WNCC men pick up fourth straight win, Cruz, Robinson combine for 48 points.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Western Nebraska Community College’s Geddes Robinson and Francisco Cruz combined for 48 points and the Cougar men captured their fourth straight victory with dominating 96-56 performance over the Air Force all-stars Saturday in the final day of the Air Force Prep tournament.

Cruz paced the Cougars with 25 points and two 3-pointers, while Robinson finished with 23 points. WNCC also received double figure scoring from Jasen Williams and Geoffrey Firmin with 12 and 11 points each.

WNCC coach Russ Beck said while his team played well, especially offensively, they still need some work on defense.

“The first half we came out and played to the level of our competition, even though it doesn’t reflect that in the scorebook,” he said. “We were not happy that we gave up 31 points at halftime. Our goal was to hold them under 50 for the game and we gave up 56.

“It wasn’t until Scott [Bamforth] got hurt that we started to pull together. We have to learn to come out with that intensity and toughness before something like that happens. We finished the game strong and had a strong second half. The guys were playing hard and they were thinking about Scott.”

WNCC held a 47-31 lead at halftime and then, with two minutes gone in the second half, Bamforth went down with a dislocated elbow on a 1-on-3 break. After that the Cougars picked up their intensity and coasted to the win.

“I think now both Geddes and Cruz are averaging over 20 points a game,” Beck said. “ Geoffrey worked a lot in the game in being assertive. We wanted to push the ball in transition, to wear those guys out.”

Beck said his team played well defensively in the second half, holding the all-star team to just 25 points.

“We want to be known as a defensive team,” he said. “We want to be one of the best defensive teams in the country. That comes with a lot of work and a lot of toughness, and a lot of communication. We are getting there, but we need to be able to do this against good teams as well.”

The Cougars, 4-1, will next be in action Thursday and Friday back at the Air Force Prep Invite. WNCC faces PacWest All-stars out of Las Vegas on Thursday and then Air Force Prep on Friday.

“PacWest is a team out of Las Vegas, and typically when an all-star team travels that distance they are usually pretty good,” he said. “I also had an opportunity to watch Air Force Prep and they are very good and physical. Everybody is about 6-3 to 6-6 and they can all shoot it. They also run the Princeton offense, so we will need a good week of practice.”

WNCC (4-1) 47 49 – 96
Air Force All-stars 31 25 – 56
WNCC
Geddes Robinson 23, Francisco Cruz 25, Jasen Williams 12, Geoffrey Firman 11, Scott Bamforth 7, O’Rion Hughes 6, Al-Akeem Watson 4, Brylle Kamen 3, Saul Torres 2.

Volleyball team send off slated for Nov. 17 at 11:30 a.m.

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will have a public send off on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 11:30 a.m. in the pit area of the college. The Cougars will depart for their 11th straight National Tournament appearance at 12 noon on Tuesday. The national tournament will take place in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The send off will include congratulatory messages from WNCC President Dr. Eileen Ely, athletic director Jennifer Pedersen and volleyball coach Giovana Melo. The public is invited to attend the send off.

The Cougars will open the national title hunt Thursday at 10 a.m. (MST) against Wallace State-Hanceville. WNCC enters the tournament with a 39-3 record, while Wallace State has a 34-4 record.

WNCC men, women pick up wins Friday at Air Force Tourney

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams went 2-0 in the Air Force Prep tournament after each garnered wins on Friday.

The Cougar men, after spanking Colorado Northwestern 97-44 on Thursday, dropped Buckley 80-67. Five players reached double figures for the men behind Francisco Cruz’s 22 points.

The Cougar women also went 2-0 in the tournament. On Thursday, the women came back from a 32-31 halftime deficit to claim a 79-65 win over Northwest (Wyo.) College. WNCC followed that up with an 81-56 win over Ft. Carson Army Base.

In Friday’s win, the Cougar women had three players record double-figure scoring as Yuki Morimoto finished with 17 points followed by Thais Pinto with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Stormye Everett with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said the team came out ready to play Friday compared to their contest on Thursday.

“Tonight we came out to put on a big run to start the game and then we lost our composure there at the end of the first half with a lot of turnovers,” she said. “The defense, however, was a little bit better tonight.”

In Thursday’s contest against Northwest, WNCC fell behind 32-31 at halftime and then went into a 2-3 zone to capture the 14-point win. The Cougars built a 22 point lead at one time in the second half.

