WNCC volleyball runs past Trinidad

                [Oct. 13, 2012] TRINIDAD, Colo. -- The second-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team continued to breeze along in south sub-region play sweeping past Trinidad State Junior College 26-24, 25-12, 25-20 Saturday afternoon in Trinidad, Colo.

                The win was the Cougars 24th straight victory and it was the team's 30th win of the season. On top of that, the Cougars have now won 42 straight sets.

                The Cougars, however, came close in dropping the first set but battled back to get the first-set win 26-24. Assistant coach Fatima Balza said they were down 16-11 at one time and trailed 21-19 before tying the game at 22-22. A big key in the win was a big scoring run by freshman Yoro Tovar that helped spark the team.

                After that, the Cougars finished off the Trojans with the 25-12 and 25-20 wins.

                Priscila Mendes led the Cougars with a double-double of 10 points and 10 digs. Tovar and Danika Youngblood each tallied nine kills. Tovar also had four blocks, while Youngblood had 11 digs.

                Also for the Cougars, Morgan Broussard tallied two kills, two blocks, nine digs, and 41 set assists; Kat Agson had six kills and three blocks; Megan Johnson had five kills; Allora Tanner had four kills; Lauren Knox had four digs; Alex Rivera had 20 digs; and Tasha Meyer had five digs.

                The Cougars will be back on the road Tuesday at they travel to McCook Community College before returning home for their final home matches of the year on Friday against Northeastern Junior College and Saturday against Casper College.

WNCC soccer teams battle Northwest College

[Oct. 13, 2012]

                The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team made a strong finish to force overtime, but the Cougar men came up short against Northwest College, falling 3-2 Saturday afternoon at the Landers Soccer Complex.

                The Cougar women also played tough, but once again had trouble finding the back of the net in falling to Northwest College 3-0 in action Saturday.

                WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said both teams are hampered with injuries. Still, both teams played well in the second halves.

                "We were banged up in the men's game. We had a couple of our starting defenders out and we had to move Jacob [Santos] into the back to play defender. I have been looking at my bench right know and we are beat up with ankles and knees and pulled groins," Rasnic said. "The good news is that they are starting to get a little bit consistency in their play and they are starting to get better in the offensive third of the field. We are going to keep playing and see how the playoffs go. We get an automatic berth in the playoffs and hopefully we get up against a team that we can battle with."

                The WNCC men played much better in the second half than the first. In the opening 45 minutes, Northwest scored twice. The first goal was made by Gage Woodward, who went one-on-one with WNCC goal keeper Joey Rasnic, made a move and was wide open for an easy score in the 29th minute.

                Northwest's second goal came eight minutes later as Kris Mull scored off an assist from Woodward for the 2-0 halftime lead.

                WNCC sliced the lead in half with 20 minutes to play in the match as Daniel Agnew lofted shot from 45-feet out that looped into the net. Rasnic said that Agnew saw the goal keeper off line and hit the long shot for the goal.

                Two minutes later, though, Northwest went up 3-1 after James McMorrow scored off two fabulous saves from Joey Rasnic, but the third shot went in.

                The Cougars got to within on at 3-2 with 4:19 to play as Jacob Santos intercepted a pass and went straight to the hit and knocked the ball into the net for the score. WNCC had a couple other prime scoring chances to tie the game, but couldn't get a good kick on the ball.

                Northwest outshot WNCC 28-7 and held the corner kick advantage 3-2. Joey Rasnic made 13 saves in net.

                The women's game was a tale of two halves. The Cougar women started off strong with two early shot attempts that just missed. After that, Northwest scored its first goal with 15 minutes gone. The Trappers went up 2-0 on a goal by Samantha Schneider for the halftime lead.

                The second half saw Northwest go up 3-0 just seven minutes into the half on a goal by Samiha Simao. After that, WNCC kept fighting to get a goal as they had plenty of prime scoring chances, but couldn't put the right touch on the ball.

                Northwest out shot WNCC 20-5 and held a 4-1 corner kick advantage. Patty Sylvester had eight saves in net for the Cougars.

                Both Cougar teams will be back in action at home next Friday and Saturday when they host Trinidad State Junior College and Otero Junior College in the regular season finales.

WNCC soccer teams go overtime against Western Wyoming

[Oct. 9, 2012]

                The Western Nebraska Community College and Western Wyoming Community College men's and women's soccer teams went overtime in both matches with the Cougar teams suffering opposite results.

