WNCC well represented on Omaha World Herald all-Nebraska team

WNCC volleyball is well represented on the Omaha World Herald all-Nebraska Junior College, and leading the team as captain was sophomore Bianca Rivera.

Rivera, who will be attending Creighton University next year, earned the honor after helping the Cougars to a 56-2 record this past year, including a runner-up finish a the national tournament. Rivera was just one of four Cougars to make the first team. The other include freshmen Jennifer Eichler and Leticia Kuhn at outside hitters, and freshman Soriana Pacheco at setter.

The rest of the first team went to Central Community College-Columbus. They included sophomores Heidi Zoucha and Alissa Tonniges as rightside and middle hitters, and Cassie Hall at defensive specialist.

One Cougar earned earned honorable mention recognition in sophomore Barbara Freitas. The other honorable mention recognition included Leah Anderson and Amanda Nelson, Central CC; Sara Cappel, Crystal Zwickl and Cayla Skaritka, McCook; Melissa Miller, Megan White, North Platte CC; and Kim Belina and Ashley Grube, Southeast CC.

In the Omaha World Herald article, Green said Rivera was one of the best hitters in Puerto Rico with her 39-inch vertical jump, but she made the switch to libero with ease.

"She just passes balls perfect for us," he said. "Teams learned not to serve to her. When she passes the ball, we're able to run a very quick, effective offense."

In other divisions, Chadron State College had two players named honorable mention to teh Division II all-Nebraska team. They include Patrice Henson and Jamie Mills. The Division II honorary captain was Emily Schroedeer of Wayne State.

The complete article can be viewed on the Omaha World Herald website at omaha.com or in Tuesday newspaper.

WNCC men soccer players make all-region

Eight Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer players made all-region with their play during the following season with four of the players earning first team honors.

The first team recipients include sophomores Daniel Ocampo and Romeo Jaramillo of Lojo, Ecuador, Drew Oesterle of Austin, Minn., and freshman Eloy Matos of Puerto Rico.

Second team honors went to sophomores Andreas Artunduaga of Quito, Ecuador, and Francisco Gianzanti of Salta Argentina, and freshmen Adam Rivera of Gering, and Carlos Saenz of Denver.

Other members of the first team included Rodney Chiweshe, Chris Gold, Vaughn Jolomi, Jose Rodriquez and George Hunt of Laramie County Community College; and Seth Lancaster ad Eric Nieters of Western Wyoming Community College.

Second team honors also went to Andrew Johnson, Jacob DeGennaro, Jose Arenas and Bryon Marshall of Laramie County; and Tanner Brimhall, JJ Facinelli and Victor Hiller of Western Wyoming.

There will not be a Region IX women’s soccer all-region team because there were just two teams, LCCC and WNCC, represented.

Top Cougar Events of 2006

What were your top five Cougar athletic highlights of the year?

That is the question that is being posed right know and you have a chance to voice your opinion. Yes, there were several memorable times from the women's basketball team's fourth straight regional title, the volleyball team's runner-up finish at nationals, the softball team's runner-up finish at regionals, baseball's Phillips Orta being drafted by the Mets, soccer's Bre Perkes breaking the school record for most goals in a season, John Jungers taking over the men's basketball, and many, many more. I could be typing forever to name then all. That is where you come ing.

So, let's see what you have to say about your top five and reasons why. Remember, any slanderous comments will be deleted. Just post a comment here and the results will be posted in the next Cougar Newsletter and on the athletic website.

WNCC coach Harnish pleased with 14-0 start

Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball coach Dave Harnish was more then satisfied with how his team capped off the first semester Saturday afternoon at Cougar Palace.

The Cougars, 14-0 after the first semester, used their patented intense defense to stymie the Williston State College Teton potent 3-point shooting offense in claiming a 73-37 win in the final day of the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic.

In fact, Harnish said Saturday was the best the team has played in the last two weeks.

“I thought from these three games, this was our best game. I thought this was a complete game where defensively we played well, but it seemed like the offense had a better rhythm,” Harnish said. “We shot the ball a lot better. It just felt we had better rhythm then Friday where we struggled. I thought we played well on both sides of the ball.”

One of the areas that stood out for the Cougars against Williston is the team’s depth, All 12 players on the roster scored. Early on, the team was powered by Emma Beddome and Carly Glisan, who earned starts on Saturday.

Both freshman started the game canning 3-pointers to give the Cougars a 6-1 lead and from there, they never looked back. Beddome finished the game with 12 points, while Glisan had five. Chelsea Lyles, another freshman, came off the bench to also pour in 12 points to tie Beddome for the team lead.

Harnish said this could be one of his deepest teams that he has coached in his 19 years.

“We started the game rotating a lot of kids in and out,” he said. “It is always nice to have depth, and I thought all the kids had a lot more energy and mentally tougher. It was also nice to see everyone was able to play, score and they did their job and did well.”