Friday’s contest saw the Cougars play a solid man-to-man defense that forced 24 Ft. Carson turnovers. WNCC had 11 steals in the contest. The Cougars raced to a 46-32 halftime lead and never looked back.

Pedersen said their defense is starting to come around.

“We are still sporadic on defense where we pick and choose at times what defense to run,” she said. “Thursday night against Powell,we had to go into a zone because defensively we couldn’t cover them man-to-man. {Friday] we didn’t run any zone. We stayed pretty much man-to-man all night. It really depends on the team we are playing right now and what we are comfortable with.”

The Cougars finished Friday’s contest with six 3-pointers as Hemingford’s Shelby Campbell went 2-for-2 and nine points. Bayard’s Amber Kistler finished with seven points and six assists, while Kelli Culver had nine points and one 3-pointer.

In Thursday’s win against the Trappers, Pinto, the 6-foot-7 post player, led lead all scorers with 19 points, 17 of which came in the first half. Everett also popped in 15 points along with seven rebounds and six steals, while Morimoto had 13 points, eight rebounds and eight steals.

Tynetta Turner pulled down six rebounds, while Kistler had six steals.

The Cougar men picked up their third straight win since a season-opening loss on Nov. 3. In Friday’s contest, two players finished with 20 or more points. Cruz needed 22 points, including 18 in the first half. He also netted two 3-pointers. Geddes Robinson finished with 20 points.

Also for the Cougars, Scott Bamforth finished with 12 points and two 3-pointers, O’Rion Hughes had 11 points, with most of the points down the stretch, and Brylie Kamen had 10 points.

WNCC men’s coach Russ Beck said they had a strong start and kept playing well. The Cougars held a comfortable 46-29 lead against a Buckley team that featured a number of former Division I players.

“We came out strong right at the start. They 2-3 zoned us almost the entire game,” he said. “They had some really good players on their team. They had Jacob Birchy who started 32 games on Air Force’s team in 2006-07 where he averaged 13 points a game on a team that went 26-9 and went to the NCAA tournament. They also had John Fry, a 6=9 player. We did a good job on those two. Anytime you are playing against guys that have been former Division I players it will be really physical and they understand how to play the game and they will really be able to shoot it.”

Beck said this team is starting to find its groove on the court.

“We are starting to understand what we do well,” he said. “When we do the things that we do, we are a pretty good team. When we try to ad lib too much and try to complicate things too much, then we allow teams to stay around.”

Both teams will wrap up the Air Force Prep tournament today. The women will face Pac Sun at noon, while the men will play an all-star team from the Air Force Base at 3 p.m.

Friday’s Game

WNCC women (3-0) 46 35 — 81

Ft. Carson 32 24 — 56

WNCC

Amber Kistler 7, Stormye Everett 11, Shelby Campbell 9, Yuki Morimoto 17, Ariane Brown 2, Tiffany Moorer 4, Tynetta Turner 2, Carolina Alves 7, Thias Pinto 13, Kelli Culver 9.

WNCC men (3-1) 46 34 — 80

Buckley 29 38 — 67

WNCC

Jasen Williams 3, Saul Torres 2, O’Rion Hughes 11, Scott Bamforth 12, Francisco Cruz 22, Brylie Kamen 10, Geddes Robinson 20.

Thursday’s Game

WNCC women 31 48 — 79

NW Wyoming 32 33 — 65

WNCC

Amber Kistler 4, Stormye Everett 15, Shelby Campbell 6, Yuki Morimoto 13, Ariane Brown 4, Tiffany Moorer 5, Tynetta Turner 3, Carolina Alves 6, Thais Pinto 19, Khayla Gladney 4.

Bamforth signs with Weber State story in Omaha World Herald

Check out Scott Bamforth signing story in the Omaha World Herald including a photo. visit the story at the following link http://www.omaha.com/article/20091112/SPORTS09/711129747

WNCC men dominate Colorado Northwestern

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team put three players in double figures as they opened the Air Force Prep tournament in dominating fashion with a 97-44 win over Colorado Northwestern Community College Thursday afternoon.

The Cougars held a 53-16 lead at halftime and never were threatened in the contest.

WNCC head coach Russ Beck said his team came ready to play.

“We told them we want to come out and show them we are a defensive team,” he said. “There is a lot of opportunity with this team to put a lot of pressure on and get stops. We were aggressive defensively, hungry and after stops.”