                The Cougar women outshot the Mustangs 21-8 but neither team managed a goal during regulation and the two 10-minute overtime periods to finish the game in a 0-0 tie.

                The men's contest had a little bit more drama as both teams battled to a 2-2 tie after regulation. Western Wyoming then scored the winning goal with 14 seconds to play in the second overtime to win 3-2.

                Patty Sylvester, the women's goalkeeper, had a superb stint in net for the Cougars, registering four saves and made some outstanding saves to thwart some Mustang shot attempts. Sylvester said that the women played well except for finding the back of the net.

                "We put a big defensive game out there. We worked really hard and all our defense stayed strong. We fought to the end and tried to put as much pressure on them as we could," Sylvester said. " Once we get a goal, it will change the whole team dynamics. All of us are just waiting for that goal to make it so we can get another goal. it will help boost our confidence to know we can do it again."

                Western Wyoming controlled the shot count in the first half, out shooting the Cougars 4-1. After that, the dominance went to the Cougars as WNCC eight shots compared to just five for the Mustangs. The Cougars had a barrage of shots with under five minutes to play, but couldn't get the winning goal in.

                The first overtime period say the Cougars manage five shots, including a near miss with under five seconds to play that escaped the foot of Ashley Baker. The second overtime also saw the Cougars dominate with five shots compared to zero for Western Wyoming. The Cougars had two close shot attempts with under two minutes to play, but couldn't score.

                Sylvester said being in goal during an overtime period is nerve racking, but she stayed cool in net.

                "it so much pressure in there," teh freshman from Loveland, Colo., said. "I feel that if I miss and let a goal in that I let the team down. So, trying to just stay positive and stay focused while communicating with everybody  that a player is covered to making sure every one is working hard so I don't have all the pressure on myself."

                Sylvester said it is frustrating how the Cougars can't get a shot to go in the back of net. It seems like the net is cursed on the Cougars side.

                "We can work it all the way down to the box and pass it around before someone takes a shot and it sky rockets or goes wide, or we will keep passing it waiting for someone to take the shot," she said. "Anytime when someone takes the shot, we just can't seem to get it there."

                While the women had trouble finding the back of the net, the men didn't have that problem. The Western Wyoming men opened the scoring first, netting a goal just 13 minutes into the contest as Jarom Stuart scored off an assist from Bernard Manuel. The score stayed that way through halftime.

                WNCC finally tied the game in the 35th minute of the second half as Jacob Santos sent a pass to Edwin Contreras, who skipped a shot into the back of the net from about 30 yards out.

                The Mustangs came back to grab a 2-1 lead as Nathan Cutler scored off an assist from Jared Jess in the 27th minute. WNCC tied the contest in the final minutes as JC Fernandez scored off an assist from Contreras with 2:22 left in regulation. WNCC had one good shot to win the contest late, but the game went into overtime.

                In the first overtime period, Western Wyoming had three good attempts with two going high. The Mustangs best change to score came with 30 seconds to play as Jess just missed. WNCC also had its chances to score as Thomas Wright missed a shot with 4:48 to go and the Cougars had another shot the missed with three minutes to go.

                The Cougars outplayed the Mustangs in the second overtime period. WNCC had three shot opportunities to win the game, while the Mustangs had two. The Mustangs final shot, with 14.1 seconds to play, proved to be the game winner as Taylor Egbert took a pass from DJ Searcy and found the back of the net as the Mustang players stormed the field and dogpiled Egbert for nailing the gamewinner.

                WNCC had 19 shots with six on frame while Western Wyoming had 13 shots with three on frame. Joey Rasnic had seven saves in net for the Cougars.

                The Cougars will be back on the field at Landers Soccer Complex on Saturday when they host Northwest Wyoming. The women kick things off at noon with the men to follow.

                Sylvester said the main goal for the women's team is to score and once that happens, then they can get more goals.

                "We just need to find the back of the net," she said. "We just need to move the ball around, keep the pressure high on the opponent, and the defense should be pretty strong. We have to make sure we stay connected and put the ball in the back of the net."

WNCC men's soccer trips NJC in double overtime

The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team out shot Northeastern Junior College 36-8 Wednesday afternoon, but needed an overtime goal by Daniel Agnew to capture a 2-1 win over the Plainsmen at the Landers Soccer Complex.

