WNCC downs ranked Western Wyoming

From Sept. 20, 2012

                Freshman Allora Tanner was the spark the No. 3 Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team needed Thursday against No. 13 Western Wyoming Community College.

                Tanner, from South Weber, Utah, came off the bench and powered home a team-leading 12 kills to help the Cougars to a four-set win over the Mustangs 23-25, 25-14, 25-11, 25-18.

                Tanner said she didn’t realize she had that many kills, all she was doing was executing. The 6-foot-1 rightside hitter finished the night without a hitting error on 21 attempts. She also had three blocks on the night.

                “Coach told us what to do and I just went for what she said and got scores,” she said. “I didn’t think I had 12 kills; I was just playing. I wasn’t playing attention to the score or anything; I was just playing the game.”

                Tanner was just one of a handful of Cougars that stepped up on the night. In fact, Tanner said the big reason they came back after dropping the first set is because they were playing with energy.

                “We came back stronger [after losing the first set],” Tanner said. “I think we came back more as a team and we played together. It was just a fun game. We were all energized and everyone was playing together. I really liked it.”

                Right behind Tanner in kills was Danika Youngblood with 10 kills and four blocks, followed by Priscila Mendes with nine kills, and Megan Johnson with eight kills. Taylor VanderWerff finished with five kills, but it was her presence at the net with five blocks that stood out.

                Tanner said Thursday’s win was a solid team effort.

                “That depth is a plus because we are playing well as a team and it shows that we are having fun and working hard. That is showing on the court,” she said.

                WNCC needed this kind of energy-packed contest after what the Mustangs did in the first set. The Cougars held a comfortable 16-10 lead. That was before Western Wyoming’s Jocelyn Harper and Cindy Davis went to the service line. Harper had three straight points and then Davis served up seven points to give the Mustangs a 22-17 lead before they won 25-23.

                The loss awakened the Cougars as they next three sets their energy level was taken to a new level. Tanner said when they play at that high level, they can beat anyone. Plus, she said, they were having fun.

                The second set saw the Cougars jump out to a 9-3 lead behind strong serving from Luiza Martins and Mendes. WNCC kept playing strong, forging out to a 20-11 lead on a Tanner kill. WNCC finally won the set on a Youngblood kill at 25-14.

                WNCC kept excelling like a well-oiled machine as they combined for 10 kills and 14 service points for the easy victory of 25-11.

                The fourth set was a little scary to start. Western Wyoming grabbed a 5-2 lead behind a kill from Caitlin McInerney and later led 10-9 behind a block and kill from McInerney. Things quickly shifted as Martins and Mendes served WNCC to a 17-11 lead.

                The Mustangs cut the lead to 17-14 before Johnson had two big service points for WNCC to push the lead back to 21-14. WNCC kept excelling, especially the frontline play as Tanner came up big with a kill and a block. WNCC won the match as VanderWerff and Mendes each back back-to-back kills.

                Serving and hitting played a big part in the Cougars win Thursday. The Cougars had 10 ace serves, led by Mendes with three and Tasha Meyer and Johnson with two each. On the hitting side, WNCC finished with a 47 kills, five solo blocks, and 12 assisted blocks. They also had just 13 hitting errors.

                Martins finished the match with 42 set assists, an ace, eight digs, two kills and two blocks. Also for WNCC, Alex Rivera had three set assists and 15 digs; Youngblood adds eight digs; Mendes had nine digs; Johnson had six digs; and Meyer had seven digs.

                WNCC, 17-2 and winners of 11 straight, will return to action Friday and Saturday when they co-host the Wyo-Braska Invite with Eastern Wyoming College. The Cougars will face Sheridan College at noon and Laramie County Community at 4 p.m. on Friday.

                “It feels great [to have won 11 straight matches,” Tanner said. “We just need to keep playing hard at practices. Everything starts at practice and if we play hard at practice it will show up on the court during games.”

Cutler gets hat trick in win over Lamar

From Sept. 23, 2012

                Jack Cutler acored a hat trick and the Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team had little trouble with Lamar Community College on Sunday at the Landers Soccer Complex in posting a dominating 8-1 win.

                Cutler, who hasn't scored three goals in a match since he was six years old, said this was the offensive game his team needed. The win was the Cougar's second straight after defeating Northeastern Junior College on Friday.

                "We did well today in front of the goal and this game was good for people to get their confidence up and to score goals," Cutler said. "Jacob [Santos] finally got a goal today, so it is good for our confidence."

                Literally, there was little doubt of the outcome. The Cougars limited the Runnin' Lopes to just five shots all night. WNCC, on the other hand, punished the net for 39 shots, 17 in the first half.

                Cutler said that they need to keep this offensive intensity going in their upcoming games, which will be Friday and Saturday on the road.

                "We played a lot better today than what we have been playing," he said. "We haven't been playing very well and this is an improvement. But we have some hard games next week so we are working for that."

                Cutler said they played well both halves, but the second half was definitely their better half, scoring six times and giving the players much-need confidence in their shot.

