WNCC sweeps McCook in volleyball action

From Sept. 25, 2012

                Luiza Martins and Morgan Broussard ran the 6-2 offensive to perfection Tuesday night as the No. 3 Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team had little trouble in sweeping past McCook Community College 25-9, 25-10, 25-9.

                “We have been working on that [6-2 offense] a lot,” Broussard said. “I know that is one of the things that Coach wanted to see us doing at the end of the season. We are starting to run it early and it should help us out a lot.”

                Broussard said the team is starting to hit its stride and it is nice that they have put together a string of 16 straight matches.

                “It is nice to have that streak but we are not focused too much on the wins; we are focused on getting better each time,” she said. “That, getting better is our main goal.”

                With the 6-2 offense that the Cougars showcased Tuesday night, they took a huge step in getting better. Martins and Broussard combined for 39 set assists, 23 from Martins and 16 from Broussard as the Cougars showed plenty of depth in the South subregion win.

                “The 6-2 offense should be a big threat for other teams and it is good for us all to play in different roles and get different people on the court,” he said. “Every person has something to give out which is nice. We are all ready to play and that will really help out.”

                The Cougars had a plethora of hitting stars Tuesday night. The team combined for 45 kills on just six hitting errors. Kat Agson paced the Cougars with 11 kills followed by Danika Youngblood with eight, Allora Tanner and Yoro Tovar with seven each, Lauren Knox with six, and Megan Johnson with four.

                WNCC also took away the net game from the Indians, recording 12 blocks in the match. Tanner finished with four assisted blocks, while Johnson had one solo block and two assisted blocks. Lyndsay Wehkamp also had two assisted blocks.

                Broussard said the team just played well and if they can fine tune the 6-2 offense, they could be a dangerous team heading down the stretch.

                “Tonight we did good. Our serves were a lot better. We did send a few out and into the net, but I think we got a lot better with our serves and our hitting accuracy. We had a lot of fun, too,” she said.

                WNCC quickly jumped out to a 13-4 lead behind strong serving from Martins, Johnson and Youngblood. McCook sliced the lead in half at 18-9, but a Agson kill and then six Tovar service points gave WNCC the first set 25-9.

                Martins served eight straight points to start the second set before Broussard served three points, including an ace, for a 15-4 lead. McCook came back to cut the deficit to 18-8, but a Tanner Kill and timely hitting gave WNCC the second set 25-10.

                The third set was close at the beginning as WNCC held a slim 9-5 lead. After that, the Cougars strong serving game surfaced as Alex Rivera served five points for a 15-5 lead and then Broussard had three points on an ace and two Johnson kills. Moments later, Tanner hammered home another kill and WNCC would come away with the 25-9 win.

                Broussard had a excellent match on Tuesday, finishing with three aces to go along with her 16 set assists and six points. Martins had 23 set assists and 12 points.

                Defensively, Alex Rivera had 17 digs followed by Youngblood with five, and Kasey Lafitaga and Lauren Knox each with four.

                WNCC, 22-2, will next be in action Thursday when they host Otero Junior College at 7 p.m. The Special Olympics will be a part of Thursday’s action. After Thursday, the Cougars will host Lamar Community College on Friday followed by a home game with Trinidad State Junior College at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

WNCC volleyball finishes Wyo-Braska Classic 4-0

From Sept. 22, 2012

                The third-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team continued to flash its offensive depth in sweeping past two more opponents in the second day of the Wyo-Braska Invite on Saturday.

                The Cougars opened up the day as Danika Youngblood pounded home 18 kills as the Cougars rolled over No. 20 Central Wyoming College 25-7, 25-19, 25-19, before the Cougars combined for 40 kills in a sweep over Northwest Wyoming 25-17, 25-13, 25-20 to finish the tournament unbeaten at 4-0.

                Luiza Martins, who recorded 72 set assists in the two matches, likes the offensive arsenal she has to choose from.

                “I have confidence in all the girls [hitters],” Martins, who only has been setting since 2009, said. “I think having all these hitters along with good passing has helped me a lot. They [the players] give me confidence so I can play with the girls.”

                Overall, while the Cougars swept both opponents, Martins said they have a habit of sometimes letting up and letting teams back into sets. Fortunately, each time that happened, one of the hitters would come through with a big kill.

                “I think we played well,” Martins said. “I think we need to be better because in the third games we go down and we need to do a better job at that. But, we are playing good. We are always ready to play.”

                Martins, the freshman setter from Brazil, said she has learned how to play American volleyball.

                “I love playing with this team and I am learning a lot of things,” she said. “I am from Brazil and there we play way different than here. When we are winning, it is just an amazing feeling.”

                WNCC has been doing a lot of winning as of late. The Cougars have won 15 straight matches and have dropped just four games in their last 14 matches. Saturday was another dominating performance from the Cougars.

