consistency is staying about the same in creating a potential successful season. We have a lot of work to do, but they are looking like they can do something special this year.”

                The Cougar men will open the regular season on Saturday when they face Northwest Kansas Technical College at noon in Cheyenne, Wyo. After that, they will have four straight home matches in six days beginning Sept. 2.

                Rasnic said that Northwest Kansas is a first-year program that he is not taking lightly after what Otero Junior College did last year. Otero was in its first season of soccer and captured the Region IX title and competed at the national tournament. The Rattlers enter the season ranked seventh in the NJCAA preseason polls.

                “Some first year teams are fantastic or they struggle that first year. But we are pretty cautious of how we approach that game because last year, you saw with Otero coming into our region, some of us underestimated the potential of the new team in the region and they ended up in the national tournament. You have to be very careful that you approach each game in the same way making sure your players are prepared to play at the highest level.”

                The men’s team played well the past weekend against RMAC opponents Metro State and Regis. The Cougars fell to Metro 2-1 on a goal in the last seconds and then tied Regis 2-2. Rasnic said it was good to see that kind of competition heading into the regular season.

                “We have a few things still to work on before the opener,” Rasnic said. “We still need some work on our set-piece defense. We played teams this past weekend that could find weaknesses in our system and it was good for us to see areas that we need to work on. Overall, we are ready to start, but at the same time we will continue to make changes to continue to improve as the season goes along.”

                The Cougars return seven from last year’s 5-12 record. The returning players have plenty of talent, led by Luis Tapia of Evanston, Wyo.; Jose Netto of Brazil, Manolo Garcia-Oronoz of Puerto Rico; Riley Mathis of Cheyenne, Wyo.; Seedy Ali-Sarr of Banjul, Gambia; Jesus Alvarado of Cozad; and Ricardo Marropula of Lexington.

                These seven, however, are just part of a team that boasts plenty of talent.

                The newcomers include Mason Nab, Joey Rasnic and Cody Thompson from Gering. The newcomer group also includes Armando Lezama of Lincoln; Mauricio Serrano and Ivan Nava Hernandez of Aurora, Colo.; Banoucarr Sarr and Edrissa Mendy of Banjul, Gambia; Yanis Gabon of Paris, France; Jacob Santos of Hovma, La.; Mark Hubbard of Preston, Idaho; Kyle Gonzales and Matt “Tiki” Lee from Windsor, Colo.; JC Fernandez from Denver; and Erwin Sanchez, Adhemar Lino, Darwin Caranza, and Christian Coronado from Bolivia.

Rasnic said having this much talent is a nice luxury.

                “That is the nice thing about this year in that we are not pointing to just one, two or three players to lead the team,” he said. “And one of the advantages this year is we have several forwards that can run through and keep a very high level of play going in pressuring defenses and keep them on their heels.”

                The Cougar men are hoping that this season can be special. The last time the men’s team had a winning record was back in 2003, the program’s first year of existence. That year, they finished 11-6-1 and won the regional championship. This year’s team resembles that team in many ways.

                “A lot of years, there is different ways you judge of which players start games in different positions and what we are doing right know is result oriented-type rotation,” Rasnic said. “If a player is producing well, they are getting more time in the game and it has been working out well so far. Hopefully, as the season moves along, we continue to stay healthy.”

WNCC volleyball team set to open season Friday at Council Bluffs

                After weeks of intense preseason practices, the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team is more than ready to kick off its regular season.

                The defending national champions, who are ranked No. 1 entering the season for the first time in school history, should get plenty of early tests this weekend when the Cougars compete in the Iowa Western Invite in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

                The Cougars open play Friday when they face Hillsborough Community College and Missouri State-West Plains followed by Iowa Lake Community College and Jefferson College on Saturday. WNCC coach Giovana Melo said this team is ready to go.

                “The team is ready to see where we stand,” Melo said. “We have been practicing for a while know and we had a couple scrimmages and they are just ready to see how they do and see what they can put together in this tournament. For me, I have been waiting to get this season going for awhile. You get to the point in the season where and you get excited to see what they are able to put together and what they are able to do on the court.”