The Cougars had 11 players hit the scoring column and finished with five 3-pointers as a team. Sophomore Geddes Robinson paced all scorers with 23 points. Scott Bamforth finished with 18 points and three 3-pointers, while Francisco Cruz had 11 points and one 3-pointer.

Al-Akeem Watson and Jasen Williams finished with nine points each. Williams had the other trey for the Cougars.

The Cougars, 2-1, will face Buckley Air Force Base Friday before taking on Peterson Air Force Base on Saturday. Beck knows these two contests will be more physical.

“It will be a physical game with guys that understand how to play. There will be former Division I basketball players playing,” he said. “We trying to approach the games like it is a tournament and win day at a time.”

CNCC 16 28 – 44
WNCC (2-1) 53 44 – 97
WNCC
Geddes Robinson 23, Scott Bamforth 18, Francisco Cruz 11, Al-Akeen Watson 9, Jasen Williams 9, Ritchie Mundende 7, Brllye Kamen 6, Joe Stock 3, O’Rion Hughes 4, Saul Torres 4, Geoffrey Firmin 2.

WNCC's Bamforth signs with Division I Weber State

Scott Bamforth has always had the dream of playing at the Division I level and when he came to WNCC in 2007 he worked hard to achieve that goal.

Bamforth officially realized that goal on Wednesday during the early signing period when he inked with Weber State University out of Ogden, Utah. It was a move that he has no regrets with.

“I signed there because I think it is a perfect fit for me,” the 6-foot-2 sophomore from Albuquerque, N.M., said. “I am really excited because it has always been a goal to play Division I. That is why you come to junior college so you get that chance. I was lucky enough to get it and I am looking forward to it, but at the same time I am not looking at it until it gets here. I am looking toward this year.”

WNCC first-year coach Russ Beck said Weber State is a perfect fit for Bamforth.

“Scott is a lock at the Division I level as a player,” he said. “I have known Coach Randy Rahe and his staff at Weber State and I have seen the way they play, and I think it is a very good fit. I think they are as lucky to get him as he is them. It is a tribute to Scott and his hard work so far this season that he has this opportunity. We are looking forward to see what he will do for us this year. It is no greater joy to a coach then to watch the players that have moved on from the program on to the Division I level.”

Weber State lost in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference last year to Montana State, but still made the NIT tournament before falling to San Diego State. Weber State finished with a 21-10 record and won the Big Sky Conference league title with a 15-1 mark.

Bamforth led the team in scoring last season with over 600 points and 50 made 3-pointers. This season, WNCC coach Russ Beck projects Bamforth to have the same kind of season.

“Scott is the kind of player that can change the outcome of the game. He has some unique abilities to really shoot the basketball at any level, whether it is NBA, college, or high school,” Beck said. “When you shoot the ball the way Scott does, that is a premium. That is the guy you want out on the floor. He is starting to demonstrate his leadership abilities in this young season. When he brings that energy and effort, a lot of guys look to him and they will follow.”

Bamforth seldom has an off night. In fact he has only been held without a point once in his basketball career and that was the season-opening contest Nov. 3 against the College of Eastern Utah. He also learned a lot from that contest and rebounded with an 18-point game against the same team on Nov. 7. Bamforth said he never was held without a point before and it was actually a good thing because he learned a lot about his game.

“That is the first time in my life I didn’t score and not scoring wasn’t in my mind because at the end of the game, I was most mad about the loss and my effort,” he said. “Just watching the film, I knew my effort wasn’t there at all. I know he [coach] seen it and he saw the change from when we played them again. The effort just changed. At the same time I think it was good [that I didn’t score] because it made me realize that I had to try. I felt like I really didn’t try. It has never happened before.”

Bamforth doesn’t try to score; it is just a natural ability. He also puts in countless hours outside of the practice to perfect his scoring ability.

“From the team’s I have been on I have pretty much been the leading scorer, but I have never think about it,” he said. “When I go into a game, it is not like I am going to score this; I think it is the abilities that God gave me that I can score the ball.”

Bamforth came to WNCC in 2007 and red-shirted during the 2007-08 season. He said red-shirting was one of the best decisions that he made.

“ I am very happy I didn’t play my first year,” he said. “It was hard not playing and it was the first time that I not played in a season. At the same time, it was good because I learned a lot of things that I never realized in my life.

Because of that red-shirt season, Bamforth had the option of transferring, especially after former Cougar coach Brian Joyce left in June for Liberty University. But after talking to Beck this summer, he realized the potential for this year’s basketball team and decided to stay for his sophomore season.