                In the opening match against ranked Central Wyoming, The Cougars blew out the Rustlers in the first set, winning 25-7. They accomplished it with great serving as martins started things with a four-point service run, followed by Tasha Meyer with a four-point run to put the score at 13-3. Later, Alex Rivera had a four-point run for a 20-6 lead before Martin finished out the set with four straight points.

                The next two sets were tighter. In the second set, WNCC held a 20-13 lead only to watch Central Wyoming come back to cut the lead to 22-19. After a missed serve, Martins finished off the set with two service points.

                The third set saw the Cougars build a 16-11 lead only to watch the Rustlers cut the deficit to 16-13. WNCC rebounded as they went up 21-14 on two Youngblood points and a kill. She even had a backrow kill during her serving rotation that she sent so hard that it made a dent in the floor.

                WNCC had a multitude of offensive starts in the win. Youngblood finished the match with 18 kills, three blocks, 17 digs and 10 points. Priscila Menes and Megan Johnson each finished with seven kills. Johnson also had five assisted blocks, five digs, and four points; while Mendes had two blocks, 10 digs and four points.

Also for the Cougars,  Agson had two kills; Yoro Tovar had three kills and three blocks; Martins had two blocks, 39 set assists, 13 points and 15 digs; Tasha Meyer had seven points and 10 digs; Alex Rivera had 18 digs and two aces; and Allora Tanner and Taylor VanderWerff each had two kills.

The Cougars kept spreading around the offense in the win against Northwest. In the opening game, WNCC built a 10-5 lead and led by as much as 16-11 before the Trappers sliced the lead to 18-16. Agson then powered home a kill and Meyer served four straight points for a 23-16 lead. WNCC won on a Youngblood service point.

The second set saw the Cougars hold a slim 7-6 lead before starting to open up the contest in taking a 16-9 lead and led by as much as 19-10 on two Youngblood kills. Rivera finally finished off the set with three service points as Tovar hammered home the last point.

                WNCC opened the third set 6-0 before the Trappers came back to tie things at eight on five points from Ana Jakovljevic. Both teams were knotted at 12-12 before WNCC opened things behind a Tanner kill and three Rivera points for a 16-12 lead.

                Northwest battled back to within two, 21-19, but after a missed serve, Meyer served up two points and WNCC would won the match on a Trapper missed serve.

                Youngblood led the way with 13 kills and nine digs. Tovar also pounded home 11 kills with three blocks, while Mendes had seven kills, three blocks, and eight digs.

                Also for the Cougars, Agson had four kills; Martins had two kills, two blocks, six digs, and 32 set assists; Johnson had two kills; Rivera had 13 digs and two aces; and Meyer and five digs.

                Martins said the team is a little tired right know, but they will be ready for next week when the Cougars host four matches, beginning on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against McCook Community College. After that, they will host Otero Junior College on Thursday, Lamar Community College on Friday, and Trinidad State on Saturday.

                Martins said this team has improved by leaps and bounds from the beginning of they year.

                “We can’t compare the improvement from the beginning of the year,” she said. “At the beginning we were lost and now I think we are improving step by step and we are playing well.”

Saturday’s Scores

@ WNCC

Cowley County over Sheridan, 25-12, 25-16, 25-14

Casper over Air Force Prep, 25-11, 25-14, 25-23

WNCC over Central Wyoming, 25-7, 25-19, 25-19

Casper over Dawson, 25-18, 25-17, 25-9

Cowley County over Laramie County, 25-20, 25-12, 25-15

WNCC over Northwest, 25-17, 25-14, 25-20

Laramie County over NJC, 25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 33-31

@ EWC

Northwest over Dawson, 25-12, 25-15, 25-7

Western Wyoming over Lamar, 25-8, 25-12, 24-26, 25-22

Seward over EWC, 25-27, 25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 15-13

Western Wyoming over NJC, 28-26, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19

Sheridan vs. Air Force Prep

EWC vs. Lamar

Seward vs. Central Wyoming

WNCC men's soccer downs NJC 3-2

From Sept. 21, 2012

                STERLING, Colo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team overcame a 2-0 deficit to register its first Region IX win in dramatic fashion, topping Northeastern Junior College 3-2 in double overtime Friday afternoon in Sterling, Colo.

                The win was WNCC's second of the season and first in Region IX to put the Cougars 1-3 in conference play. But, at one point, it looked as if the Cougars were not going to get the win.

                After a scoreless first half, NJC went up 2-0 with about 20 minutes to play while playing a man down. One of NJC's goals came on a penalty kick as well.

                After spotting the Plainsmen the 2-0 lead, the Cougars decided to wake up and they went on a two goal scoring spree to not the game and force overtime. WNCC's first goal came off the foot of Thomas Wright off an assist from Jacob Santos.

                WNCC continued playing hard in the final minutes and finally ended up tying the game off a Edwin Contreras goal with assists from Wright and Santos.