Agnew said while the team started slow, they never lost confidence despite the hefty shot advantage.

"This is a big win. We didn't start off the best, but we preceded to win it in the end," Agnew said. "It was really important to get that goal at the end. We just need to go on from this win and get a couple wins this weekend."

The number of shots the Cougars missed was not a good sign. The team knows they have to start capitalizing on those opportunities.

"Us attackers have to start scoring more goals but they will come," he said. "It was pretty physical out there, but all that matters is we came out with a win."

The match never should have went into overtime in the first place as the Cougars had an 11-3 shot advantage in the first period. Still, neither team could muster a goal. The second half saw two goals scored. The first goal game in the 27th minute as NJC knocked in a own goal to put WNCC up 1-0. Three minutes later, the Plainsmen would tie the contest as Colton Hale scored off an assist from Jacob Price.

With 20 minutes to play in regulation, WNCC had ample opportunities to put in the go-ahead goal, including two prime shots with under three minutes to play. The Cougars couldn't find the back of the net, sending the match into overtime.

In the first overtime period, WNCC managed four prime scoring chances but missed wide on the shots. That sent the teams into the second overtime and on the Cougars' first scoring change, Agnew made sure the ball was going into the net. The freshman from Ireland took a pass from Edward Contreras from just outside the box and rocketed what seemed to be a 100 mph fastball into the back of the net for the game winner.

Agnew praised the play of the defense for keeping the offense the game.

"The defense played well," he said. "We just need to start scoring more goals and get some positive results."

The Cougars not only controlled the shots, but they managed 10 corner kicks to NJC's two. Joey Rasnic also gathered in seven saves in net for the Cougars. NJC's goalkeeper Trevor Shepherd also had a good game in net, getting 17 saves. Shepherd made the biggest save with under a minute to play in the first overtime as he scrambled outside the box on teh sideline to thwart a prime Cougar scoring opportunity.

Agnew said they definitely have to put more shots in goal this weekend as they get ready to host Western Wyoming Community College and Northwest College in women's and men's doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. Friday's contest with WWCC starts at 1 p.m. for the women's contest, while Saturday's matches start at noon.

"This game was important to get a win in, but the next two games this weekend are important," he said.

WNCC sweeps Otero for 28th win

   LA JUNTA, Colo. -- The second-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team captured its 22nd straight win after sweeping past Otero Junior College 25-21, 25-20, 25-6 on Thursday in a south sub-region contest in La Junta, Colo.
               The Cougars used a balanced attack in picking up the team's 28th win of the season. WNCC also pushed its unbeaten set winning streak to 36. The last time the Cougars dropped a set was on Sept. 20 when Western Wyoming Community College won the first set at Cougar Palace.
               Morgan Broussard, who finished the match with 35 set assists, said they played well, especially in the third set.
               "The first two sets were a little rough but once we started to play our game, everything went pretty smooth," the Gering High 3-sport star said. "The score in the third set says it all. In the early sets, we were making mistakes and giving them points. We just had to pull together and play our game and it ended up as a win."
               After two rather close opening sets, the Cougars made quick work out of Otero in the third set, cruising to the 25-6 win. Broussard said the difference between the sets was they didn't make mistakes plus the team played at a very high energy level in the final set.
               "The difference was mainly we cleaned up the little things and our energy level was a lot higher," she said. "Having high intensity is big because when our energy level is high, then that is how we are going to compete. When it is low, we are still able to compete, but not at the level that we want to compete at. You always want really high energy so you can have fun with the game and do your best."
               The Cougars had some outstanding performances in the contest. Besides Broussard setting accomplishments, Yoro Tovar finished with a match high 10 kills, while Alex Rivera had six aces.
               WNCC, 28-2 overall and 5-0 in sub-region play, will be back in action Friday when they face Lamar before taking on Trinidad State Saturday afternoon in two more sub-region matches.
               Broussard said they just need to keep getting better each day and play their A game every match.
               "We just need to get better each day so when it comes time for regionals and nationals, that we will be at the level that we want to be at," she said.

WNCC volleyball sweeps Western Wyoming for 21st straight win

               ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team received 11 kills from Danika Youngblood as they fought back from an early first-set deficit to register a sweep over No. 18 Western Wyoming Community College 25-23, 25-15, 25-18 Monday evening in Rock Springs, Wyo.