“I thought about it seriously because I don’t like change in my life,” he said. “We had a new coach coming in and I didn’t know who it was. After I met him, I got more comfortable. I think we have a chance to be really, really good. We have little things to fix up but I have learned if I control my effort and I care, that is all that matters. We will be fine.”

Former Cougar Danny Smith ready to open season at Morgan State on Friday

Former WNCC men's basketball player Danny Smith will see plenty of playing time for Morgan State, but his new team will be playing this season for an ailing teammate. Read the story at the following link from the Baltimore Sun.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/bal-sp.morgan12nov12,0,7547336.story

WNCC volleyball earns No. 2 seed at national tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team’s quest for a second national title in three years begins Nov. 19 at the NJCAA national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and it won’t be an easy journey after the seeding for the tournament was released early Wednesday

The 39-3 Cougars earned the No. 2 seed at the tournament and will face Wallace State Community College-Hanceville Thursday, Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. (MST). Wallace State enters the tournament with a 34-4 record. A win in the first round would send the Cougars into a 4:30 p.m. (MST) contest Thursday against the winner of Frank Phillips and San Jacinto College match. The tournament runs through Saturday.

WNCC coach Giovana Melo said she likes being seeded No. 2 since it takes some of the pressure off as being the favorite. Salt Lake Community College, who defeated WNCC back in the first weekend in September, leapfrogged the Cougars to garner the No. 1 seeding. WNCC was No. 3 in the final regular season polls, while Salt Lake was No. 4. The top two teams in the polls, North Idaho College and Blinn College, lost in the regional tournament. Blinn won the championship last year.

“I am happy with the No. 2 seed,” Melo said. “The road to a national title will be very difficult. We have some pretty good opponents but we are going there to put up a big fight.”

WNCC is actually used to playing as a lower seed. In fact, back in 2007 when the Cougars won the national title, Salt Lake was the No. 1 seed and the Cougars were the No. 4 seed. That same year, Salt Lake defeated WNCC early in the season, and then the Cougars won a five-set thriller in the semi-finals of nationals on their way to the national title.

Right now the team is practicing for the upcoming tournament and Melo is researching their future opponents.

“I have not seen either of them play, but I think they are both pretty good,” she said. “They both have been going to the tourney in the past couple of years so we need to bring our A game.”

WNCC enters the tournament playing some of its best volleyball. After falling to NJC in five sets in the regular season Oct. 28, the Cougars rebounded in playing solidly in sweeping NJC twice to capture the regional title. And now since the seedings are out, the team can focus on the task at hand in winning a second national title in three years.

“I think the girls have been waiting on the seedings,” she said. “It will just take a lot of heart to bring home a championship.”

The Cougars are one of 12 teams with single-digit losses in the national tournament in a very balanced national tournament.

First round action match-ups include No. 3 Iowa Western (40-4) against No. 14 Temple College (22-21), No. 6 MSU-West Plains (24-8) against No. 11 Northwest (Wyo.) College (25-8), No. 7 San Jacinto (30-7) against No. 10 Frank Phillips College (28-10), No. 1 Salt Lake (27-7) against No. 16 Spartanburg Methodist (10-17), No. 9 Hillsborough Community College (29-8) against No. 8 Hutchinson (30-8), No. 5 Miami Dade (29-4) against No. 12 Panola College (26-7), and No. 4 College of Southern Idaho (28-6) against No. 13 Seminole State (22-15). The championship is slated for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (MST).

Interesting match-ups in the tournament could be a WNCC and Northwest Wyoming as Melo and Trapper head coach Flavia Siqueira played with each other when they attended WNCC in 2003. Both coaches are in their second year as the head coach at their programs.

The contests can be heard live on Kozy 101.3 FM or on the Internet at www.kozy1013.com.

Former Cougar coach turning UAA volleyball program around

Former WNCC volleyball coach Chris Green is turning around the University of Alaska Anchorage volleyball program around. Check out the story at

http://www.adn.com/3530/story/995333.html

WNCC men topple College of Eastern Utah

PRICE, Utah - The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball gained some revenge on the College of Eastern Utah on Saturday night.

The Cougars, who lost to CEU on Tuesday 77-61, registered an impressive 86-77 win over the Golden Eagles on Saturday.

Four WNCC players scored in double figures as the team shot 50 percent from the 3-point line (7-of-13).

Francisco Cruz paced the Cougars with 29 points, including nailing two 3-pointers. Scott Bamforth, who was held scoreless on Tuesday, erupted for 18 points with three 3-pointers. Brylle Kamen finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and two 3-pointers, while Geddes Robinson had 16 points and six rebounds.

WNCC coach Russ Beck said this was a good win for his squad, which made some adjustments after Tuesday's loss.

``It was good that the boys were able to come back and get the win. We made some adjustments,'' Beck said. ``We also out-rebounded them 29-23, holding them to eight offensive rebounds. They are a good team, and we are on the right track.''

Beck also lauded his team's 77 percent free-throw shooting.

WNCC, 1-1, will next be in action Thursday through Saturday at the Air Force Prep Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo.

WNCC women's basketball team picks up 18-point win over Colby

COLBY, Kan. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team shot nearly 50 percent from the field in racing to an 86-68 victory over Colby Community College the Cougars season opener.

The No. 15-ranked Cougars put four players in double figures, including a 22-point effort from freshman from Yuki Morimoto. Also collecting double figure scoring was 6-foot-7 Thais Pinto with 16 points, Bayard’s Amber Kistler with 16 and Scottsbluff’s Madison Keller with 10.

The Cougars shot 49 percent from the field, including blistering the net from beyond the 3-point arc for 46 percent. Kistler, Morimoto and Hemingford’s Shelby Campbell all had two 3-pointers, while Keller netted on trey.

Assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said while it was nice to pick up the win, they need to focus on playing tougher defense.

“The one thing we learned tonight was we need to do a better job defensively and on the boards. We out-rebounded them tonight, but our rebounding effort wasn’t very strong. I think we gave up 70 points tonight when we really shouldn’t have given up that many points.

“But for the first game of the year, we came out and executed offensively very well throughout the night. We just need to work on defense a little bit more this week.”

WNCC started slow leading 16-13 with just seven minutes into the game and before pushing it to 26-17 at the 9:16 mark. The offense continued opening up as the Cougars led 46-34 at halftime. WNCC led by as much as 22 points in the game in the second half.

Pedersen said the reason they played well offensively was because of their height advantage.

“They zoned us all night so we were able to run a high-low offense because we were a lot taller than them,” she said.

WNCC will be back in action next week when they travel to the Air Force Prep Thursday. The Cougars first contest will be against Northwest (Wyo.) College.

“We need to get a lot better defensively and a lot better on the boards,” she said.

WNCC (1-0) 46 40 – 86
Colby C.C. 34 34 – 68
WNCC
Shelby Campbell 6, Yuki Morimoto 22, Khayla Gladney 2, Amber Kistler 13, Kelli Culver 6, Thais Pinto 16, Madison Keller 10, Tayler Puttergill 3, Michelle Glaze 2, Carolina Alves 6.

VOLLEYBALL TEAM -- REGION IX CHAMPIONS!!!

STERLING, Colo. – Sabina Piegza missed the last two weeks of the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team’s regular season with a knee injury and she was determined to play in the Region IX South volleyball tournament.

Piegza and the rest of her Cougar teammates made their presence a memorable one as they swept to their 11^th straight regional title in dominating fashion. The Cougars dropped Northeastern Junior College in straight sets 25-15, 25-13, 25-17 to earn a berth at the NJCAA national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Nov. 19-21.

Piegza, who was tabbed Region IX’s Player of the Year and Setter of the Year, said they have been working hard all year to get back to the national tournament, and this weekend, they played like true champions.

“I was just waiting for regionals to get back on the court,” the 6-foot-1 sophomore setter from Poland said. “I think everybody was waiting for regionals and it was a great time to be here.

“We did a very good job. I think we worked hard from the beginning of the season to get back to nationals,” the 6-foot-1 sophomore setter from Poland said. “I think we just played our game today as a team and this is how we are going to win a national title.”

Piegza, though, was one of many players that played a crucial role in WNCC capturing the regional title. Gering graduate Brooke Blomenkamp, who along with Piegza was named to the all-tournament team, said they entered the tournament with a game plan and they stuck with it.

“We had a game plan and we executed the game plan perfectly,” she said. “All we had to do is have fun out there. We knew they would come hard, and they did. This win feels awesome right now. We won it last year and we got it again this year and defending our title is just awesome. It feels so good inside. I just love it.”