Harnish said unlike other years, he is not to play anyone on his roster in pressure-cooker situations.

“This is a team this year that you can play any kid at any time. Sometimes you can go deep on the bench, but you are afraid to play kids in certain situations,” he said. “There is no question that we are deep and these kids play well when they are out there and they have done that. What is nice about this team is they do play both ends of the floor well.”

Saturday, the Cougar players showcased just how good they are. The team utilized an intense defense in the tune of generating 20 steals, blocking four shots and holding a potent 3-point shooting team to 2-of-14 (0-11 in the first half) to just 37 total points.

WNCC held a commanding 43-18 lead at intermission on the strength of Beddome’s nine points. None of the other 10 players that saw action in the first half scored more than two buckets. The team also shot 53 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. More importantly, the Cougars’ bench outscored Williston’s 40-23.

Harnish said one of the reasons for the team’s over whelming victories this year – the team is winning by an average of 40 points a game – is the team’s all-around athleticism.

“This team has a little bit more size in all the positions then previous teams,” he said. “We have been good defensively with other teams but w hat makes this team so good is we can start anybody and anybody can play anywhere on the floor. This team has played better then I thinked they were.”

The Cougars will know head into the break with their next game Jan. 10 at home against McCook Community College. Harnish said that is when the next installment of the season starts.

“We have the break coming up and really there is three parts to the season,” he said. “The first part is the first semester, which we just finished 14-0. We have played well in all games and didn’t take one game off, where some years we haven’t.
The girls have played well night in and night out. The second part coming up is the second semester and that includes sub-regional games and the seeding for the regional tournament. The third part is the regional tournament.”

In the other game of the Holiday Classic, Colby Community College and Little Big Horn hooked up in a high-scoring affair that saw Colby winning 126-86. Colby knocked home 20 3-pointers on the night, including 12 in the first half, but still only held a 63-48 halftime lead.

Erin Goodhue led Colby with 26 points, including 7-of-8 from the 3-point arc. Little Big Horn put two players in the 20-point plateau. Raylee Pretty Weasel finished with 26 points including five 3-pointers, followed by Misty McCormick with 25.

Little Big Horn 48 38 – 86
Colby CC 63 63 – 126
LITTLE BIG HORN
Misty McCormick 25, Brittany Smith 8, Raylee Pretty Weasel 26, Shaleen Old Coyote 4, Laval Spotted Horse 17, Tasha Carpenter 6.
COLBY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Courtney Frimmer 16, Katie Joens 1, Jacci Tinkel 16, Erin Goodhue 26, Tamara Thomas 8, Jamie Schroeder 15, Loree Siruta 7, Vanja Zelenovic 7, Shanice Johnson 8, Sandra Sormaz 18, Ingrid Pudiner 4.

Williston 18 19 – 37
WNCC (14-0) 43 30 – 73
WILLISTON STATE
Erika Stewart 3, Sam Botsfiled 4, Kirsten Hernandez 7, Leigh Sifuentes 4, Kim Oyloe 9, Heidy Bouchard 1, Kia Herbel 9.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Kiki Taylor 3, Dana Iverson 1, Emma Beddome 12, Tiara Scott 4, Lesley Olson 4, Aurelle Derenoncourt 6, Victoria Martin 4, Alison Cheney 9, Shiraya Soto 6, Chelsea Lyles 12, Britney Hayes 5, Carly Glisan 5.

WNCC wrap up first semester with win over Southeast

NORTH PLATTE -- Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball coach John Jungers will take Saturday’s win against Southeast Community College, but he didn’t like how his team blew a commanding led to squeak by the Storm 79-73 in the final day of the Region IX shootout.

“I thought for a 40-minute game, we played well for 30 minutes,” he said. “We had some lapses and we didn’t finish them off like I hoped we would. We had several opportunities to do that.”

The Cougars held a slim 39-36 halftime lead and on several occasions in the second half, pushed the lead to 15 and 16 points much of the second half. Jungers said he challenged his team to step it up a notch in the second half.

“I told them there is 20 minutes left in the semester and I sure don’t want to be sitting down to Christmas dinner and trying to explain how we lost our last game and I don’t think they wanted to be in that situation either,” he said. “I challenged them a little bit to leave it on the floor. We have a break ahead of us and let’s get to work out there.”

They did and Matthew Akins had an excellent game finishing with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished off three assists. He also nailed a couple of 3-pointers as well.

“I have really challenged Matt and I have been hard on him because I know he has a tremendous amount of ability and potential,” Jungers said. “I think he has really responded and I was pleased with his effort tonight.”

Also playing well for the Cougars was Erik Smith, who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. WNCC also received nine points and four rebounds from CJ Hampton, and eight points each from Doradji Wilson and Ricardo De Bem. De Bem also had seven rebounds.

The Cougars will next be in action Jan. 5-6 with the New Year’s Classic at Cougar Palace. Jungers said the 10 of 12 road games this semester should pay dividends down the stretch.

“We had a decent first semester and we all grown each day. We showed we can play on the road and that will help us down the stretch,” he said. “I am encouraged going into the break at 9-3. We have made progress and gotten better from game to game. I think we have found some guys that are learning and getting better each day. That is all I can ask for.”

Southeast 36 37 – 73
WNCC 39 40 – 79
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Matthew Akiins 18, Erik Smith 17, CJ Hampton 9, Doradji Wilson 8, Ricardo De Bem 8, Chance Wallesen 5, David Busma 4, Maurice Wright 4, Keron McKinzie 2, Carl Buck 1.

WNCC women earn 13th win of season

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team overcame the shooting blues to down Colby Community College 68-39 Friday in the second day of the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic at Cougar Palace.

The Cougars show just 39 percent from the field, including an 0-11 performance from beyond the arc in the first half. But, while WNCC’s offense was struggling, its defense was superior holding Colby to 31 percent shooting and forcing 24 turnovers. In the first half along, the Cougars No. 2-ranked defense forced two 30-second clock violation and one 5-second violation as the defense stymied the Trojans defense.

“The biggest thing was that we shot the ball well all season long and we go 0-11 in the first half, which is not indicative for this team,” WNCC coach Dave Harnish, who was honored with a plague before the game for collecting his 500th coaching victory Nov. 19, said. “Defensively we were solid all night long. Offensively, it wasn’t that we weren’t getting good looks, it was we weren’t knocking them down. We got very tentative in the first half and the start of the second half. Finally, Kiki (Taylor) hits a three, and then Chelsea (Lyles) and Emma (Beddome) hits a three and finally we got more relaxed.”

The first half was ugly offensively for both teams. WNCC the game from start to finish, but the Trojans battled tooth and nail cutting the lead to 8-7 on a Sandra Sormaz bucket and then later 13-10 on a Jamie Schroeder 3-pointer.

Then it became the Victoria Martin show as the 5-foot-11 post player scored nine straight points for the Cougars to vault them to a 17-10 lead. WNCC went ahead to lead 30-23 at halftime.

Colby quickly took control in the second half as Vanja Zelenovic hit a bucket and then Schroeder had two free throws to cut the deficit to 30-27. In fact, WNCC’s shooting woes continued early in the half as they didn’t connect for their first bucket until the 17:09 mark on a Taylor 3-pointer.

WNCC, though, still struggled offensively as Colby was within 39-33 with 14 minutes to play. Things changed quickly after that as Taylor ignited the Cougars offensively converting on a four-point play after being fouled making a 3-point shot. That ignited the Cougars as Lyles and Beddome converted on 3-pointers to push the lead to 49-35.

WNCC kept the run going by scoring the next eight points for a 57-37 lead before Colby finally converted two free throws. But, it was too late as Beddome scored on back-to-back buckets to help WNCC to their 12th victory of the season.

Harnish said if it wasn’t for the defense, the result could have been different.

“We made a couple mistakes the first half where we gave up a couple threes and didn’t get out on people,” he said. “We were really good in the second half. We didn’t give them many open looks, we rotated very well. The defense kept us in there since we weren’t shooting the ball well. If we weren’t playing good defense, then it would have been a long night.”

WNCC placed there players in double figures. Martin finished with 19 points of which 12 came in the first half. Also collecting double-digits were Taylor and Tiara Scott with 11 points each.

Douglas, Wyo., graduate Jamie Schroeder led the Trojans with 16 points followed by Sormaz with 14.

The tournament continues today with Colby facing Little Big Horn College at 1 p.m. followed by WNCC taking on Williston State College at 3 p.m. Williston State was a 87-60 winner over Little Big Horn in the opening game Friday. Williston State was led by Anne Hanson with 22 points, including six 3-pointers. Misty McCormick led Little Big Horn with 25 points.

Little Big Horn 26 34 – 60
Williston State 51 36 – 87
LITTLE BIG HORN
Misty McCormick 25, Brittany Smith 2, Raylee Pretty Weasel 15, Shafeen Old Coyote 2, Laval Spotted Bear 12, Tasha Carpenter 2, Ida Backbone 2.
WILLISTON STATE
Kayla Barenthsen 7, Kayla Miller 13, Erika Stewart 6, Sam Botsfield 2, Kirsten Hernandez 6, Leigh Sifuentes 3, Alicia Long 4, Kim Oyloe 11, Heidy Bouchard 6, Anne Hanson 22, Kia Herbel 7.

Colby 23 16 – 39
WNCC 30 38 – 68
COLBY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Jacci Tinkel 4, Erin Goodhue 1, Jamie Schroeder 16, Vanja Zelenovic 4, Sandra Sormaz 14.
WESTERN NEBRASKA CC
Kiki Taylor 11, Emma Beddome 8, Tiara Scott 11, Victoria Martin 19, Alison Cheney 6, Shiraya Soto 5, Chelsea Lyles 8.

WNCC men pick up first sub-region win over North Platte

WNCC downs North Platte for sub-region win

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team took the first step in hosting this year’s Region IX tournament, and they did it in impressive fashion downing North Platte Community College 83-74 in an East sub-region tilt Wednesday at North Platte.

WNCC coach John Jungers said what the makes the win even more special is the fact they won on the road. “It is a good win for us. We are 1-0 in the sub-region and that puts us in the drivers seat,” he said. “We went on the road and took care of business. That is a tough thing to do and we went in there and took care of it.”

The key in the game was the team’s defensive effort. The Cougars held the Knights to 35 percent shooting and out-rounded the North Platte team 48-30. Ricardo De Bem, who is headed to Texas Tech next year, led the team with a double-double, 21 points and 13 rebounds.

“Our defensive field goal percentage where we held North Platte to 35 percent for the game was a big key. That was something we really wanted to focus on,” he said. “Combine that to us out-rebounding them 48-30, and with those two things, we dominated on that end of the floor for the majority of the night. We spent the last two practices really talking about that. The guys listened and I am very proud of their effort.”

The Cougars played hard throughout the contest taking a 38-31 lead into halftime. From there, they built the lead to double digits and maintained that until late.

“We extended the 7-point halftime lead and then at the end we kind of pulled our same old self of not taking very good care of the ball and making silly mistakes,” he said. “But, there weren’t as many as there have been in the past. We have gotten better.”

The Cougars placed four players in double figures. Besides De Bem’s 21 points, Erik Smith blistered the net for 19 points. CJ Hampton finished with 16 points and Matthew Akins had 11 points.

Smith, Hampton and David Busma each pulled down six rebounds, while Akins had five boards.

The Cougars will have one game left before break when they travel back to North Platte to face Southeast (Neb.) Community College on Saturday. After that, the Cougars will open the second semester with the New Years Classic at home Jan. 5-6 before playing their second sub-region contest Jan. 10 against McCook Community College Jan. 10.

“We really do have a good team. We have good players and I think when the good players come together will are a very good team,” he said. “We have one more game before exams and then we will get ready for second semester.”

WNCC 38 45 – 83
NPCC 31 43 – 74
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Chance Wallesen 6, Maurice Wright 4, Matthew Akins 11, CJ Hampton 16, David Busma 4, Erik Smith 19, Doradji Wilson 2, Ricardo De Bem 21.

Cougar men fall to Iowa Western

The Western Nebraska Community College men hung tough, but fell to Iowa Western Community College 90-79 in the second day of the NJC Classic.

The Cougars trailed 38-31 at halftime and were down by nearly 20 points in the second half, but managed to cut the lead to single digits with a minute to go on 3-pointers by Erik Smith and CJ Hampton. But, the comeback was not to be as the Cougars fell to 7-3 on the season.

Mathew Akins led the Cougars with 16 points followed by CJ Hampton with 15, Ricardo De Bem with 15, Erik Smith with 10 and Chance Wallesen with eight.

The Cougars will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to North Platte Community College for a sub-region contest. That game was scheduled for last week, but postponed to Dec. 6 after the refs were stuck in Denver because of the snow.

Cougar women go to 11-0 on season

The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team ran its record to 11-0 with a 77-58 win over Iowa Western Community College at the NJC tournament Saturday.

The Cougar women placed four in double figures in getting the win led by Victoria Martin with 15. Tiara Scott and Alison Cheney finished with 11 points each followed by Dana Iverson with 10. Also scoring for the Cougars are Chelsea Lyles with 8, Lesley Olson with 7, Aurilea Derencourt with 5, Kkik Turner with 2, and Shiraya Soto with 8.

After 11 games on the road spanning over a month, the Cougar women will be at Cougar Palace next weekend with the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic Nov. 7-9. The Cougars will open with Little Big Horn College Thursday at 7 p.m., Colby C.C. at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Williston State Saturday at 3 p.m.

Cougars claim wins at Air Force Prep Tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team not only moved to 10-0 on the season, but they set a new school record for least points allowed in downing Buckley Air Force Base 94-16 Friday afternoon in the NJC Classic at Sterling, Colo.

The Cougars defensive effort was one point better then the previous low of 17 set back in 2000 by the Air Force Junior Varsity. The team held Buckly to just eight points in each half, but neither of those were school records. The record for least points by an opponent in the first half is four set by Air Force Junior Varsity in 2000, and the record for least points in a second half is seven points set by Central Nebraska Tech back in 1979-80.

The Cougar men were also victorious with a 97-91 win over Air Force Prep to run their record to 7-2 on the season. Ricardo De Bem was the big key for the Cougars pouring in 3x points, including 16 in the first half. The team also received double figures scoring from Erik Smith with 15 and Matthew Akins with 12.

The big key was free throw shooting where the team was 29 of 32 from the free throw line for a whooping 91 percent. Smith was a perfect 10 of 10 from the line.

The Cougar women and men will face Iowa Western Community College Saturday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the second day of the tournament. That contests will be broadcast on the radio and Internet at www.kpnyfm.com.

WNCC's Panhandle Volleyball Club tryouts Sunday, Dec. 3

Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach Chris Green will conduct tryouts for the Panhandle Volleyball Club on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. at Cougar Palace. The tryout fee is $5 and the club fee is $500. Anyone in the seventh grade on up is welcome to tryout.

Panhandle volleyball club practices on Sundays and travels to tournaments in Colorado from January to April. Green has coached the Cougar women to eight straight national tournaments, including finishing second in the nation this season with a 56-2 mark.

For more information contact Green at greenc@wncc.net or 635-6028 for questions and/or more details.

WNCC game with North Platte postponed until Dec. 6

The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball game with North Platte Community College scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 29 in North Platte has been postponed until Wednesday, Dec. 6. The game was pushed back a week because the referees couldn't make if from Denver because of all the snow in northern Colorado and the Denver region.The Cougars, 6-2, will next be in action Friday and Saturday when they compete in the NJC tournament. WNCC will face AIr Force Prep on Friday and Iowa Western Community College on Saturday. Both contests will begin at 4 p.m. in Sterling, Colo.The WNCC men's basketball team have one other schedule change. The home game with the Rapid City Hardrockers on Dec. 9 has been cancelled. Instead, the Cougars will take part in the second day of the Region IX Shoot-out in North Platte against Southeast Community College.

WNCC men take on North Platte in first sub-region contest

The Western Nebraska Community College and North Platte Community College men’s basketball games will take on a different meaning this year.

Instead of just regular season contests, the contests this year will be sub-region games after WNCC was shifted to the East Sub-region after Southeast Community College dropped to Division II status.

So, tonights’ 6:30 contest at North Platte is the first sub-region contest of the year for either team. And, what makes the sub-region games even more important is the winner of the East sub-region hosts the Region IX Tourney in March.

“Whoever wins the sub-region has a chance to host the regional tournament and that is a goal that we have set,” WNCC first-year coach John Jungers said. “I don’t think anybody is going to go undefeated in the sub-region. So, I think it will be a battle and this is the first scrimmage in the battle.”

Other teams in the East Sub-region are Northeast (Neb.) Community College and McCook Community College. Previous years, the Cougars were in the Central Sub-region, which included Eastern Wyoming, Laramie County, Casper College and Western Wyoming. WNCC will still play EWC, LCCC and Casper, but they will not be count toward seedings for the regional tournament.

With that, Jungers is just hoping his team rides into North Platte and plays well. And, really, that is all he can ask of his team.

“It is an important game, but it won’t make or break our season,” he said. “It is important to go and play on the road, and North Platte is a tough place to play. They have a good team and if we can come out and steal one on their home court, that would put us in a good position in the sub-region.”

WNCC has been off since Nov. 19 when they defeated Luke Air Force Base 83-67 in the final day of the Air Force Prep tournament. Since then, the team has had a good nine days of practice and relaxation, and Jungers said they will be ready to go.

“I wasn’t really sure how the guys were going to handle this break, but I think we got some rest,” he said. “We were a little road weary and we received some time to get our legs under us and to refine some things both offensively and defensively. I think they are going to be ready to play.”

The Cougars feature three players averaging in double figures. Sophomore Ricardo De Bem is averaging 15.875 points a game. De Bem, who is headed to Texas Tech next year, is also 6.6 rebounds a game, while shooting 62 percent from the field.

Sophomore CJ Hampton and freshman Maurice Wright are also averaging double-digits. Both are scoring 14.375 points a game. Hampton has already netted 17 3-pointers on 60 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Also lighting up the nets from downtown is Bridgeport’s Chance Wallesen, who has made 15 treys on 35 attempts.

Jungers said his team is getting better each day.

“We need a better defensive effort from a consistency standpoint,” he said, “Overall, though, we are doing a better job. We are moving the ball. We are taking care of the ball and running our concepts that we want to integrate into our offense.”

North Platte, on the other hand, will feature a roster loaded with talent, including two former WNCC players, Sean Burnham and Drew Frahm, who transferred to North Platte. Burnham nailed four 3-pointers in a win against Hastings College Junior Varsity earlier this month.

After tonight’s contest, the Cougars will compete in the NJC classic Friday and Saturday. Friday the team faces Air Force Prep before facing Iowa Western Community College Saturday. Both contests are at 4 p.m.

A Fan at National Volleyball Tournament Congratulates Team

(Received this on email from a fan from the National Volleyball Tournament).

Dear Cougars Volleyball Team,

Congratulations, you girls did great! Some day I hope I will be as good as you girls. I was at the tournoument,in West Plains. My name is Lexie Waggoner, and I am 10 and from Junction Hill school. I was amazed at how high Bianca Rivera could jump!

From,
Lexie Waggoner
P.S I hope all of the girls got home in time for Thanksgiving!

Cougars fall in title match

WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Western Nebraska Community College’s bid for a first-ever national championship came up short as the Iowa Western Community College Reivers sparkled offensively and defensively in earning the National Junior College Athletic Association title Wednesday evening.

The Reivers won the title in sweeping fashion earning a 36-34, 31-29, 30-22 win over the previously No. 1 ranked Cougars. Iowa Western’s Luciana Rapach tallied 14 kills and 14 digs to earn the tournament Most Valuable Award. The honors, the national title and MVP honor, came as a surprise for Rapach.

“It is just unbelievable. I never expected that,” the sophomore from Porto Alegre, Brazil said. “We worked so hard this year and we worked together. We played so good together and everybody did a great job. Our defense was unbelieveable. We dug up every ball.”

Iowa Western coach Terry Gamble said the win is great for his school, but he also considers Western Nebraska a No. 1 team as well. It was just that his Reivers got the win Wednesday night.

“It is a national championship match so it is a huge win for us. It is a great win for this school and it is great to bring home a national championship,” he said. “Western Nebraska is a great team. We happened to win tonight and fortunate to win tonight. I still consider them as one of the best in the country and we happened to win tonight.”

WNCC coach Chris Green was a little down after the match wondering what happened to his team’s stellar defense that was near flawless throughout the tournament.

“We came in thinking we would pass and play defense better then they would, and you have to give them credit, they passed and played defense better then we did,” Green said.

Still, Green is pleased with the season his team had. The Cougars finished the year at 56-2, which is the best winning percentage in school history. It was also the team’s highest placing at a national tournament.

“it was a great season, but not a great night,” he said. “We didn’t pass well and we couldn’t get our offense going. It was a frustrating night for us. Iowa Western was the team that frustrated us and they played a great match. The first two games, we had a couple of missed opportunities. In Game one we had an opportunity for game point on a free ball hit and didn’t get it accomplished and then in game two we had an over pass to put us ahead 30-29, and that didn’t happen either. A point here and a point there, and this match might be different.”

The first game went back and forth with Iowa Western leading for most of the match until Bianca Rivera went on a six-point scoring run to put the Cougars up 25-21. Iowa Western came back and went up 30-29 before a Shawntell Jones kill stopped game points.

From there, it was back and forth until Julia Kenealy hammered home a kill for the Reivers and then served the next two points for the game one win.

Game two saw the Cougars come back from a 22-14 deficit to tie the score on a Leticia Kuhn kill and Kendra Schauermann service point. Tourney MVP Rapach stopped the momentum with a kill and then Juliana Paz had back-to-back kills for the win.

Green said losing those two games in heartbreaking fashion was momentum killers for his team.

“After losing those first two games the way we did, being so close, it really took the win out of sails,” Green said. “In the third game they had the momentum and they kept it in the third game.”

Leticia Kuhn paced the Cougars with a double-double with 27 kills and 15 digs. Jenny Eichler also had a big match finishing with 19 kills and three blocks. Barbara Freitas had six blocks and five digs, while Soriana Pacheco had 47 set assists, seven digs, five points, two aces and four kills.

Schauermann finished with three kills, five points and 12 digs, while Bianca Rivera had 15 digs an six points.

Iowa Western was paced by Paz’ 18 kills, while Rapach ahd 14 kills and 14 digs. Gabby Pfannenstiel led both teams with 24 digs, while Paz had 16 digs. Rachel Green also has 10 digs. Kerley Becker finished with nine kills followed by Julie Kennedy with eight points.

For WNCC, Rivera, Kuhn and Pacheco all made the all-tournament team.

In other action in national tournament, University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith overcame a 10-4 and 14-10 fifth game deficit to down Miami-Dade Community College 28-30, 30-26, 30-27, 22-30, 16-14 for ninth place; Hutchinson Community College needed four games to get past San Jacinto College 30-16, 32-30, 30-24, 30-26 for fifth place; Blinn College overcame Frank Phillips College in five games 23-30, 30-19, 28-30, 30-17, 15-12 for fifth place; and Missouri State-West Plains needed five games to down North Idaho 30-17, 21-30, 26-30, 30-22, 15-13.

Semi-final photos of North Idaho College Match

Cougar volleyball players excited for opportunity to play in title match

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball players were still bouncing off the walls with excitement after earning a spot in today’s NJCAA national championship match.

Two hours after earning the spot in the title match, assistant coach Amy Winters said the team was still wired with excitement. “They are wound up,” Winters said after the team had a late celebration supper Tuesday night. “They are bouncing off the walls and everybody is excited for Wednesday.”

Even before the team left the West Plains Civic Center, where the national tournament is played, they were still floating on air with excitement.

“I don’t think it has set in yet [that we are in the national championship match],” freshman Jenny Eichler said. “I think it will tonight when we are laying in bed ready to turn off the lights, not wanting to go to bed. We will be too excited to play. We can’t wait until 6 p.m. [Wednesday].

Yes, Wednesday and the national championship match. It is a match that no one really thought about at the beginning of the year, especially with such a young team with only two players back that played a year ago.

“At the beginning of the season, no I didn’t think we could do it,” Eichler said. “As the season progressed and we kept winning games, it showed that everything was coming together real well. It was about the middle of the year that we realized we could do it and once we got here, I knew we had a chance.”

Now, after 57 matches and 56 wins later, the team has achieved one of their goals and their next goal is a national championship.

“It is still unbelievable,” an excited Stacie Meisner said after downing North Idaho College for the title match berth. “We all know that it is one more step to achieve our total goals of the season and that is to get a national championship. We are not satisfied, yet, we have one more game to go.

“But, winning a national championship was always in the back of my mind. I think throughout the season, getting to the nationals was one step and getting a national championship was the next step. A national championship was always in the back of our minds, but we just wanted to take it one step at a time.”

The team didn’t really realize that a national championship was a reality until midway through the season. That was when the players realized, “Hey, we are good.” Just ask Cougar sparkplug Kendra Schauermann, who has high praise with how talented this team is.

“Our team is awesome. I knew we were going to make it here and I always knew we could do this. This is our year and we are going to win it,” Shauermann said. “We are definitely the best team here. We definitely improved to get here. We are the best team and we showed that for being the No. 1 seed. Iowa Western is an amazing team, but we know how to shut them down.”

The Cougars play at nationals, and even through the season, has people wondering whether this is one of the best teams ever at WNCC. The Cougar volleyball team’s appearance in a championship match will be only the second time a team has played for a national title. The first Cougar team who appeared in a national championship game was the 2003 when the women’s basketball team made it that far. On top of that, the women's basketball team, they weren't the favorite to get to the championship game, but put together three impressive wins, played as a champion, to get to the college's first title contest. After winning some impressive contestst, the women's basketball team they fell to a very talented Gulf Coast Community College team to finish second.

The Cougar volleyball team, on the otherhand, play a team that they already beat this year in two very tough games. The Cougar women might be the favorites to win the title after running through the season so far with a 56-1 record as well sitting atop the national polls for seven straight weeks, but Wednesday night the contest will be anyones for the taking.

The team knows that they still need to show up to play against a talented Iowa Western Community College squad.

“The win against North Idaho was huge. I can’t even exclaim it,” Eichler said. “But we
have to play that much harder [today] and if we play as well as we did tonight, hopefully we can win it.”

Meisner is still trying to pinch herself to see if it wasn’t a dream.

“It is really exciting right know. I can’t really put it into words,” she said. “It tops a great season. I don’t know what to really say right know except it is exciting.”

While the team remains at an all-time high, Barb Freitas said that they are looking forward to today’s title contest.

“It is awesome and I am so excited for [today]. I can’t wait. I want to win,” she said. “We worked so hard this victory and I am so proud of my team and my coach. [In today’s match] we have played against them before, but there is a lot of game and we have to play hard every single point, every single ball and we need to do our best.”

Cougar volleyball team makes national championship match

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team is just one win away making school history after qualifying for the NJCAA national championship match against Iowa Western Community College.

The Cougars earned the championship match trip in impressive fashion sweeping through both Frank Phillips College and North Idaho College to earn the volleyball team’s first trip to the title match. First serve is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The match can be heard on KPNY radio or the Internet.

WNCC march to the title contest was done in impressive style. The Cougars saved some of their best volleyball for Tuesday’s match. Against Frank Phillips, the team earned 30-22, 30-11, 30-18 win as the team recorded 16 aces, 43 kills and 50 digs as a team.

But, as well as the team played against Frank Phillips, they stepped it up even higher against North Idaho College, the only team to have beat the Cougars this season back in early September. This time, the Cougars ran through North Idaho 30-16, 30-18, 30-19.

WNCC coach Chris Green described his team play as some of the best volleyball they have played all season.

“It looks like Iowa Western will be the team we will be playing and they are an excellent team. They have great hitters and good ball control,” Green said. “But, if we can play like we did tonight, which was probably the most complete game that we have played, we have a great shot of winning the national championship.”

What was impressive about the Cougars win against North Idaho was the way the entire team clicked as a unit. Green said one of the biggest heroes on the night was freshman setter Soriana Pacheco. Pacheco finished with 34 assists, but had seven kills, two blocks, three points, and nine digs.

“All of our hitters did a great job and our defensive players were great out there, but Soriana deserves more credit then she has gotten throughout the year,” he said. “She makes our offense run. Without her, we wouldn’t be as successful as we are. Bianca is great, but Soriana really makes our team. She runs the offense so well and she is isolating our hitters one on one with our opponents and when we are hitting one on one, we usually get kills. Soriana did a good job, but our passing was also great tonight. We played a complete game and hopefully we can play a complete game tomorrow night.”

Pacheco, though was just one of many players that contributed in some fashion in the semi-final win. Freshman Leticia Kuhn was her typical self finishing with a match high 17 kills. She also had eight points, eight digs and two aces. Red-shirt freshman Jenny Eichler also stood out with 10 kills, four blocks and three digs.

The three sophomores, who will be playing their last game at WNCC, also made an impact. Bianca Rivera, who is headed to Creighton University next year, finished with 16 digs and 11 points. Barb Freitas, playing in her first national tournament, was sensational as well collecting eight kills, six points, five points and five digs. Hailey Mueller also collected some huge kills and blocks finishing with two kills.

In fact, the way the team played Tuesday wasn’t a surprise to the team. They knew all along that they were ready for this tournament.

“It is not really a big surprise that we haven’t lost a game at the national tournament,” Eichler said. “We came in here ready. I know once we stepped on the court, we don’t worry about anything but the game and how we are going to play. I’m not really surprised that we are doing this well.”

Freshman Kendra Schauermann put Tuesday’s games in prospective, it was a total team effort.

“We don’t have one go-to player. Everybody can play,” she said. “We have an amazing defense. Bianca is like the most amazing defensive person I have met in my whole life and Soriana can always make the set off any pass. Plus, she can go up to block or hit herself. We have amazing hitters and it is not just one hitter, we have Leticia, Jen, Barbara, Shawntell.”

That all-around team play wasn’t only evident in the semi-final win against North Idaho, it was huge in the sweep of Frank Phillips earlier in the day. In that match, Kuhn and Eichler led the way with 16 and 11 kills. Khn also had seven digs, 12 points and four aces.

But, what really one the game for the Cougars in the earlier match was the team’s blocking. The team tallied 20 blocks in the “block party” that they put up against Frank Phillips. Eichler, Freitas and Pacheco each had five blocks in the win.

Pacheco continued her march for tournament MVP with another all-star performance with 13 points, two aces, eight digs, 36 set assists, five blocks and three kills.

Today’s championship match between WNCC and Iowa Western will start at 5:30 p.m. It will also be taped to be rebroadcast on CSTV television on Sunday. Other matches today will see the University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith facing Miami Dade for 9th place; San Jacinto College facing Hutchinson Community College for 7th place, Frank Phillips meeting Blinn College for 5th, and North Idaho taking on MSU-West Plains for 3rd place.

A Special Note from a Former Cougar Volleyball Player

Just received this email from Diana Marques, who played for the Cougars in 1999 and was a member of coach Chris Green's first regional championship. She is doing well and the website when she visited brought back many memories of her two years in Scottsbluff. Here is the email of what Diana remembered about her times at WNCC.

"Hi Mark, I am not sure if you will remember me. I was one of the two first brazilians that played at Western Nebraska, Diana Marques, remember me? I was looking at the WNCC website the other day, and I was remembering the old good times I had in Nebraska. I miss practing at the Cougar pPalace, having art classes right by the court, running down to your office to get some copies of the pictures, talking to coach Green before lunch time at the dorm cafeteria, and the nice and warm embracing I had from the whole College community there.
I am back in Brazil now, working at an ad agency (using the degree I started at WNCC and finished at Metro State - Denver). I have been here for about 2 years now, and I am loving it, but I sure think about my experience in the US, and with great warmth in my heart, I remembered my second homeland, Scottsbluff.

I was just sending you this e-mail to keep contact, even though I am so far away now, and to tell you ( the one person that kept track of all my stages of getting used to the american culture there) thank you for all your dedication to the volleyball and all the athletics at WNCC. You made my passage there memorable with all your talent to freeze the moment. I hope to hear from you soon, and tell me how are they doing there without the first brazilian pioneers. The cougars were and will always be MY TEAM.

Take Care,
Diana Marques (volleyball alumini of 2000) - brazilian citizen - adopted daughter of Nebraska"

National volleyball photos from Frank Phillips Match