               It was the second-ranked Cougars 27th win of the season and the team's 21st straight victory. WNCC has also swept its last 10 opponents and have not dropped a set in 33 straight sets.

               Youngblood said she was pleased with how the team played Monday night after a week off between matches.

               "We are pretty happy of how we played today," the sophomore outside hitter said. "We can still get better, but I thought we played with a lot of intensity and a lot of energy."

               Youngblood said she was worried for a tad early in the first, but had confidence that her team would rebound.

               "I don't know about the team as a whole, but I was nervous at the beginning," she said. "Then we got it out and started to play. I think the way we came back in the first set gives us a lot of confidence and I think during the other games we had our confidence, too. We never lost that losing point."

               Rebound from a slow start is what they did. Western Wyoming jumped on top 7-1 to open the first set and led by as much as 11-5 and 13-9. But a couple backrow kills by Youngblood kept the Cougars close. Finally, Megan Johnson and Yoro Tovar had back-to-back kills to slice the deficit to 20-19.

               A few rotations later, a Luiza Martins service point tied the set a 21-21. Western Wyoming came back to take a 23-21 on two service points, but Priscila Mendes pounded home a kill and then Mendes had three service points, which was aided by two kills from Youngblood and the winning kill by Alex Rivera for the 25-23 win.

               The second set was knotted at 5-5 until Tasha Meyer had two service points for an 8-5 lead. WNCC pushed the lead to 16-10, only to watch the Mustangs cut the lead to 16-13. Martins stopped the streak with a kill and then Tovar served up six straight points to lead 23-13 before WNCC won 25-15.

               The third set was back and forth with neither team taking more than a three-point lead. Western Wyoming led only once, at 3-2, while WNCC enjoyed three point leads on many occasions. Finally, WNCC started to open up the contest. Leading 15-13, Youngblood served up two points for an 18-13 lead and then Tovar had two smashing kills for a 21-15 lead. Tovar had the final two service points while Youngblood hammered home the match winner.

               Youngblood finished the contest with 11 kills, three blocks, five digs, and five points; while Tovar had nine kills, 11 points, three blocks and three digs. Also for the Cougars, Mendes had six kills, 12 digs and eight points; while Johnson had six kills and two blocks. Martins finished with two kills, three digs, and 33 set assists; Kat Agson had four kills, two blocks, and three digs; Rivera had eight digs and three points; and Tasha Meyer had two digs and six points.

               WNCC, 27-2, will continue its road swing with three matches this weekend beginning Thursday at Otero Junior College. They will then face Lamar Community College on Friday and Trinidad State Junior College on Saturday.

               Youngblood said this team is really meshing well right now and she isn't surprised with how well they have been playing.

               "I think we are playing well as a team and we are going hard. We can always go harder but i think we are doing good as a team," she said. "I know we are a really talented team and we still have a lot to work on, but I am not surprised [by the 33 straight set wins]."

Dig Pink night Oct. 19 at WNCC/NJC volleyball match

Breast Cancer Awareness night will be Friday, October 19th at the WNCC volleyball match vs. NJC. Match time is at 7:00 p.m.

Once again "Think Pink" T-Shirts will be sold for $10 and all proceeds will be donated to the Festival of Hope. Sponsors are Runza, Scottsbluff Screenprinting, and WNCC.

Orders for the T-Shirts are needed by Thursday, October 11th. Shirts will be available on Wednesday, October 17th. Sizes available are youth small up to adult 5XL. It is an additional $2 for XXL, $3 for XXXL, $4 for XXXXL, and $5 for XXXXXL. Call Amy Winters at 308-641-5125 or email amy@wncc.edu.

From Oct. 3, 2012

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer teams battled 50 mph winds Wednesday and they also found the scoring hard to come by in Region IX conference matches with Laramie County Community College.

The Cougar men lost to the Golden Eagles 3-0. The Cougar women fell to the No. 17 Golden Eagles 5-0 after trailing 1-0 at halftime.

WNCC had four prime opportunities to score in the second half of the mens game. The first came early in the half as Edwin Contreras just missed a shot high. The Cougars also had two free kicks into the wind that sailed high. Daniel Agnew also had a good shot attempt in front of the goal with 10 minutes to play.

LCCC outshot the Cougar men 19-5 and had six corner kicks to WNCC's one. Justin Becerra was in net for the Cougars, making five saves.