Blomenkamp said the game plan involved putting up a brick wall on the Plainswomen’s talented hitters. The Cougars did that as WNCC registered 13 blocks, including one solo block and four assist blocks from freshman Tania Torres.

“We had to go out there and block Brunna [Kronbauer] and Karen [Rivatto], and we got that done,” Blomenkamp said. “I think that helped us a lot. We also stayed very disciplined. We also had strong serving.”

The Cougars definitely had plenty of motivation at the regional tournament as last week, the Plainswomen topped the Cougars in the regular season in five sets in Sterling. Blomenkamp said the team remembered that loss.

“Yes that did that loss did motivate us,” she said. “We were determined not to lose again and we did it.”

WNCC wasted little time in taking control as they vaulted to a 4-0 lead behind four points from Kuulei Kabalis. The Cougars couldnet hold the lead as NJC came back to tie the game at 10-10 on a Rivatto kill.

That was the last time the Plainswomen would be tied with the No. 3 team in the nation as Ariel Austin hammered home a kill and then Kuulei Kabalis had four point, on three blocks by Torres for a 15-10 lead. WNCC finished off the first set as Paulina Piegza served the final two points for the win.

WNCC started even stronger in the second set, rolling to a 3-0 lead and pushed the lead to double digits at 12-2 on four Kaleinani Kabalis points. The Cougars were never in danger of losing the second set has Kathryn Stock had four kills and Blomenkamp had two clutch kills for the wn.

NJC played tougher in the third set early on as the Plainswomen held a 4-3 lead. WNCC changed gears and started pulling away as Sabina Piegza had three points and then led 14-8. The Cougars kept accelerating to championship point as Weimer served three points for a 20-13 lead.

After two points from NJC, Kabalis hammered a kill into the gournd for a 21-15 lead followed by Sabina Piegza three service points as Kabalis had two more kills. NJC sliced the lead to 24-17, but then a missed serve gave the regional title to WNCC.

Stock, who also was named to the all-tournament team, said the entire team stuck together.

“We played great and we really played as a team,” the freshman hitter said. “I think we played smart and we were patient. We fought through the whole game. We played great together and I think we can play better next time. We know we can do it now, especially when we get everything back in sync.”

In the championship match, Kaleinani Kabalis finished with a double-double of 13 kills, 10 digs, and three points; while Stock had eight kills, three blocks, four points and seven digs. Also, Cami Weimer had seven points and 15 digs; Paulina Piegza had two kills and three blocks; Torres had four kills, five blocks, Kuulei Kabalis had 10 points, seven digs and 11 set assists; Sabina Piegza had 10 set assists, eight points and seven digs; and Ariel Austin had two kills.
Four members of the Cougar squad made the All-Tournament and All-Region teams. All-tournament members include Blomenkamp, Stock, Paulina Piegza and Kaleinani Kabalis.

All-region members include Blomenkamp, Paulina and Sabina Piegza, and Kaleinani Kabalis. Sabina Piegza was also named the Region IX South Player of the Year as well as the Setter of the Year.

WNCC, 39-3, will now compete in its 11th straight national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Nov. 19-21.

WNCC volleyball moves to regional final with wins over Otero, NJC in regional tournament

STERLING, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team is one win away from its 11^th straight regional title after sweeping through two matches Friday at the Region IX South tournament in Sterling, Colo.

The Cougars opened play with a sweep over Otero Junior College 25-19, 25-14, 25-18 Friday morning, and then shutdown Northeastern Junior College 25-17, 25-16, 25-14 in the winner’s bracket. Friday’s two wins moves the Cougars into the championship match Saturday at 1 p.m. in Sterling. A win Saturday sends the Cougars to their 11^th straight national tournament Nov. 19-21 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

WNCC coach Giovana Melo said the team played one of its best contests of the season.

“I think this win was huge. I think it will make a big difference on our mentality for tomorrow [Saturday] for us to come out stronger with more confidence for the final,” she said. “This game was the best game with every single person playing really well. It has been a long time since that happened.”

The last time these two squads faced each other last week, the Plainswomen topped the Cougars in five sets,including snapping a 165-match Region IX winning streak. Friday’s rematch was totally different.

The first set started out as a tussle between two top 20 ranked teams. The match was tied at 8-8 early until Tania Torres hammered home a kill. Kathryn Stock then put some distance between the two squads serving five straight points for a 14-8 lead. WNCC pushed the lead to 16-10 on a Kaleinani Kabalis kill.