                "The second half was a lot better and there a lot more positives from that half then the first," he said. "We really need confidence because we haven't been playing with any confidence at all, especially the forwards because haven't been getting their chances. But after the last game and this game with all the goals, the confidence should be good."

                WNCC opened the scoring just 12 minutes into the contest as Daniel Agnew scored off a corner kick from Adhemar Lino for the 1-0 lead. The Cougars' second goal was a breakaway goal. Lino led a perfect pass in front of Edwin Contreras, who went for the ball and was one-on-one with the goal keeper for the 2-0 lead in teh 23rd minute.

                Lamar ended up with a score with six minutes to play, but it was actually an own goal as a WNCC defender passed the ball back to Cougar goalkeeper Joey Rasnic, who wasn't anticipating the pass and the ball snuck into the net for the 2-1 halftime lead.

                WNCC came out in the second half with a flurry of goals, scoring six times on 22 attempted shots. Lino scored two quick goals, netting the first in the 32nd minute after taking a pass from Harry Bueno. Lino's second goal game in the 26th minute as the sophomore took a pass from Matt Lee.

                Cutler scored his three goals in the second half. The freshman from England netted his first goal on a penalty kick int eh 29th minutes. Cutler then scored back-to-back goals later in the game. His second goal came with 22 minutes left as he took a pass from Kyle Gonzales for a 6-1 lead.

                Ten minutes later, Cody Thompson found Cutler with a pass and he pounded the ball into the net for a 7-1 lead.

                WNCC finished off the scoring as Jacob Santos was fouled within the box and calmly scored the final goal on a penalty kick with three minutes to play.

                The Cougars domination was epic as they had 10 corner kicks to Lamar's one. Joey Rasnic had five saves in net.

                The WNCC men and women will next be in action Friday and Saturday when they travel to take on Otero Junior College and Trinidad State Junior College.

From Sept. 19, 2012

                The Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer team had a quick offensive start to its match with Laramie County Community College on Wednesday at the Lander Soccer Complex.

                Unfortunately, Kyle Gonzales two early goals wasn’t enough as the Golden Eagles scored four straight goals to get by the Cougars 5-3 in Region IX soccer action.

                Gonzales said the start was what they team needed, but for some reasons, they always falter down the stretch.

                “We always come out strong and then it seems the second half is our weak point,” the sophomore from Windsor, Colo., said. “I don’t know if it is conditioning or if people don’t want to go out there and fight the whole 90 minutes. We definitely need to change something. But I think today was a step in the right direction because we played a lot better than we have.”

                Laramie County drew first blood, netting the first goal just 45 minutes into the game on a Peterson Neri goal. After that, the Cougar offense kicked it into high gear.

                Gonzales tied the contest just six minutes into the contest when he took a pass from Adhemar Lino. Gonzales scored his second just two minutes later. Lino took a shot on goal and the LCCC goalkeeper deflected a touch and Gonzales was right there to put a high kick on the ball and send it into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.

                The Cougars took a 3-1 lead in the 27^th minutes when Daniel Agnew slid and kicked the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs as he was just ready to make the save. The kick went straight into the net as Edwin Contreres picked up the assist.

                The lead didn’t last long as the Golden Eagles scored two goals in the final 20 minutes to tie the game at halftime 3-3. LCCC’s first goal came on a penalty kick by Neri with 20:19 to play. The tying goal was sent in by Dino Soto.

                LCCC took the lead with 28:42 to go in the second half as Dewey Rodgers scored off an assist from Neri. The Golden Eagles added an insurance goal with 6:38 to play on a goal by Jesse Molina.

                The big difference in the contest was after WNCC got those early goals, their offensive output went south. The Golden Eagles outshot the Cougars 20-8 and WNCC only had two good scoring opportunities the rest of the game.

                Joey Rasnic was saddled with the loss in net, making seven saves and giving up five goals.

                The Cougars will look to get back on the winning track when they head to Sterling, Colo., to face Northeastern Junior College before returning home to face Lamar Community College on Sunday.

                Gonzales said that they need to just one win and build from there.

                “It starts with the first one and it builds off that,” he said. “It starts Friday and hopefully we will carry it to Sunday and keep carrying it on from then.”

               

WNCC volleyball host Western Wyoming, Wyo-Braska Classic

From Sept. 19, 2012

                The third-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will get another test this weekend as they are set to co-host the Wyo-Braska Invite, which runs Friday and Saturday.

                First off, though, the Cougars will have a battle against Western Wyoming Community College today (Thursday) beginning at 7 p.m. at Cougar Palace. This contest pits the two teams that finished second and third at the national tournament last season – Western Wyoming was the national tourney runner up.

                The match also puts together two highly ranked teams. WNCC comes into the contest with a sparkling 16-2 record and a No. 3 ranking. The Cougars have won their last 10 matches. This past weekend, head coach Giovana Melo netted her 200^th career coaching victory on Saturday.

                Western Wyoming enters the match at No. 13 after falling seven times on the year. But, the Mustangs’ 9-7 record is deceiving as they have defeated some top teams, including No. 5 Iowa Western Community College in five sets on Monday.

                After Thursday’s contest, WNCC and EWC will co-host the 14-team Wyo-Braska Invite with matches at both sites, beginning at 10 a.m. both days with the final match slated to kick off at 4 p.m.

                The Wyo-Braska Invite features many ranked teams. Besides WNCC and Western Wyoming, Central Wyoming College, who vaulted into the rankings at No. 20 will be here. Casper College, who received honorable mention votes, will also make an appearance. The big school to come to the Invite is Cowley County Community College, who is the top-ranked team in Division II.

                Other teams in the Wyo-Braska Invite included Seward County Community College, Northeastern Junior College, Northwest College, Laramie County, Air Force Prep, Lamar Community College, Dawson Community College, and Sheridan College.

                WNCC will have two matches on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, th Cougars will take on Sheridan College at noon followed by Laramie County Community College at 4 p.m. Saturday’s schedule has the Cougars facing Central Wyoming at noon followed by Northwest Wyoming at 4 p.m. Northwest Wyoming upended Western Wyoming earlier this month.

                After this weekend’s five games, the Cougars will have four straight home contests next weekend. On Tuesday, Sept. 25, WNCC will host McCook Community College followed by home contests on Sept. 27, 28, and 29 against Otero Junior College, Lamar Community College and Trinidad State Junior College.

Wyo-Braska Schedule

Friday at WNCC

10 a.m. – Seward County vs. LCCC; Western Wyoming vs. Cowley

Noon – WNCC vs. Sheridan

2 p.m. – Western Wyoming vs. Seward County; Lamar vs. Northwest

4 p.m. – WNCC vs. LCCC; Northwest vs. Cowley

Friday at EWC

10 a.m. – Casper vs. Lamar; Central Wyoming vs. NJC

Noon – EWC vs. Dawson

2 p.m. – NJC vs. Casper; Air Force Prep vs. Central Wyoming

4 p.m. – EWC vs. Air Force Prep; Dawson vs. Sheridan

Saturday at WNCC

10 a.m. – Cowley vs. Sheridan; Casper vs. Air Force Prep

Noon – WNCC vs. Central Wyoming

2 p.m. – Casper vs. Dawson; Cowley vs. LCCC

4 p.m. – WNCC vs. Northwest; LCCC vs. NJC

Saturday at EWC

10 a.m. – Northwest vs. Dawson; Western Wyoming vs. Lamar

Noon – EWC vs. Seward County; Western Wyoming vs. NJC

2 p.m. – Sheridan vs. Air Force Prep

4 p.m. – EWC vs. Lamar; Seward vs. Cowley

WNCC women's soccer falls to LCCC 6-0

From Sept. 19, 2012 --

                The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team played strong for a portion of its match with Laramie County Community College. In the end the No. 9 ranked Golden Eagles were too tough for the Cougars in earning the 6-0 win Wednesday at the Landers Soccer Complex.

                The bright spot in the contest was how the Cougars played in the first half despite giving up three cheap goals early. Other than that, the Cougars held their own against the defending Region IX champions.

                It took the teams nearly 20 minutes to find the back of the net, and unfortunately for the Cougars, the first goal was an own goal to give LCCC an 1-0 lead with 26:44 to play. One minute later, Sayit Yeneysa Mejia Bello scored the second goal with 25:42 as Bello went one-on-one with Cougar goalkeeper Patty Sylvester and made a move to go straight to the net unintended for the 2-0 lead.

                The Golden Eagles made it 3-0 win the 13^th minute off another easy scoring goal by Bella.

                Take away those three easy goals, the Cougars played tough defense against the No. 9 ranked team.

                Even in the second half, the Cougars held their own against LCCC, especially in the first 14 minutes of the second half. It was in the 31^st minute that the Golden Eagles took a 4-0 lead as Victoria Arenas scored on a 25-foot shot that went in the far top corner.

                When it rains, it pours and the Golden Eagles wasted little time in going up 5-0 as Taylor Hockley scored in the 20^th minute.

                LCCC finished out the scoring in the 16^th minute on a Sarah Kiepich goal off an assist by Courtney Lemmon.

                Despite the loss, the Cougars managed six shots in the contest while LCCC had 11. And, some of those shots the Cougars did manage were near misses. In the first half, WNCC had a good chance to score in the 11^th minute but the shot went wide. Then, with four minutes to play in the half, Ashley Baker missed on a prime scoring opportunity after taking a pass from Anna Rinaldi.

                The Cougars had three prime chances in the second half, including a shot off a corner kick, and then Breanna Smith had a shot in the 17^th minute.

                Sylvester took the loss in net, giving up six goals and making five saves.

                WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said that if this team can get refocused, they have the potential to make some noise in the final weeks of the season.

                “The ladies know where we are at, the now where we need to get to, and will just have to wait to see if the commitment is there,” he said. “If it is, we will continue to improve. They have the potential to be a pretty good team but we are nowhere near that yet. We are going to keep working hard in training to see if we can get some things fixed and getting it in moving in the right direction.”

                The Cougar women will have 10 days off before they get back on the field when they travel to Otero Junior College and Trinidad State Junior College Sept. 28 and 29.