                Neither team scored in the first sudden death 10-minute period, and both teams nearly didn't score in the second overtime period either. But, with under a minute to play, Wright scored his second goal of the game off an assist from Kyle Gonzales to give the Cougars the victory.

                WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said while he will take the win, he wasn't pleased with how his team played overall.

                "We got down 2-0 and than we decided to play," he said. "They even got up on us playing a man down."

                The Cougars even outshot the Plainsmen taking 20 shots on frame compared to just three for NJC. The bottom line if the Cougars want to make a run to a regional title is they have to start converting shots.

                The Cougars, 2-5, will return to action Sunday when they host Lamar Community College at the Landers Soccer Complex. Kickoff for the men's game only is slated for 2 p.m.

               

WNCC wins two in Wyo-Braska Classic

From Sept. 21, 2012

                The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball captured their 13^th straight win in convincing fashion Friday in the first day of the Wyo-Braska Invite.

The third-ranked Cougars swept past Sheridan College in their first match 25-11, 25-16, 25-15 before recording nine ace serves in a sweep over Laramie County Community College 25-11, 25-16, 25-9.

                Freshman Lauren Knox, who tallied eight kills in the LCCC win, said the Cougars played as a unit all day.

                “I feel like we played pretty well. We were consistent and we played as a team,” the freshman from Broomfield, Colo., said. “Every single time we play, I notice that we are playing as a team, how much better we are getting, and it amazing to watch.”

                WNCC did have some amazing individual performances on the first day on both offense and defense.

The Cougars are definitely achieving plenty of success during its 13-match winning streak from a variety of players. On Friday, it was a multitude of players that stepped up in different phases of the game. Knox said that depth is becoming a plus for the Cougars.

                “That depth is really big right now because we have the options to set anyone who can put down a kill and we are confident in everyone that can,” Knox said. “Being able to put anyone in and having them put away a ball, being scrappy and trusting each other, it is just fun to watch.”

                Against Laramie County, who swept Seward County Community College in its season opener, the Cougars won the first set pretty easy, but the second saw the Cougars have to work. WNCC held a slim 15-13 before they started to put some distance on the scoreboard. Luiza Martins followed with the final four points for the 25-16 win.

                The third set also saw a competitive match early. WNCC held a slim 10-8 lead, but Priscila Mendes served nine straight points to go up 20-8. Know ended the match a short time later with a hammering kill.    

                Knox finished with eight kills and three digs, while Yoro Tovar had eight kills and two blocks. Also pounding home plenty of kills was Mendes with six kills, nine digs and four aces. Taylor VanderWerff also came up big with five kills, followed by Kat Agson with five and Danika Youngblood with four kills and two blocks.

                Also for the Cougars, Martins had 31 set assists, two aces and eight digs; Alex Rivera had two set assists, two aces and 12 digs; Morgan Broussard with two set assists and two digs; and Lindsay Wehkamp with three digs.

                In WNCC’s tournament opener against Sheridan College, the Cougars’ flashed plenty of hitting depth as they controlled the tempo from the beginning, finishing with a team total 34 kills, 12 blocks, and five aces.

                Danika Youngblood led the way with a double-double of 10 kills, 14 digs, and two aces. Megan Johnson also had a big game with six kills, 14 points and an ace; while VanderWerff had seven kills and four blocks.

                Also for the Cougars, Mendes had two kills and three blocks; Tanner had four kills and two blocks; Knox had four kills and three blocks; Martins had 22 set assists and five digs; Rivera had nine digs; and Broussard had five set assists.

                The Cougars will wrap up the Invite on Saturday when they face No. 20 Central Wyoming College at 12 noon before battling Northwest Wyoming at 4 p.m.

                Knox said they will need to keep playing tough to get two more wins on Saturday.

                “I think we need to stay consistent, stay as a team, and be humble,” she said.

Friday’s Tournament Scores

@ WNCC

LCCC over Seward County, 25-23, 25-19, 25-12

Cowley County over Western Wyoming, 20-25, 25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 15-7

WNCC over Sheridan, 25-11, 25-16, 25-15

Western Wyoming over Seward County, 25-23, 25-13, 25-22

Northwest Wyoming over Lamar, 26-24, 25-23, 25-18

Cowley County over Northwest Wyoming, 25-18, 25-14, 23-25, 25-21

WNCC over Laramie County, 25-11, 25-16, 25-9

@ EWC

Casper College over Lamar, 25-14, 27-25, 25-12

Central Wyoming over Northeastern Colorado, 25-15, 25-14, 25-21

EWC over Dawson, 25-11, 25-21, 25-16

Casper College over Northeastern Colorado, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17, 25-13

Central Wyoming over Air Force Prep, 22-25, 25-10, 25-15, 25-10

EWC over Air Force Prep, 25-14, 25-17, 26-24

Sheridan over Dawson, 26-24, 25-10, 25-19

Saturday’s Schedule

@ 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

@ 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