                There is now denying that this team has the talent, but it is raw talent. The Cougars have five sophomores on the team, three of which were starters a year ago in 5-foot-10 Debora Araujo, Lais Soares, 5-10 middle/rightside hitter, and Fernanda Goncalves, 5-9 setter. Also returning from last year is Scottsbluff’s Jodi Huddleston, a 6-0 middlehitter. The other sophomore is Dani Grace, a 5-11 transfer from Lamar Community College.

                The other eight players on the team are all newcomers and they are making quite an impression so far in practices. Melo said it is important that the entire team improves each time they step onto the court.

                “We are trying to take it one step at a time,” she said. “We are very young and I think those girls still have a lot to learn. We have to go slow with them and this weekend will be good for them to see what we have in our league and what we have to face every tournament that we go to. I think it is pretty important for them to take one step at a time and gain experience as we go.”

                The freshmen include Danika Youngblood (5-9, South Jordan, Utah); Alyssa Olson (5-9, Longmont, Colo.); Alex Rivera (5-6, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico); Alyssa Ostrander (6-0, Gordon); Abbey Wade (5-11, Roseville, Calif.); Tasha Meyer (Honolulu, Hawaii); Taylor VanderWerff (6-1, New Orleans, La.); and Megan Johnson (5-11, Sandy, Utah).

                Melo said this talented freshmen group is making strides each day in practice.

                “All the freshmen are improving,” she said. “Obviously the sophomores know where we are at and they have some little things they have to improve, but I think the freshmen have been getting better every day.”

                The biggest thing the players have to get used to is playing with a target on their back. That target was made even bigger after the Cougars were picked as the preseason No. 1 team. It is also the first time WNCC has been preseason ranked No. 1. They have, however, been number one during different parts of previous seasons.

                “You definitely know that being number one that everybody comes after you with a target on your back,” Melo said. “ But, I don’t think that is really important to me, it is important of how the team is playing and how much we are getting better every day. The ranking is good but it really doesn’t matter before the season.”

                The team has showed some spurts of greatness during their scrimmages last week, facing Nebraska-Kearney and Bellevue College,

                “We saw some really good things, we saw some bad things, and we saw some OK things,” Melo said. “I am now looking toward the team consistency and getting them to play as consistent as we go.”

                The Cougars will not have an easy schedule by any means of the imagination. After this weekend, the Cougars will compete in the Salt Lake Invite where they will play Salt Lake Community College, College of Southern Idaho, College of Eastern Utah, and Northwest College. They will also host a very tough Wyo-Braska tournament this year. The Cougars are slated to face No. 3-ranked Western Wyoming Community College, Barton Community College, Air Force Prep and Laramie County Community College.

                “It seems like it will be a pretty tough schedule,” Melo said. “We are playing some pretty good teams and that is good for us right away, and we are starting with two great teams right away [at Iowa Western]. It will take a lot more than what we have been doing to win another national title. We are a far ways from that.”

                The Cougars will open the home season on Tuesday, Sept. 6 against Eastern Wyoming College and will finish the season by hosting the Region IX tournament the first weekend in November.

WNCC volleyball will host alumni game, pancake feed this weekend

                 The community will have a couple opportunities to meet and watch the pre-season No. 1 ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team this weekend.

                The Cougar volleyball team will host former Cougar players in a scrimmage Saturday at 5 p.m. at Cougar Palace. Fatima Balza, who is now a Cougar student assistant coach, will suit up for the alumni. Balza earned three national championship rings. She earned an NJCAA national championship ring for WNCC in 2007 and then back-to-back championship rings for Penn State University in 2009 and 2010.

                On Sunday, the WNCC volleyball team will hold an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost is $5 a person at WNCC’s Cougar Den. Tickets can be purchased from any player or coach, or at the door.

                WNCC will open the regular season Aug. 26-27 at the Iowa Western tournament. The Cougars will face Hillsborough and Missouri-West Plains on Friday and then Iowa Lakes Community College and Jefferson College on Saturday. Their first home game is slated for Tuesday, Sept. 6 against Eastern Wyoming College. The Lingle-Ft. Laramie and Leyton high school volleyball teams will also play before the college match at Cougar Palace.

WNCC soccer teams perform well against Midland Lutheran

    FREMONT -- The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer teams started preseason action by performing well in scrimmages against Midland Lutheran University in Fremont Sunday.

               Both teams played three 30-minute halves instead of the regular two 45-minute periods. The women received a third-period goal from freshman Ashley Baker to tie the Midland women 1-1, while the men received two goals from Baboucarr Sarr to register a 3-1 win over the Warriors.

               WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said there were good things he saw but more importantly he said they can use this scrimmage to work on specific parts of their game before their next scrimmages next weekend.

               "We played pretty well on the men's side," Rasnic said. "The men pretty well dominated play. We pressured their goal a lot with eight shots on goal. Overall for the women, defensively we looked OK. We still have some things to work on such.

               The men controlled the Warriors from the get go. Seedy Sarr, a sophomore from Gambia, started the scoring by heading in a corner kick from Darwin Carranza. Sarr's brother, Baboucarr, scored the Cougar's final two goals. The first came from an assist from Erwin Sanchez and the second from Manolo Garcia-Oronoz.

               The WNCC men finished with eight shots on goal, hitting the back of the net three times.

               The women found the scoring harder as they had just one shot on goal but also scored on that shot. The two Centennial, Colo., graduates teamed up as Baker took a pass from Kelsey Newby for the tying goal.

               Both teams will be back in action this weekend for a pair of scrimmages when they travel to Denver. The Cougars will face Metro State on Friday and Regis University on Sunday. The men will then open the regular season on Aug. 27 when they face Northwest (Kan.) College in Cheyenne, Wyo. The women open the regular season Aug. 28 when they travel to face the Colorado School of Mines.

WNCC hosting Fall Baseball League

Western Nebraska Community College will be hosting a six-week Fall Baseball League for players ages 7-18 on Wednesday nights beginning Aug. 24.

                The league will include baseball games coached and umpired by Cougar baseball players and coaches. League games will be played at the 23 Club Fields as well as Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff. Ages 7-14 will play games from 6-7:30 p.m. and ages 15-18 will be from 6:30 -8 p.m. The cost is $30 per player.

                The Fall Baseball League will be a chance for players to work on their skills outside of the baseball season while playing games. Instruction will be given during the games to help players fine-tune their skills for next season.

                League nights are Aug. 24, 31, Sept. 7, 14, 21, and 28. Contact WNCC head coach Mike Jones for more information or to register at (308) 635-6198 or jonesm@wncc.edu. League registration forms may also be downloaded from the Cougar athletic website at sports.wncc.edu.

WNCC volleyball team earns No. 1 ranking in preseason poll

               The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will begin this season the same way it ended the last one — ranked No. 1.
               The defending national champion Cougars received the top spot in this year’s NJCAA Division I Preseason Poll, which was released on Wednesday afternoon.
               For fourth-year WNCC coach Giovana Melo, the initial ranking wasn’t a surprise based on last year’s successful finish.

               “I am not shocked because we finished first [last year] and have some pretty good returning players,” Melo said. “But I didn’t expect to be first.”

               Melo said the ranking puts a bit of added pressure on her young and talented squad as it continues to prepare for the upcoming season.

               “That ranking does put a lot of pressure on us, but it is good pressure,” Melo said. “They have showed [so far in practice] that we can be a talented team, but now they have to show how they will do after seeing that they are ranked No. 1. That national ranking definitely puts some pressure on them.”

               Being ranked No. 1 is nothing new for the Cougars. However, this is the first time in history that WNCC has been ranked No. 1 entering a season. The Cougars were preseason ranked No. 2 in 2009 and No. 3 in 2005. Last year the Cougars entered the season at No. 5.

               WNCC held the No. 1 ranking during the regular season on a couple of different occasions under former coach Chris Green before winning the school’s first national championship in 2007.

               WNCC sophomore Dani Grace, who transferred in last spring after playing a semester at Lamar Community College, said many of the team members were elated and cautious when they first learned of the No. 1 ranking after the conclusion of Wednesday’s practice.

               “I was actually shocked and I didn’t know that we would be that high. But at the same time, it is exciting,” the sophomore from Hawaii said. “I believe we can do it [win another national title] again with the way our team is progressing right now.”

               Two other Region IX teams joined WNCC in the top 15 of the preseason rankings. Western Wyoming Community College is No. 3 and Northeastern Junior College is ranked No. 13. Casper College received honorable mention votes.

               Western Wyoming, which is from the Region IX North Sub-Region, finished third at the national tournament last year. The Mustangs were one of the few teams to hand WNCC a loss last season. That took place last September during the Wyo-Braska Shootout in Scottsbluff.

               Sandwiched between WNCC and Western Wyoming at No. 2 in the national rankings is Miami Dade College. Iowa Western Community College is No. 4 and College of Southern Idaho is No. 5.

               Rounding out the top 10 is Blinn College at No. 6, Salt Lake Community College at No. 7, Midland College at No. 8, San Jacinto College at No. 9 and Eastern Arizona College at No. 10.

               The Cougars beat Blinn, Salt Lake and San Jacinto on its way to the national championship last year.

               WNCC has won 12 straight Region IX South Sub-Region titles and has advanced to the national tournament 12 years in a row. The Cougars have finished in the top four at nationals in four of the past seven seasons.

               While being recognized as a national power is a nice honor, Melo said it makes it that much tougher to stay near the top every year.

               “Obviously, to be a national power is something fun to be part of. But every team is different and every year is a different year, so we have to take it one step at a time to stay up there,” Melo said. “It is great to be a national power, but you never know what the next year will turn out like and it is harder to stay a powerhouse every year.”

               WNCC opens its regular season Aug. 26-27 at the Iowa Western Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Cougars’ first home match will be on Sept. 8 against Eastern Wyoming College.

NJCAA Division I Volleyball Pre-season Poll

1.       Western Nebraska Community College (43-4)

2.       Miami Dade College

3.       Western Wyoming Community College (40-7)

4.       Iowa Western Community College

5.       College of Southern Idaho

6.       Blinn College

7.       Salt Lake Community College

8.       Midland College

9.       San Jacinto College-Central

10.    Eastern Arizona College

11.    Arizona Western College

12.    Florida State College at Jacksonville

13.    Northeastern Junior College (30-8)

14.    Temple College

15.    Jefferson College

16.    Barton Community College

17.    North Idaho College

18.    Seward County Community College

19.    Seminole State College

20.    Yavapai College

21.    Wallace State Community College-Hanceville

22.    Hillsborough Community College

23.    Panola College

24.    Snow College

25.    State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota

WNCC soccer teams open preseason practices Tuesday with plenty of talent

 Western Nebraska Community College soccer coach Todd Rasnic was impressed with what he saw from his men’s and women’s team on Tuesday after the first practices of the season.

                “So far so good,” Rasnic said. “We have good numbers this year and it looks like we have players that are a little more technically skilled then what we had the past couple years. Obviously it is pretty early in the preseason to have any discussions further than that. The first day out, they did a nice job and they certainly worked hard and that is what I am looking for at this point.”

                But, what Rasnic loves about the two teams is the talent level that they process.

                “Both teams have good talent,” he said. “Right know we have a few players on both teams that come from lower elevations so it might take a couple weeks for them to get adjusted to the air here. We will see here as practices progress in the next couple weeks just how good the teams will be.”

                The Cougar men will have a roster of 25 players and the women will have 18 players and the two squads definitely have key players returning from last year.

The women’s team returns eight players from last year’s Region IX runner-up team, including the team’s top four leading scorers. They include Brittany McNeil, who chipped in 12 goals last season, and Kristi Blicharz, who had 10 goals, followed by Ashley Gleason and Leticia Lopes. Also returning for the Cougar women include Fernanda Acorinte, Quincy Jackson, Alex-Rachelle Tekler, and Tiffany Snethen.

                The men return nine players from a year ago, including a couple of the team’s leading scorers in Jose Netto and Manolo Garcia-Oronoz. The other six returning sophomores include Luis Tapia, Riley Mathis, Seedy Ali-Sarr, Jesus Alvarado, Corban Sipfle, Brian Ramirez, and Ricardo Marropulia.

                The Cougar men also recruited four former Nebraska high school players for the coming year. They include Gering’s Mason Nab, Joey Rasnic and Cody Thompson, and Lincoln Northeast’s Armando Lezamo.

                The major issue for the 43 players so far is the heat and humidity as they practice at the Landers Soccer Complex.

                “Obviously they will be battling the heat in the games as well as practice and we certainly want them to train in game situations,” Rasnic said. “So, they will have to come out and be in this heat for the next 17 days just to get used to playing in the heat when the season starts. We hope to get them well-versed in the art of hydration because it is real easy to get dehydrated out here.”

                WNCC will have several scrimmages before they open the season on Aug. 27. Both teams will have alumni scrimmages on Saturday with the women going at 10 a.m. and the men at 6 p.m. After that they will have scrimmages against Midland Lutheran College, Metro State and Regis University.

                The Cougar men will then open the season Aug. 27 when they travel to Cheyenne, Wyo., to face Northwest (Kan.) Tech before their home-opener Sept. 2 against Dodge City Community College.

                The Cougar women will wait until September to open the regular season when they host Dodge City Community College on Sept. 2 followed by Pratt Community College on Sept. 3.

WNCC volleyball begins preseason practice with hopes of winning back-to-back national titles

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team’s bid for back-to-back national titles started Monday with the Cougars opening preseason practices with just four players returning from last year’s NJCAA national championship team.

               Even with just four players back, this year's squad packs plenty of punch, enough to make the coaches eying the talent with eagerness.

               "The first day of practice went pretty good. We got to see them compete against each other," WNCC fourth-year head coach Giovana Melo said. "I think we have some pretty athletic girls and we [the coaches] are really excited."

               Lais Soares, one of the returning sophomores, said practices are going well with a lot of expectations riding on their shoulders.

               “Practice has been going good. There are different freshmen and sophomores and it has been going better then I think,” she said. “We are working together right know and we have high expectations to win a national championship again.”

               There is no doubt there was plenty of talent that took to the Cougar Palace floor for Monday's opening practice. For the freshmen, they are walking onto a volleyball program that has been one of the elite teams in the nation the last 10 years, including capturing national titles in 2007 and 2010, a runner-up finish in 2006, and third-place finishes in 2008 and 2009.

               Abbey Wade, a freshman outside hitter from Roseville, Calif.,  is excited to see all this talent on one court.

               “I am excited for this upcoming next [afternoon] practice because we will practice together for the first time and I think we will do pretty good,” Wade said. “I think there is a lot of talent on that court and we are going to mesh well together.“

               Melo said, however, said while there is plenty of talent, there still is work that needs to be done.

               "There is some pretty good talent but also a lot of work that we have to do," she said. "I think the freshmen coming in is a good group and some of them are coming in from playing a lot of volleyball with club teams year round."

               The Cougars will endure two-a-days for the next 12 days, including some team-bonding activities. For the first day, it has been pretty light in the morning and then more intense in the afternoon. The team even expects the practices to get more intense as the preseason workouts continue.

               “It has been easier than I thought it would be,” Wade said. “We have been focusing on the little things, like passing a lot for today. We also ran some. The sophomores keep telling us that practices will definitely get hard so be ready.”

               The Cougars’ four returners include Soares, along with Scottsbluff High’s Jodi Huddleston. They also return Debora Araujo and Fernando Goncalves. Goncalves was the NJCAA tournament MVP last season and a first-team NJCAA all-American. Aruajo was a second team NJCAA all-American.

               The other sophomore is Dani Grace, a 5-foot-11 hitter from Alea, Hawaii, who played last season at Lamar Community College.

               The freshmen along with Wade, include Gordon’s Alyssa Ostrander, a 6-0 rightside/outside hitter. The other newcomers include 5-9 Danika Youngblood of Bingham, Utah; 5-9 Alyssa Olson of Longmont, Colo.; 5-6 Alex Rivera of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico; 5-8 Tasha Meyer of Honolulu, Hawaii; 6-1 Taylor Vanderwerff of New Orleans, La.; and 5-11 Megan Johnson of Sandy, Utah.

               Wade said she is not scared coming onto a national championship team. In fact, she welcomes the challenges.

               “I am excited for the pressure [to win back-to-back national titles," she said. "I think that is what everybody wants -- to go to a really good team and have that expectation of winning a title. Coach says we already have a target on our back now because everyone wants to beat us. Everybody on this team wants to win that national championship again for 2011 so we are going to work hard to do that."

               WNCC will have two scrimmages on Aug 19 at the University of Nebraska-Kearney and then a home scrimmage against WNCC alumni on Aug. 20. The Cougars will open the season on Aug. 26 and 27 when they compete in the Iowa Western tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Cougars first home match is slated for Sept. 8 against Eastern Wyoming College.

WNCC volleyball camps begin next week

The Cougar volleyball camps that start next week provide a good way for the college volleyball staff to interact with the community and to offer valuable instruction to local youth, WNCC’s head volleyball coach said Thursday.

                “I think summer camps are a very important part of Cougar volleyball because we are here to help those younger girls succeed in the sport and help them get better at it,” said coach Giovana Melo, who was recently selected as the Omaha World Herald’s Midlands Coach of the Year. “The state of Nebraska lives and breathes volleyball and we have the opportunity to show those kids what we do in our gym.

“It is very important that our players interact with the campers as much as they possibly can because they have been in their shoes before and they know how excited each camper is to be here. They will have lots of fun in our camp as well as learn a lot from it.”

                The first of the many Cougar volleyball camps begin Monday, July 11 with a 2-day Little Cougars camp for girls in 4^th through 6^th grade. The camp runs July 11 and 12. The camp will run from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. with an hour lunch break at 11:30 a.m.

                The second camp will be July 13 and 14 will be an individual skills camp for 7^th and 8^th graders from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with an hour break for lunch.

                Former Cougar and Gering High volleyball players Whitney Roth and Brooke Blomenkamp, along with Melo and assistant coach Cesar Benatti, will help instruct these two camps.

                The second week of camp will include a setters and hitters clinic on July 18 and 19 for girls in sixth through ninth grades from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. , followed by an individual skills camp for girls in the night through 12 grade July 20-21.

                These camps will be taught by Melo, Benatti, assistant coach Lindsey Gonzalez and former Cougar and Scottsbluff volleyball star Mackenzie Westphal.

                The final week of camps will be July 25 and 26 with a setters and hitters camp and then a team camp on July 28 and 29. The setters and hitters camp is for girls in the 10^th through 12^th grade. The team camp is open to junior varsity and varsity high school teams.

Fatima Balza, who won three national volleyball titles during her collegiate career, will help instruct the camp. Balza won a national title for WNCC in 2007 and then helped Penn State win national titles in 2009 and 2010. Balza will also serve as an assistant coach for the Cougars this coming season.

                Melo encourages pre-registering for the camps, but will take registrations the first day of each camp. Individuals can register online at www.wnccvolleyball.com or download a camp flyer off the Cougar website at sports.wncc.edu.

                For more information, contact Melo at  melog@wncc.edu or at 308-635-6028.

5 WNCC Cougar athletes earn NJCAA Acadenic Honors

            Five Western Nebraska Community College athletes received NJCAA academic honors for the past year.

                WNCC volleyball players Kathryn Stock and Emily Hoehn earned Superior Academic honors. Stock earned a grade point average of 3.95, while Hoehn had a 3.83 GPA.

                Hauns Brereton and Preston Eaton from the men’s basketball team, and Tim Beard from the baseball team all earned Exemplary Academic Achievement recognition. Beard had a 3.75 GPA, Brereton a 3.76 GPA and Eaton a 3.6 grade average.  Over 1,470 NJCAA student-athletes met the requirements for individual academic honors and more than 370 teams qualified for academic team accolades.

                The honor is a tremendous accomplishment for the five athletes since they juggled sports and academics.

                “Being named Academic All-American is a huge privilege. It is such an honor to have my passion for learning and sports commemorated on a national level,” said Hoehn, who will be attending C.W. Post-Long Island on a volleyball scholarship. “The secret to juggling sports and academics lies in your priorities. After a day filled with classes and a strenuous practice, it is hard to focus and study properly for your classes. You have to be persistent and tenacious.”

                Eaton credits his parents for instilling in him the importance of hard work.

                “My parents taught me the importance of hard work at an early age because without hard work you can't accomplish much in life,” the freshman from Mapleton, Utah, said. “Being named to academic All-American means a lot to me because it is a public recognition and approval of one of my priorities in my life and that is the pursuit of excellence. It makes me feel good about all the work I have done and grateful for all the people who helped me along the way.”

                The five athletes said the coaches at WNCC put a huge emphasis on grades. Beard, a communications major from Australia, credits his academic success to his pitching coach Ulysses Roque.

                “Coach Roque really drilled into us pitchers how important grades are if, one, we want to play Division One baseball and, two, If we wish to ensure a financially successful future,” he said. “I really don’t think there’s any secret to juggling sports and school. The trick is to go to class and do your work as soon as you can. It is nice to be recognized for performance off the field.”

                Hoehn said the volleyball coaches, Giovana Melo and Cesar Benatti, underscored the importance of academics with mandatory study hall.

                “Every night for four nights a week, we had a two-hour mandatory study hall,” the Kearney Catholic High School graduate said. “This helped me limit my distractions and dedicate two solid hours to studying. It’s nice to know that my coaches are concerned not only with my present, but also with my future.”
                Hoehn, who is majoring in environmental science, said she learned the value of an education from her parents.

                “From a young age,” she said, “my mom taught me the importance of having an education, especially as a woman. She always told me in order to have a strong foundation for life, I need a strong education to support myself. My father taught me the value of passion and diligent effort. He never let me quit and through his examples has taught me that if you don’t push yourself to excel in every aspect of your life, you are cheating yourself from achieving your ultimate abilities.”

                Like Hoehn, Beard said the hours the baseball team put in during study hall paid off.

                “Coach [Mike] Jones definitely had a strong influence on this achievement. He is very big into making sure we get our school work done, and the hours he made us do in study hall really helped,” Beard said. “Coach Jones and Coach [Ryan] Burgner really policed our hours in study hall during the spring. Their consistency of making sure we were getting our work done helped.”

                Eaton, who is planning to major in psychology, said one of the rules that the men’s basketball team had was to attend study hall throughout the year. He added getting good grades comes down to one thing – one’s desire to succeed.

                “The secret to juggling sports and school work is managing your time effectively,” he said. “It also comes down to desire. If you want something and desire it, you will make time and do all that is necessary to obtain it. That is why I credit my parents for most of my academic success because they taught me the importance of hard work at an early age. Without hard work you can't accomplish much in life.”

Hoehn, who won a national title with the Cougar volleyball team last November, said that coming to WNCC was like a second home.

“I really would like to thank all of the fans, teachers and coaches at WNCC because you really made coming to Scottsbluff feel like a second home,” she said. “Without you, I wouldn’t have succeeded so well at WNCC.”

The 2010-2011 season marks the 28th year the NJCAA has recognized the success of its student-athletes in the classroom. With minimal changes, the NJCAA academic awards program has been in place since 1983.