On the women's side, the Cougar women hung tough with the No. 17 ranked Golden Eagles for a half. The only goal cam in the first half came with seven minutes left.

In the second half, LCCC had the wind in its favor and scored three goals in the first 15 minutes to grab a 4-0 lead.
Bello finished off the scoring with her second goal of the game with five minutes to play for the 5-0 lead.

WNCC had plenty of opportunities to score in the opening half. Ashley Baker just missed on a sliding attempt in the 25th minute. Then, with 14 minutes to play in the first half, the Cougars had a corner kick that went high over the net because of the wind.


Bailey Wenz was in net for the Cougars in making 14 saves in net.

The Cougar men, 3-8 overall and 1-6 in Region IX play, will be back in action Friday when they host Northeastern Junior College at 3 p.m. at the Landers Soccer Complex.

The Cougar women fell to 2-7 overall and 0-6 in Region IX play. The women will have a week off before returning to action as they host Western Wyoming Community College on Oct. 12 before hosting Northwest College on Oct. 13.

WNCC volleyball sweeps EWC for 20th straight victory

From Oct. 2, 2012
TORRINGTON, Wyo. -- The second-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team captured its 20th straight victory with a sweep over Eastern Wyoming College 25-6, 25-13, 25-14 Tuesday night in Torrington, Wyo.

The Cougars, in capturing their 26th win of the season, received a nine-kill performance from Priscila Mendes and seven kills each from Yoro Tovar and Kat Agson.

WNCC coach Giovana Melo said they played well and continue to get better each time they step onto the court.

"We have been getting better in some areas and still working on some things," she said. "When some of the other girls go in, we have some miss communication, but overall we are getting better every day and that is what matters."

What really impressed Melo was in the third set, they had nine different players register a kill. She was also impress with the team's service runs.

"I am liking a lot the depth that we have and I am excited to what is to come," Melo said. "I have always been about serve and pass. That is very big. If we can serve and pass well, we can win games."

EWC started slow but got better as the games went along. Still, it was a tough mountain to climb when they got behind by eight or nine points to the second-ranked team in the nation.EWC coach Verl Petsch said that he still believes the Cougars should be the top ranked team in the nation.

"We played so well against Sheridan on Saturday but by the same token the Cougars are a different caliber team then what Sheridan is," he said. "I am really surprised, to be honest with you, that they are not the number one team in the nation right now. I think they should be. They have the depth, the talent, and they are executing really well."

EWC showed some toughness against the Cougars as Karsen Dingman hammered home a match-high nine kills. They also had a team total six assisted blocks, led by Chelsea Jones with three. The big difference in the game for the Lancers was WNCC's service runs.

In the first set, Mendes served the Cougars to a 6-1 lead. Then, with the score at 14-6, Alex Rivera served 11 straight points including two aces for the 25-6 win.

WNCC used a couple more strong service runs in the second set. Mendes served four straight for an 8-1 lead. Later, after a Megan Johnson kill, Rivera had three straight including two aces for a 17-5 lead. The Lancers' Holly Hail served three points to cut the lead to 20-11 but WNCC came back to get the win 25-13.

Once again, WNCC used strong serving as Lauren Knox five-point service run for a 12-5 lead. Luiza Martins put WNCC up 17-7 before a Dingman kill and a Holly Heil kill cut the lead to 18-11. Both teams changed sideouts a couple of times before Allora Tanner hammered home the final point.

WNCC had a plethora of individuals standout. Rivera finished with a double-double of 14 points, 18 digs, and four aces. Also stepping up was Mendes with nine kill, five digs, and eight points; Agson with seven kills and two blocks; Tovar with seven kills, two blocks and five points; Johnson with seven kills and three points; Tanner with four kills and a solo block; Lauren Knox with three kills, six digs and four point; Taylor VanderWerff with two kills; Martins with three digs, three points and 31 set assists; and Morgan Broussard with 10 set assists and two points.

The Lancers were led by DIngman';s nine kills, while Faith Banks had seven digs and Kailee Duryes had five digs from her libero position along with one kill. Chelsea Jones finished with three assisted blocks, while Alanna Freel ahd two assisted blocks. Kassie Woodie had 14 set assists, while Heil had three points.

The Lancers will be back in action this weekend when they travel to take on Western Wyoming Community College on Friday and Central Wyoming College on Saturday.

The Cougars are off until Monday when they travel to face Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo.