WNCC softball picks up two wins in final day of Fall Classic; tean will head to North Platte this week

The Western Nebraska Community College and Chadron State College softball teams finished the final day of the WNCC Fall Classic with two wins. Chadron State earned two shutouts downing Weber State 8-0 before blanking McCook Community College 6-0.

The WNCC women rebounded from two opening tournament losses to Weber State on Friday and Chadron State Saturday morning, to finish out the tournament with three wins. The Cougars started the win streak with a 14-4 win Saturday night and then claimed two wins on Sunday.

The Cougars started Sunday with a 10-1 win over the Air Force Academy and then blanked the University of Wyoming 11-0. Freshman outfielder Mandy Pounds said they played well despite mixing the freshmen and sophomores together..

“The played very well for this being our very first tournament together. Half of our team has never played together before and by the way we played this weekend you would never known,” the freshman outfielder from Colorado Springs said. “The positives of this weekend were we able to see the potential of the team and learn each others way of playing.”

The Cougars will next be in action this weekend when they head to a tournament in North Platte when they play three games on Saturday before bracket play on Sunday. Pounds said this weekend’s play should help when they play UNK, Barton County and Garden City Community College on Saturday.

“The outlook on next weekend’s game are to go in knowing we’re the best team, giving 110 percent and going the extra one degree,” she said. “We need to continue to improve on learning each other’s tendencies and styles while playing, such as who needs to be picked up when they are down.”

The Cougar women definitely received the opportunity of how to play together starting with Saturday night’s win against McCook. The Cougars erupted for 10 runs in the fourth inning to open up a close game. In that fourth inning, the Cougars scored 10 runs on 10 hits, including two hits each by freshmen Lauryn Smith, who had two run-scoring singles, and Kayli Allen, who had a two RBI single and a run-scoring double to open the inning.

WNCC continued the run support on Sunday by scoring 21 runs in two games. In the first game, the 10 runs were all scored from the bottom of the order. After being blanked in the first inning against Air Force, the Cougars put up four runs in the second inning. Kelsi Baldwin led things off by drawing a walk followed by an Alec Voci bunt single. Allen then scored a run by reaching base on an error. Pounds, Smith and Jessie McNabb each had RBIs in the second inning.

WNCC plated another three runs in the fourth inning. Voci led off with a double and she scored on a Pounds hit. Allen and Pounds scored the other two runs for the Cougars in the inning for a 7-0 lead.

WNCC added another three runs in the next inning. Voci and Kayla Hall scored on a Smith double to leftfield. Smith scored the final run on a Amanda Torimaru base hit for the 10-1 win.

Jessica Pexton picked up the win in the circle, going three innings andn allowing one run and two hits. Natasha Dypchey pitched the final two innings allowing one hit and two walks.

Sunday's game two was all WNCC as the Cougars pounded out 10 hits in scoring 11 runs in just four innings. WNCC got on the scoreboard first with a 6-run first inning. Smith, Pounds and Voci led off with base hits. Voci's was a run-scoring double to score the first run of the game. After that, the Cougars utilized two Wyoming errors and singles by Lauren Mills and Torimaru for the 6-0 lead.

WNCC added another four runs in the third inning. Torimaru and Allen each delivered singles, while Smith had a 2-run double.

Torimaru led the team with a 3-for-3 game, including two RBIs and two runs scored. Also collecting multiple hits were Smith going 2-for-3 with a double, and Allen going 2-for-3 with two singles and two RBIs.

Ashley Patton and Kelsey Garner combined on the shutout. Patton got the win pitching three strong iinnings and striking out four and walking one. Garner finished off the tournament pitching two innings, striking out three.

Chadron State was the only team to finish the tournament unbeaten with a dominating performance on Sunday. The Eagles opened the tournament with an 8-0 win over Weber State, a team that won the National Club tournament last year. In the game, Casey Williams was sizzling in the circle, allowing three hits and striking out eight. Chadron scored one run in the first inning and exploded for seven runs in the fifth for the win.

In the Eagles' game against McCook, Chadron State received a dazzling pitching performance from Cassie Humphrey. The Eagles just scrapped across runs throughout the contest. But, while the Eagle bats and pitchers were on, the defense was also stellar. In the sixth inning, McCook made a run to avoid the shutout. With one out and runners at second and third, leftfielder Sasha Catches made a diving catch and the McCook runners passed each other on their track back to the bases.

WNCC wins Columbus tourney, downs No. 1-ranked Iowa Western for championship

Another tournament championship for the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team and this one is even sweeter after winning the Central Invite in Columbus, Neb..

The Cougars earned the title with four victories on Saturday, including a huge sweep of No. 1 ranked and defending national champions Iowa Western Community College 30-28, 30-24. In fact, the Cougars never dropped a game in the game in seven matches in the tournament.

WNCC won all four of their pool play matches, claiming wins Friday over Cloud County, Central Community College-Columbus, and Iowa Central, and then wrapping up pool play Saturday by disposing of Butler County Community College 30-16, 30-16.

The Cougars then opened bracket play with a 30-6, 30-16 win over Laramie County Community College followed by a 30-18, 30-11 win over Northeastern Junior College in the semi-finals to set up a rematch of last year's national championship match.

In the contest against Laramie County, Nayka Benitez finished with 13 digs, Fatima Balza had nine kills and five blocks, Chelsea Lyles had 8 kills and two blocks, Daphine da Silva had 17 points, and Soriana Pacheco had 22 set assists and four kills.

The Cougars, now 19-1 will return to action Tuesday when they travel to Casper College before competing in their fourth tournament on Friday and Saturday in Sterling, Colo.

Second day of WNCC Fall Classic Softball tournament

The second day of the WNCC Fall Classic softball tournament started with a bang Saturday with a down-to-the-wire game between WNCC and Chadron State College.

The Eagle women used a first-inning, 3-run home run from Kristy Long to defeat the Cougars 3-2. WNCC, though, kept fighting to tie the game but had a fifth-inning rally fell short before the time-limit ran out. WNCC rebounded in the nightcap to earn a 14-4 win over McCook.

Against Chadron, the Eagle's Britt McEndaffer and Cassie Humphrey started the rally by getting on base via a single and a fielding error. Then Long belted a pitch over the centerfield fence for the 3-0 lead.

WNCC came right back in the first inning to score a run as well. Lauren Mills lead off with a double to leftfield. After stealing third, she scored on a dropped third strike throw to first base.

Both teams then missed out on scoring opportunities the next four innings. Chadron had just two runners reach scoring position the rest of the way as the Cougar defense stepped up. In the second, Blair McEndaffer led off with a single, but was stranded at second.

Then, in the fifth, Melissa Lohr reached base on a error, but ended up being stranded at third base.

WNCC had plenty more times to score the tying or go-ahead runs. It wasn’t until the fifth that the Cougars had the biggest threat to tie the game. With one out, Kayli Allen drew a walk. Allen was then lifted for pinchrunner Kayla Hall. With two outs, Jessie McNabb singled to put runners on the corner.

Amanda Torimaru then singled in WNCC’s second run with a shot to rightfield, but both McNabb and Torimaru were stranded in scoring position to end the game.

Both pitchers threw well. CSC’s Casey Williams picked up the win allowing four hits, while striking out seven in five innings of work. WNCC’s Kelsey Garner also pitched well despite giving up the first-inning three runs. Garner, the freshman from Regina, Saskatchewan, allowed four hits, while striking out five Eagle batters.

In the win against McCook, WNCC scored one run in the first as Lauryn Smith launched a triple and came around to score. WNCC added three more runs in the third inning on a double by Kayli Allen and singles by Smith, McNabb and Torimaru.

WNCC put the game away in the fourth when they notched 10 runs on 11 hits. Allie Griffin started the run-scoring spree with a single. From there several players got base hits. Allen and Lauren Bourdon each had two hits in the inning. Allen had a double and a single, while Bourdon had two singles. Also collecting big hits was Jessica Pexton with a two-out run-scoring, pinch-hit double.

Action in WNCC Fall Classic continues today at Volunteer Field with six games. Chadron State will play Weber State at 8 a.m. and then McCook Community College at 11:30 a.m. WNCC will finish out the Classic with at 3 p.m. against Air Force and then Wyoming at 4:45.

Other scores in the Classic saw Weber State defeat WNCC 3-2 and North Platte 6-1 on Friday. Saturday’s other action saw Chadron State register a 7-5 win over North Platte. Other winners include Weber State beating North Platte and University of Wyoming, McCook Community College beating Wyoming, Air Force over North Platte, Air Force over McCook. and WNCC over McCook 14-4.

WNCC soccer teams drop matches to Barton County

It wasn’t the most perfect day for the Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams Saturday.

Barton County Community College came into Scottsbluff and shut down the Cougar’s offense in registering two victories. The Barton men came out on top 4-2, while the Barton women shut out the high-scoring Cougar women 2-0.

The WNCC women came into the contest having scored 25 goals in three matches, but on Saturday the team failed to find the back of the net while playing short a player for most of the second half plus losing a key scorer because of a knee injury.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said this is a match they must learn from, put behind and come out ready to play Wednesday when they host Region IX opponent Laramie County Community College.

“We certainly did not rise to the challenge today. We are going to shake it off and bounce back,” Rasnic said. “We have some big games coming up. Unfortunately we are going to be missing Stacey (Agnew) for one match and Tamika (Smith) is re-injured again. We are battling a lot of injuries. We don’t have Jess (Aragon) in the back with her knee injury from the last time we played Barton. We are plagued right now with injuries, hopefully we can bounce back as a team, put our best foot forward.

“It is a tough loss. I was frustrated. The team was frustrated. When you come out and having that kind of day, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it. You just take it and move on.”

The Cougar women also battled the wind in the first half. Still, going against a stiff western wind, they found plenty of scoring opportunities. Bre Perkes just missed on a shot with 24 minutes left in the opening period when she took a shot on the left side and just missed going into the right side of the net.

In fact, for the game, Barton County out shot the WNCC women 10-5 with shots on goal.

In the second half, WNCC had the wind in their favor for a brief time until the wind shifted from the North causing an equal playing field for both teams. It didn’t take Barton long to score first as Renata Lecca stole the ball and went one-on-one with WNCC’s goal-keeper Terri Huntington and found the net less then three minutes into the second half.

A couple minutes later, WNCC received a red card violation and was forced to play the rest of the match a player short.

The score stayed that way until the 6:35 mark of the game when Lecca once again found the back of the net to put Barton up 2-0.

WNCC came back in a hurry and tried to get break the goose egg on the scoreboard. With just over six minutes to play, Perkes just went high on a good shot opportunity. The Cougar women also had three shots on goal with under two minutes to play, but neither one could buck the wind coming out of the northeast.

WNCC goalkeeper Huntington did have a good match, though, getting eight saves and stopping a number of Barton scoring opportunities. Huntington came up big, especially in the first half when the Kansas school had the wind in their favor, but stopping two shots at point-blank range.

While the wind was a factor for the women, the WNCC men also had to fight the wind in the first game of the day. Barton County, who had the wind in their favor in the first half, netted three first half goals to take a 3-0 halftime lead.

Barton’s Marcelo Carminatti scored the first two goals of the game, the first coming at the 31:45 mark of the half on a bicycle kick into the net. His second came less then a minute later off an assist by Oscar Narvaez. Narvaez scored the third goal of the half.

WNCC didn’t waste anytime scoring in the second half with the wind at their back. Just a minute into the half, Renato Segalla fired a free kick from about 40 yards out straight into the net.
WNCC continued their comeback slicing the lead to one, 3-2, with 16:27 to play when Chris Thompson recorded the goal off of some nifty footwork. Edwin Enriquez started the combination by delivering a pass to Geoff Critzer, who passed it to Morgan Wall. Wall then feeded Thompson for a point-blank shot.

That was as close as WNCC got as Barton County added an insurance goal with 2 minutes to play on a goal by Jose Reza.

Both teams had six shots on goal, while Barton County won the corner kick battle 3-1.

WNCC will have little time to recoup their defeats as both will host Laramie County Community College on Wednesday. The men will play at 3 p.m. and the women at 5 p.m. For the Cougar women, though, Rasnic said they will have little time on the practice field with a flurry of matches this week.

“We have Laramie County on Wednesday and then we will be leaving on Thursday for the Butler County tourney,” he said. “We are in a situation where we will need to get some players back or it will be a long three or four games. Hopefully, we can get back on a roll.”

It wasn’t the most perfect day for the Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams Saturday.

Barton County Community College came into Scottsbluff and shut down the Cougar’s offense in registering two victories. The Barton men came out on top 4-2, while the Barton women shut out the high-scoring Cougar women 2-0.

The WNCC women came into the contest having scored 25 goals in three matches, but on Saturday the team failed to find the back of the net while playing short a player for most of the second half plus losing a key scorer because of a knee injury.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said this is a match they must learn from, put behind and come out ready to play Wednesday when they host Region IX opponent Laramie County Community College.

“We certainly did not rise to the challenge today. We are going to shake it off and bounce back,” Rasnic said. “We have some big games coming up. Unfortunately we are going to be missing Stacey (Agnew) for one match and Tamika (Smith) is re-injured again. We are battling a lot of injuries. We don’t have Jess (Aragon) in the back with her knee injury from the last time we played Barton. We are plagued right now with injuries, hopefully we can bounce back as a team, put our best foot forward.

“It is a tough loss. I was frustrated. The team was frustrated. When you come out and having that kind of day, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it. You just take it and move on.”

The Cougar women also battled the wind in the first half. Still, going against a stiff western wind, they found plenty of scoring opportunities. Bre Perkes just missed on a shot with 24 minutes left in the opening period when she took a shot on the left side and just missed going into the right side of the net.

In fact, for the game, Barton County out shot the WNCC women 10-5 with shots on goal.

In the second half, WNCC had the wind in their favor for a brief time until the wind shifted from the North causing an equal playing field for both teams. It didn’t take Barton long to score first as Renata Lecca stole the ball and went one-on-one with WNCC’s goal-keeper Terri Huntington and found the net less then three minutes into the second half.

A couple minutes later, WNCC received a red card violation and was forced to play the rest of the match a player short.

The score stayed that way until the 6:35 mark of the game when Lecca once again found the back of the net to put Barton up 2-0.

WNCC came back in a hurry and tried to get break the goose egg on the scoreboard. With just over six minutes to play, Perkes just went high on a good shot opportunity. The Cougar women also had three shots on goal with under two minutes to play, but neither one could buck the wind coming out of the northeast.

WNCC goalkeeper Huntington did have a good match, though, getting eight saves and stopping a number of Barton scoring opportunities. Huntington came up big, especially in the first half when the Kansas school had the wind in their favor, but stopping two shots at point-blank range.

While the wind was a factor for the women, the WNCC men also had to fight the wind in the first game of the day. Barton County, who had the wind in their favor in the first half, netted three first half goals to take a 3-0 halftime lead.

Barton’s Marcelo Carminatti scored the first two goals of the game, the first coming at the 31:45 mark of the half on a bicycle kick into the net. His second came less then a minute later off an assist by Oscar Narvaez. Narvaez scored the third goal of the half.

WNCC didn’t waste anytime scoring in the second half with the wind at their back. Just a minute into the half, Renato Segalla fired a free kick from about 40 yards out straight into the net.
WNCC continued their comeback slicing the lead to one, 3-2, with 16:27 to play when Chris Thompson recorded the goal off of some nifty footwork. Edwin Enriquez started the combination by delivering a pass to Geoff Critzer, who passed it to Morgan Wall. Wall then feeded Thompson for a point-blank shot.

That was as close as WNCC got as Barton County added an insurance goal with 2 minutes to play on a goal by Jose Reza.

Both teams had six shots on goal, while Barton County won the corner kick battle 3-1.

WNCC will have little time to recoup their defeats as both will host Laramie County Community College on Wednesday. The men will play at 3 p.m. and the women at 5 p.m. For the Cougar women, though, Rasnic said they will have little time on the practice field with a flurry of matches this week.

“We have Laramie County on Wednesday and then we will be leaving on Thursday for the Butler County tourney,” he said. “We are in a situation where we will need to get some players back or it will be a long three or four games. Hopefully, we can get back on a roll.”

Cougar volleyball wins three matches at Columbus Invite

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team ran their record to 15-1 on the season with three impressive victories at the Columbus Invite in Columbus, Neb.

The Cougars opened with a 30-8, 30-11 commanding win over Cloud County Community College followed by a 30-10, 30-15 win over Iowa Central Community College. The team finished up the first day with a 30-13, 30-19 win over Central Community College-Columbus to round out the first day. WNCC will have one more pool play match Saturday a 8:45 a.m. (MST) against Butler County.

In the opener against Cloud, freshman Nayka Benitez tossed in 21 points along with 11 aces to help the women to the win. In fact, Benitez' serving proved stellar in the record books. The 11 aces ended up two shy of tying the school record of 13 set by Marina Bazana in 1999, and the last time a Cougar finished with at least 11 aces was in 2004.

Against Iowa Central, Jennifer Eichler tallied eight kills and nine points, while Soriana Pacheco finished with 23 set assists.

Against Central, Benitez finished with 11 points, Pacheco had 25 assists and eight kills, Eichler had nine kills and four blocks, Aida Bauza had eight kills, Fatima Balza had seven kills and Shawntell Jones had four blocks.

WNCC softball hosts Fall Classic this weekend

Softball enthusiasts will enjoy this weekend in Scottsbluff. Not only will there be high school softball action at Lacy Park, but Western Nebraska Community College will kick off the fall season with the Fall Classic Friday through Sunday at Volunteer Field.

The Fall Classic will feature seven teams, including four 4-year schools – University of Wyoming, Air Force Academy, Weber State in Idaho and Chadron State College – during the three days of action. The three junior colleges in attendance include WNCC, North Platte Community College and McCook Community College.

“I hope to see some really exciting games,” fourth-year WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said. “With four, 4-year schools coming I think we will see some really good talent and leadership by having upper classman. Region IX continues to improve and I think we will see a new look out of McCook with new coaches and new recruiting area, and North Platte always comes to play.”

Action opens Friday night with WNCC taking in Weber State at 7 p.m. followed by North Platte Community College meeting Weber State at 9 p.m.

Saturday’s action will include eight contests at Volunteer Field behind Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff. WNCC and Chadron State will kick off the day at 8 a.m. Chadron State will also play at 9:45 a.m. against North Platte, while WNCC will finish the day at 8:15 p.m. against McCook Community College. Other games will be start at 11:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m., 3 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Sunday’s action will begin at 8 a.m. with Weber State taking on Chadron State at 8 a.m. The Eagles softball team, who already faced North Platte and McCook last weekend, will take on McCook at 11:30 a.m. The Cougars will play at 3:30 p.m. against Air Force and then again at 4:45 p.m. against Wyoming. Other action will be at 9:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.

“In the fall you usually see a lot of runs or no runs,” Winn-Ratliff said. “Some teams are still trying to get their coaches’ hitting styles down and the pitchers are working out the kinks. I think this weekend you will see a lot of underclassman get playing time this weekend for all programs.”

WNCC will open the fall season with plenty of experience, returning 10 players from last spring’s 36-21 team that set a school record with most wins and a second straight Region IX runner-up finish.

“We return 10 sophomores that saw a lot of playing time last year and need to step up and be leaders for our newcomers,” Winn-Ratliff said. “I believe defense wins games so if we can take care of business on the defensive end and provide our pitching staff with a couple of runs, I think we should have a good shot at coming away with victories.”

In fact, the Cougars will be will flash plenty of depth, not only with the returning players but also the freshmen. Leading the least is a pitching staff that will be well-rounded. Back are sophomores Natasha Dypchey of South Surrey, British Columbia, and Jessica Pexton of Douglas, Wyo. Also returning will be Ashley Patton of Delta, Utah.

Other sophomores returning include Lauren Mills of Birch Hills, Saskatchewan; Kara Ryman of Westminster, Colo.; Jessie McNabb of Davidson, Saskatchewan; Amanda Torimaru of Ft. Collins, Colo.; Amanda Hensley and Whittany Foster of Greeley, Colo.; and Lauren Bourdon of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan.

WNCC will also feature plenty of depth in the circle with freshman talent, including 5-foot-9 Kelsey Garner of Regina, Saskatchewan, and 6-foot Allie Griffin of Ft. Collins, Colo.

Other freshmen include Kayla Hall of Pueblo, Colo., Mandy Pounds and Alec Voci of Colorado Springs, Colo., Kelsi Baldwin of Riverton, Utah, Lauryn Smith and Kayli Allen of Berthoud, Colo., and Lindsay Paulson of Castle Rock, Colo.

“We have a great mix of sophomores and freshmen this year,” Winn-Ratliff said. “We have a couple of players injured right now, so we are getting different looks from some players in different positions. We have a lot of versatility in all nine positions.”

Winn-Ratliff said the fall season games are a tune-up for the spring season. While it is not always about wins and losses during the fall season, she said it is an opportunity to get the players a chance to show what they can do for the team in game situations.

“The fall is very important to our program because it provides our staff an opportunity to get to know the student athletes better on a playing level and in turn gives them an opportunity to get to know our coaching style and our expectations for them on the field as well,” she said. “It also gets our young players playing time right away and gives us a chance to evaluate our progress through the fall and determine what we need to work on individually as a team over the winter.”

Tournament Schedule Friday’s Games
7 p.m. – WNCC vs. Weber State, 9 p.m. – Weber State vs. North Platte
Saturday’s Games
8 a.m. – Chadron State vs. WNCC, 9:45 a.m. – North Platte vs. Chadron State, 11:30 a.m. – Weber State vs. North Platte, 1:15 p.m. – Wyoming vs. Weber State, 3 p.m. – McCook vs. Wyoming, 4:45 p.m. – North Platte vs. Air Force, 6:30 p.m. – Air Force vs. McCook, and 8:15 p.m. – McCook vs. WNCC.
Sunday’s Games
8 a.m. – Weber State vs. Chadron State, 9:45 a.m. – McCook vs. Weber State, 11:30 a.m. – Chadron State vs. McCook, 1:15 p.m. – Air Force vs. Wyoming, 3 p.m. – WNCC vs. Air Force, 4:45 p.m. – Wyoming vs. WNCC.

WNCC women shut out Western Wyoming, men fall in double overtime

Western Nebraska Community College’s Amanda Arrant is starting to hit full stride for the women’s soccer team.

Wednesday, the sophomore from Hooper, Utah, turned in a hat trick to help the Cougar women remain unbeaten with a dominating performance against Western Wyoming Community College Wednesday on the road with a 10-0 win.

The Cougar men, playing short-handed as starters Eloy Matos and Steven Estrada are back in Puerto Rico, fell 4-3 in double overtime. WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said his men’s team dominated play despite falling short on the scoreboard.

“We had the ball 70 percent of the game. We hit the cross bar about 14 times,” WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said. “They had a great keeper who made a lot of great saves against us. We couldn’t get too much by him. There were some quality shots taken on him and he came up to the challenge and saved a bunch of them.”

The Cougar men jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead as Renato Segalla netted the first goal at the 43^rd minute. A minute later, Segalla delivered a pass to Morgan Wall as the Alliance freshman put WNCC up 2-0.

Western Wyoming sliced the lead in half at the 54^th minute, only to see the Cougars grab a 3-1 lead as Edwin Enriquez scored in the 57^th minute. The Mustangs bounced back tying the match in the 70^th minute to force overtime.

Neither team scored in the first overtime. Western Wyoming finally broke the ice in the second 10-minute period, scoring with 2:15 left in the period for the win.

WNCC outshot the Mustangs 14-8 and had 15 corner kicks to their nine.

Rasnic said they felt the difference without Matos and Estrada not in the lineup. Both are training with the Puerto Rico national team for a match against Cuba next week with the winner qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.

“We felt that today and two of the goals they scored on us were on throw-ins,” Rasnic said. “They through the ball in across the middle and scored on the tosses.”

While the men’s team fell on hard times, the women’s team continued their torrid scoring spree. The Cougars have now scored 25 goals in their last three matches. Wednesday, the team notched another 10 goals.

WNCC grabbed a 2-0 lead at halftime. Bre Perkes scored the first goal off an assist by Kiwi Wingert at the 11^th minutes. Wingert netted the second goal off a pass from Ashley Quintana.

The Cougar opened up the match in the second half scoring eight more goals, including the hat trick by Arrant late in the game.

First, though, LeAnna Paxton started the goal-scoring spree with an unassisted shot. Perkes then netted her second goal of the match off passes by Tamika Smith and Wingert for a 4-0 lead.

Smith notched back-to-back goals to push the lead to 6-0. Quintana assisted Smith on the first goal, with Wingert and Nancy Boyack getting assists on the second goal.

Arrant then scored three straight goals. The first goals came off of passes from Andrea Ardito. Wingert assisted on the third goal.

Paxton finished off the scoring with an unassisted goal for the 10-0 lead, which pushes the team’s record to 3-0-1 on the season heading into Saturday’s home-opener for the women’s team.

“I thought we put a pretty weak effort onto the field in the first half,” Rasnic said about the women’s team, who were playing their first game in over 10 days. “At halftime we had a discussion of what we need to change. We made some adjustments on the field and we started to open up the game.”

The Cougars’ offense continues to get better each match and Rasnic said Arrant is playing well.

“Amanda had three goals and she was telling me she had a hat trick,” he said. “She has stepped up this season a lot more then last year. She did a lot of extra work in the off season and it is certainly showing of how she is playing this year.”

The Cougar women out shot Western Wyoming 29-1, and the Mustangs goalkeeper finished with 19 saves.

“When you are playing a weaker opponent, it sometimes takes a while to break their defense down,” Rasnic said. “These ladies are pretty smart. They will break it down by halftime and then come back out and destroy them.”

Both teams will return to action Saturday when they face Barton County Community College at the Lander’s Soccer Complex. Action begins at noon with the men’s contest.

“The Barton County tie (on Aug. 25 for the women) is about like the game we just got done playing with the men. We absolutely dominated play in that game against Barton and ended up tying them,” he said. “I expect the ladies will be interested in showing everybody that they can beat Barton. I think the men’s team will bounce back as well.”

Strong serving helps WNCC sweep EWC for 12th win of the season

Western Nebraska Community College’s afternoon serving practice paid dividends for the Cougars to the tune of 16 ace serves and five players getting near double-digit scoring as the Cougars swept past Eastern Western Wyoming College 30-14, 30-16, 30-13 Tuesday evening for their 12^th win of the season.

WNCC coach Chris Green said the team went through light serving drills earlier in the day. But as much as the extra serving practice paid off, Green said his team wasn’t sharp offensively.

“Serving was a little better then it was this weekend, but offensively we struggled,” WNCC coach Chris Green said. “After the Salt Lake tournament, I don’t think we came out like we should have, especially the first two games.

One Cougar, though, was sharp offensively. Sophomore Jennifer Eichler had another outstanding match, where she netted 15 kills, nine points, two blocks and two ace serves. But as much as Eichler was sizzling, the rest of the team also put up impressive numbers, including back-up setter Cassie Vrooman, who finished the match with nine assists and eight points. In fact, Green thought the third game was his team’s best effort.

“Cassie did very well. She set the ball really well in that third game,” he said. “It says a lot about Eichler, who had 15 kills in a game where the scores weren’t that close. That says a lot about her ability. She knows how to put balls away.”

Still, serving was the difference in the game, where Seven different Cougar players recorded ace serves on the night, led by Nakya Benitez’ four and Stacie Meisner’s three. Also collecting two aces each were Daphine da Silva, Shawntell Jones, and Soriana Pacheco.

Meisner led the team with 10 points followed by Eichler with nine, and Jones, Benitez and Cassie Vrooman with eight each.

The Lancers also showed some serving promise as Torrington’s Josey Peterson had a strong serving game finishing the night with four points, including three aces.

EWC coach Verl Petsch said that his team’s weakness of passing and stopping the Cougars serving game was the difference.

“We just couldn’t pass the ball and I am tearing my hair out about what we are going to do,” he said. “Obviously there were some very good serves . We had 17 aces according to my stats and a lot of them were on jump serves and people that were serving floaters got to us. We just have to elevate our game because that gets us in a hole. All year long we have been playing inconsistent. We play well for a few points and then we let someone have a run.”

Peterson’s run of points was a bright spot, which ignited the Lancers in the second game. Trailing 21-11, Peterson served three straight points, including two aces to bring the Lancers back.

EWC’s run was short-lived as Chelsea Lyles record a kill and then moments later, Eicher went on a seven-point scoring spree, highlighted by two Fatima Balza kills and an ace serve. Eichler even finished off the game-two win by recording the game-ending kill as she soared from the backrow to hammer home the winner.

The third game was another strong serving game for the Cougars. Cassie Vrooman started things early serving up seven straight points for a quick 7-0 lead. EWC did slice the lead to to 12-5 on a Jackie Onigheit kill, but the Cougars kept pounding away.

Kendra Schauermann expanded the Cougars lead to 19-6 with four straight points. EWC managed to cut the deficit to 12 points on several locations, but two service points from Jones and Heather Steggs was enough to push the Cougars to the win.

Andrea Hockley led the Lancers with six hills and three blocks, while Sara Gipfert had three kills. Onigheit finished with four blocks, Kelsey Stout three blocks, Gipfert also had three points, while Sarah Blausey had six set assists.

WNCC had a well-rounded match with several individuals standing out. Besides Eichler’s outstanding game, Pacheco finished with 14 set assists and Vrooman nine set assists. Schauermann led the team with 10 digs followed by Meisner with nine, da Silva with six and Benetiz with five.

Fatima Balza tallied nine kills in the win, followed by Jones and Pacheco each with five.

WNCC, 12-1, will now head to the Central tournament on Friday and Saturday. The team will play four pool play matches against Cloud County Community College, Iowa Central Community College, Central Community College-Columbus and Butler County Community College.

“Hopefully we can have a good practice tomorrow (Wednesday) to get ready for some good competition this weekend,” Green said. “We will work a little on defense, serving a little hitting (Wednesday) and hopefully we will be ready and fired up to play in Columbus this weekend because the competition will be just as good. The No. 1 team in the nation (Iowa Western Community College) is in that tournament.”

It doesn’t get any easier for the Lancers tonight as EWC travels to face Northeastern Junior College.

“Anytime you play really good competition, which tonight was probably the best team in the nation and I would bet that they are on the top of their game,” Petsch said. “But it is good for you to play good competition and you just learn from it and elevate your game and come back tougher. These kids continue to do that.”

WNCC volleyball ready for border way against Eastern Wyoming Tuesday on the road

Appalachian State served noticed to the sports world Saturday when they shocked the Michigan football team 34-32. Now the Eastern Wyoming College volleyball team will be looking to become the Appalachian State in Region IX come Today and Wednesday as they take on two of the top teams in Region IX.

The Lancers, 1-10 on the season after going 0-6 at the Wyoming Conference Pre-season tournament in Cheyenne last weekend, will host the No. 5-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team today at 7 p.m. The Cougars are 11-1 on the season after winning their second straight Salt Lake Invite over the weekend.EWC will then turn around and travel to Northeastern Junior College on Wednesday to face another ranked team in the No. 22 Plainswomen.

EWC coach Verl Petsch knows it will be a challenging two days facing his your team, but knows his team will show up hoping they can pull an Appalachian State-style win.

“You are right, anything can happen but we definitely have to be at the top of every skill of our game to pull an upset,” Petsch said. “It is possible and we will definitely give it everything we can and let the chips fall as they may. But, we just need to play tough.”

WNCC coach Chris Green said his team isn’t overlooking the Lancers. WNCC is 17-2 against Eastern Wyoming during Green’s eight years as coach.

“I don’t think our girls realize what Eastern Wyoming’s record is. We don’t talk to them about what is happening on the other side of the net,” he said. “We are just focused on our side of the net and trying to get better. We just work on what we need to improve on.”

Petsch said the Lancers main problem early on is consistency and it showed at the Wyoming Conference tournament, where the Lancer’s played the No. 7-ranked Casper College Thunderbirds tough on Friday before falling 31-29. In Saturday’s tournament action, the team also played tough falling in all three matches. They lost to to Sheridan College 30-17, 30-15, 30-10; and then in five games to Northwest College (30-14, 25-30, 30-24, 28-30, 15-7) and Laramie County Community College (30-13, 28-30, 21-30, 30-24, 15-10).

“We have done that all year where it seems that we play at a level of our competition, but just a little bit below them so to speak,” he said. “We just haven’t been able to chalk up some victories.”

One of the things the Lancers will need to solve is the team’s offense woes, along with consistency to topple WNCC.

“We are certainly struggling offensively, but our defense is fairly good,” he said. “Against teams like these top-ranked teams, it will be a challenge for us to get the offense going. But we are going to give it our best.”

Definitely the Lancers will show up for the team’s home-opener and WNCC needs to not look past their cross-border rivals.

“We have been a very sporadic team. We play we for two or three points and then we kind of take a break, and that break allows the team to run several points and in rally scoring, it is difficult to catch up,” Petsch said. “When we played Casper last weekend in the tournament, they beat us 31-29 and we played the best that we have played. And then against lesser teams, we just don’t play very well.”

In Saturday’s action even though the Lancers fell to Northwest and LCCC in five games, they did receive strong play. Tricia Dorshorst, a 5-foot-10 freshman from Overlin, Kan., stood out with 15 kills against Northwest and 16 points and 16 kills against LCCC. Josey Peterson, a freshman from Torrington, Wyo., finished the two matches with 28 and 33 digs each. Peterson also had 16 digs in the three-game loss to Sheridan

Also, Lora Hill paced the Lancers in setting with 18 assists against Northwest and 17 against LCCC in the team’s two-setter offense. Jackie Onigkeit led the team in blocking with nine against LCCC and eight against Norhwest, and Sara Gipfert had 11 points against Northwest.

The Cougars, though, will enter the contest on a roll after winning the Salt Lake tournament with an impressive four-game win against No. 4-ranked Salt Lake Community College 30-15, 27-30, 31-29, 30-23. In that contest, three Cougars finished with double-digit kills led by Jennifer Eichler with 14 followed by Aida Bauza with 12 and Fatima Balza with 11. Balza also had a season-high 11 blocks.

The Cougars are also led by sophomore Soriana Pacheco, who earned MVP honors at the Salt Lake tourney. Pacheco finished with 39 set assists, 13 points, five blocks and five aces in the title match.

“Offensively we probably one of the better teams that we have been,” Green said. “We still need to work on a couple areas, serving and passing. We usually are good in those areas, but we struggled this weekend in those areas.

“Even though we won the Salt Lake tournament, I really think the girls feel they can play better then what they did. We are going to focus on doing those two areas well.”

Petsch said his team will have their hands full, but isn’t counting his team out.

“They are on a nice run right now with that tournament championship. I think it will be a powerful game,” he said. “I know our kids will come to play and give 110 percent. We will just have to see what happens.”

WNCC volleyball ieam wins Salt Lake tournament for a second year in a row; Eichler, Pacheco named to all-tourney team

It was deja vu for the WNCC volleyball team at the Salt Lake tournament. Last year, the Cougars suffered a loss in their final pool play game, but came back and won the tournament.

The same thing happened this year. After falling to Salt Lake Community College in their final pool play match 30-27, 16-30, 15-10, the team came back with two wins in bracket play to earn the title. Soriana Pacheco and Jennifer Eichler each were named to the all-tournament team, while Pacheco was tabbed the tournament's MVP.

WNCC opened bracket play with a 30-24, 30-23, 30-17 win over Illinois Central College 30-24, 30-23, 30-17. That pushed the Cougars into the championship against Salt Lake and this match-up would go four games, but WNCC came out on top 30-15, 27-30, 31-29, 30-23.

In the first game against Salt Lake in the championship, WNCC breezed to the win as Eichler and Chelsea Lyles had the final two kills. Pacheco led the team with four kills, four aces and five digs.
Game two didn't go WNCC's way as Salt Lake built leads of five and six points and WNCC couldn't come back as the Cougars fell 30-27.

Game three was an exciting contest. Salt Lake had leads of four points through most of the match until the Cougars came back and tied it. Then, they took the lead behind some clutch hitting and blocking by Eichler. tied at 29, Salt Lake made a service error. Eichler then served the final point as Fatima Balza hit home the game-winner giving the Cougars the 31-29 win and forcing a game four.

WNCC started strong in game four running out to a 6-1 lead behind strong serving by Pacheco and later to 12-5 behind the serving of Daphine da Silva. WNCC continued its strong play, building the lead to 23-16. WNCC went up 28-20 behind the serving of Kendra Schauermann and a big kill by Eichler. Salt Lake cut the lead to 29-21 on a service error, but it didn't matter as the next service, Eichler finished off Salt Lake with a kill and the tournament title.

WNCC had three players finish with double figures kill marks. Aida Bauza led the way with 14 kills followed by Balza and Eichler with 13 kills each. Balza also hit .480 for the match and had 11 blocks and four digs. Pacheco finished with 40 set assists, nine digs and five blocks. Also, Stacie Meisner had seven digs, Nayka Benitez had 13 digs, and Shawntell Jones with five kills and four blocks.

In earlier action on the day, the Cougar's first loss of the season came to Salt Lake in three games 30-27, 16-30, 15-10 in the the team's final pool play match. In the loss this morning, Eichler finished with 10 kills and four blocks, Aida Bauza had nine kills, da Silva 10 digs, Pacheco 25 set assists and five digs, Meisner six digs, Benitez nine digs and Chelsea Lyles four kills, 1 ace and two digs.

WNCC men's soccer shuts out CMC 10-0 in home opener

The last time the Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer team scored double digit goals was four years ago to almost the same date when they netted 16 goals on Aug. 31 in the team’s inaugural season.

Four years later to almost the same date, the Cougars found that double figure scoring plateau with a dominating 10-0 win over Colorado Mountain College at the Lander’s Soccer Complex Saturday.

“During practice we have been working on a lot of combinations, and we definitely came out and did that,” freshman Morgan Wall of Alliance said. “We definitely have been trying to work the ball around and control the pace and ball and the biggest thing is we are trying to do short combinations. We are trying to pick it up whenever we can.”

The Cougar men en route to the shutout win had four different players net two goals each. Wall was just one player getting two goals. Overall, Wall said, they had good teamwork.

“What we just did was take the ball up any direction of the field and whoever is open, we try to hit them and let them score,” he said. “We controlled the game and controlled the pace and put a couple of goals in.”

Wall’s first goal came with 16:52 to play in the first half when he took a pass from Nikko Ouzounis for a 3-0 lead. He later capped off the first half netting a goal off an assist from Eloy Matos for the 6-0 lead.

WNCC’s offensive tenacity was evident from the opening whistle. It didn’t take the Cougars long to get on the scoring as Renato Segalla scored with just eight minutes into the match off an assist by Aaron Oesterle.

Segalla then was on the other end of the scoring column delivering a pass to Lazarro Torrez to put WNCC up 2-0 just 14 minutes into the contest.

WNCC’s other two first half goals came from Edwin Enriquez off an assist from Matos, and Diego Campoverde scoring off a pass from Ouzounis.

The Cougars kept up the scoring in the second half off of pin-point accuracy. Lazarro netted his second goal of the match on a penalty kick that he rifled into the net just 11 minutes into the half.

Segalla followed with his second goal of the match on a direct kick just near the penalty box with 20 minutes to play to put WNCC up 8-0.

Matos finished off the scoring with two goals. The sophomore’s first goal came on a penalty kick that he rifled straight into the net.

His second goal came with just under four minutes to play. Matos stole the ball from an Eagle player and went one-on-one with the goalkeeper Adam Morang to cap of the scoring,

WNCC’s domination was evident as the hosts had 20 shots on goal to the Eagles four. WNCC also had seven corner kicks to CMC’s three. Cesar Bazana picked up the win in goal with just four saves to get the shutout.

While four players netted two goals each, 11 different players had at least one shot on goal. One of the reasons for the Cougars offensive dominance was the team’s defense, which was stellar.

“The defense definitely did what they needed to do. They marked up really well on set plays. They definitely controlled the game in the back and played it through the midfield really well for us.”

The Cougars return to action Wednesday when they travel to Rock Springs, Wyo., to face Western Wyoming Community College in a men’s and women’s doubleheader. They will then venture home to face Barton County Community College in a doubleheader next Saturday.

“We are going to rest up for a while and then keep working on our touches. Hopefully we will come out prepared for those games,” Wall said. “It just feels great to get the first win at home. I am definitely proud of our team to come out here and show the home fans what we can do. Hopefully we can keep it up the rest of the season.”

WNCC volleyball 4-0 at Salt Lake Tourney, run record to 9-0 on season

The No. 5-ranked Cougar volleyball started the Salt Lake Invite off with a bang Friday by running their record to a perfect 9-0 with four victories.

The Cougars opened the tournament by breezing past Yavapai College 30-19, 30-17. Soriana Pacheco had seven kills and 21 assists, while Jennifer Eichler had seven kills and Kendra Schauermann eight points. Stacie Meisner finished with five digs, two blocks and four aces, while Chelsea Lyles and Fatima Balza each had two blocks.

WNCC then snuck past Snow College 30-28, 30-18. In the first game, the Cougars missed a lot of serves to make the game close. Still, the Cougars ahd plenty of individual success. Pacheco had another double-double with 20 assists and 13 points. She also added three aces. Eichler finished with six kills, while Shawntell Jones had five blocks.

The third match of the day against North Idaho College, a team that made the national tournament a year ago, was pushed to a third game on the Cougars. WNCC, though, came out on top winning 30-16, 27-30, 15-12. Eichler led the way with 10 kills, while Nayka Benitez had five aces, eight points and 12 digs. Pachero had nine points, 24 assists and three blocks, while Benitez had 13 digs and five aces. Jones added three blocks.

WNCC finished up day one by downing the College of Southern Idaho 30-18, 30-23. In that contest Eichler finishe with 11 kills with a hitting percentage of 84.6 percent. Soriana Pacheco finished with a double-double of 26 set assists, 11 points, five aces.

WNCC finishes pool play Saturday at 10:15 a.m. against Salt Lake Community College. After that will be bracket play. Last season, WNCC won the tournament.

WNCC men’s soccer team open home campaign Saturday

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer team will open the home portion of their season Saturday with a lot of enthusiasm.

The Cougars, 1-2 after a three-match road swing in Kansas last weekend, will take on Colorado Mountain College at noon at the Lander’s Soccer Complex.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic doesn’t now a whole lot about CMC except they opened the season falling to Dodge City Community College 3-1. CMC is scheduled to play Air Force Academy on Friday.

“Traditionally when we played them, it has been a tight contest. I think the first year we played them, two years ago, we ended up winning the game 1-0 and it went right down to the wire. I fully expect them to come out with a strong team and I expect our guys will rise to the challenge, get to the same speed of play, and come out on top in that contest.”

Rasnic said his team is looking forward to the first home contest of the year.

“I they are fit and ready to play,” he said. “We are coming off a tough weekend where we played some ranked opponents and that gave us an idea of where we need to be for the season. The players have a commitment to come out and show a strong effort against Colorado Mountain College. I think the level of play that we rose to this past weekend was very high. What I saw from the men is they are ready to take their game to the next level and that is what we are looking for this year. Hopefully we will see some of that tomorrow.”

In last week’s action, the Cougars fell to No. 4 San Jacinto-South 3-1 before beating Cloud County Community College 4-1. They finished off the road swing falling to a good Neosha County Community College team 2-1 on a penalty kick.

Rasnic said from what he witnessed in those three games, this team will be very consistent and play together.

“Consistency is the number one thing we need to come away with a win,” he said. “We played consistently all three games last weekend. That is what I am looking to accomplish this season and if we do that, we won’t be dropping games to teams that we should be in fact be beating. This year I am making sure we come out to play with 11 players on the field and one team for them to come out and compete hard. I think that is what you will see tomorrow.”

This year’s team has plenty of scorers on the team. Sophomore Eloy Matos leads the team with two goals and an assist early on. Also netting goals for the team so far include Nikko Ouzounis, Geoff Critzer, Mark Zigray and Lazarro Torres.

Rasnic is hoping even more players step up in the scoring column in the team’s first home match.

“I am looking for that we maintain a consistent level of play and make sure we are putting our best foot forward,” he said.

WNCC volleyball team ranked No.

When the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team takes to the court Friday morning for the Salt Lake Community College Invite, they will be doing so with authority.

After the NJCAA released its pre-season volleyball poll on Tuesday, the players were a little pumped up. The Cougars, after enjoying a 56-2 and national runner-up season a year ago, were tabbed No. 5 in the preseason, and below teams they beat a year ago.

So, freshman Chelsea Lyles said the only way to prove just how good this team really is, is on the court.

“Most of them are ranked above us so we are trying to prove ourselves, saying that we should be ranked above most of these teams,” Lyles said. “We really are just going up there proving ourselves that we should be in the top two in the nation and not No. 5.

Iowa Western Community College, last year’s national championship, comes in as the No. 1 team in the nation followed by Missouri State-West Plains, Frank Phillips College and Salt Lake Community College.

WNCC is next at No. 5 followed by Blinn College, Casper College, Jefferson College, Hillsborough Community College and University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith rounding out the top 10.

The Cougars march to proving themselves will start Friday when they compete in what could be called a pre-national tournament Invite. WNCC will open the tournament Friday at 8:30 a.m. against Yavapai College. They will then face Snow College at 11 a.m., Northern Idaho at 1:30 p.m. and then the College of Southern Idaho at 5:15 p.m. WNCC will wrap up the pool play portion Saturday morning against Salt Lake Community College.

WNCC finishes the tournament with bracket play Saturday afternoon.
Other pre-season ranked teams that will be at the Salt Lake tournament include College of Southern Idaho (12^th), Hutchinson Community College (13^th) and Northeastern Junior College (22^nd).

“The rankings fired us up a lot,” Lyles said. “The rankings made us want to work harder in practice so when we play a match we will have the drive to go out and beat teams more now to just prove ourselves to the nation, other teams and other people.”

The Cougars will get a test and are ready for the challenge, especially after their dominating performance at last weekend’s South Sub-region tournament. WNCC swept through all five opponents for the ninth year in a row.

Lyles said they will need to play at the top of their game to come away with a second straight tournament championship. Last year, the team won the Salt Lake Invite.

“I believe we can win the tournament if we go out there and play our game like we can,” she said. “We need to play as a team and don’t get frustrated. We need to step up and play better then we did last weekend because basically the competition is way higher then it was last weekend.”

WNCC women's soccer shuts out Neosha, men fall by one goal

The WNCC Cougar soccer teams wrapped up the Kansas swing by splitting matches against Neosha County Community College on Monday. The women won 5-0 behind goals from five different goal scorers.

Nancy Boyack started things by taking a pass from Amanda Arrant in the 12th minute. WNCC then added four more goals in the first half for the 5-0 lead.

Arrant got the second goal off an assist by Tamika Smith, followed by a goal by Bre Perkes. Smith then picked up her second assist on the day by feeding LeAnna Paxton with a goal. Smith then finished off the scoring by taking a pass from Paxton for the final score.

WNCC had 11 shots on goal for the day, while Neosha had 0.

Rasnic said that Neosha is not that bad of a team, it is just that his girls are playing well.

“They were not a bad team, our ladies just took them out of their game from the beginning,” he said. “The second half I told the ladies to just possess the ball and I don’t think they (Neosha) touched the ball, made a pass, for the first 12 minutes of the game. Late in the game, I even pulled players and we were playing with just 10 players.”

The men couldn’t overcome a good Neosha men’s team falling 2-1. Still, the men had opportunities to win in the evenly matched contest.

WNCC finished the game with eight shots on goal to Neosha’s five, and six corner kicks to Neosha’s two. WNCC had 14 penalties compared to Neosha’s 21. In fact, it was a penalty kick that was the difference in the game.

One minute, 34 seconds into the match, Neosha scored on a penalty kick. The scored stayed that way until the 60th minute when Neosha made it 2-0.

WNCC sliced the lead in half as Eloy Matos scored off an assist by Lazzaro Torres, but they couldn’t get any closer.

“I thought we played extremely well,” Rasnic said. “It is sad to see it won on a penalty kick. It should have been a 1-1 tie.”

The Cougar men will next be in action Saturday when they host Colorado Mountain College at home beginning at noon at Lander’s Field. The women’s next contest will be Sept. 5 on the road against Western Wyoming Community College, with their home opener Sept. 8 against Barton.