NJC fought back, slicing the lead to 16-14 before Kabalis stopped the rally with a kill. Kabalis then served two straight aces and then Torres finished off the Plainswomen with a kill for the first set win.

Cami Weimer made a difference in set two turning a 3-2 deficit into a 10-3 lead on eight straight points, including two aces, and two kills each from Kabalis and Paulina Piegza. The Cougars pushed the lead to 19-10 on two Piegza points and three Stock kills.

Weimer finished off the Plainswomen serving the final point.

NJC started the third set strong in holding an early 6-5 lead. The Cougars quickly turned up the head as Stock had two kills for a 13-9 lead. WNCC kept hitting on all cylinders as Torres, Ariel Austin, Kabalis and Brook Blomenkamp hammered home kills to take the Plainswomen out of their game. Kabalis finished off NJC hammering home two kills from the backrow.

Melo said this team almost played flawless. Now, they need to pick it up once again on Saturday in the championship match. WNCC will face the winner of the 10 a.m. match, which could be either NJC or the winner of the late game Friday between Otero and Lamar.

“We had a little game plan and they executed and it was perfect,” Melo said. “We now have to push 10 percent more.”

Stock and Kabalis paced the Cougars with 13 and 10 kills each. Kabalis also had one solo block, eight digs, and nine points, while Stock finished with eight digs, two solo blocks and eight points.

Also for the Cougars, Brooke Blomenkamp had seven kills, Paulina Piegza had three kills, eight points and two aces; Kuulei Kabalis had 17 set assists, four points, and five digs; Weimer had nine points, two aces, and nine digs Sabina Piegza had 12 set assists, three points and three digs, Austin had four kills; and Torres six kills and two solo blocks.

In the Cougars’ opening match against Otero, Kaleinani Kabalis had 16 kills, three aces and eight digs; Stock had 11 digs and four kills; Paulina Piegza had five kills and three digs; Blomenkamp had six kills; Kuulei Kabalis had 13 set assists, three digs and three aces; Sierra Schmidt had 11 set assists and five digs; Austin had five kills and two blocks; Torres had three kills and three blocks; Emily Hoehn had two aces and 12 digs.

Other scores in the South Sub-region tourney saw Northeastern Colorado beat Lamar 25-10, 25-17, 25-18, Otero top Trinidad State 25-16, 25-20, 25-23; Lamar eliminate McCook 25-16, 25-22, 27-25, 25-18; and Lamar dropping Otero 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-20. NJC will battle Lamar Saturday at 10 a.m. with the winner facing WNCC for the title at 1 p.m.

WNCC volleyball team wins opener at regionals

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team started the Region IX South tournament in Sterling, Colo., with a bang by sweeping Otero Junior College 25-19, 25-15, 25-18.

The win was the team's 37th of the season and pushed them into a 5 p.m. match with Northeastern Junior College later tonight. The championship is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The contests can be heard on the radio at KOZY 101.3 or on the web at kozy1013.com.

WNCC women's basketball tips off the season Saturday at Colby

Khayla Gladney has never played on a basketball team with so much height like the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team has that she is elated to play on a team that features so much height and talent.

Gladney, a 6-1 forward from Los Angeles, Calif., won’t have to wait too much longer to get that chance as preseason NJCAA 15^th-ranked Cougars open the season on Saturday at Colby Community College.

“I think everyone is excited to get started,” the freshman said. “We are trying to build toward nationals and I think we are going to work really hard to make that happen.”

The one thing that is definitely in the Cougars favor is their height. WNCC has nine players that stand 5-10 or taller, with seven players listed 6-foot or taller. Gladney, said playing with all this height is something new to her.

“I have seen teams with as much height, but I never been a part of a team with so much height,” she said. “We have high expectations because Coach Harnish gets on all of us and tries to make us do the best that we can in everything from school to on the court.”

Gladney is just one of the tall timbers on the squad. The tallest Cougar is 6-foot-7 Thais Pinto of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Pinto is the tallest women’s basketball player to play for Harnish since Awa Diop in the early 2000s.

The other tall players include 6-2 Kelli Culver of Arvada, Colo., 6-2 Soulijah Evans and 6-1 Tynetta Turner of San Diego, Calif., 6-0 Carolina Alves of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 6-0 Tiffany Moorer of Harbor City, Calif., 5-10 Tayler Puttergill of Mullen, and 5-10 Yuki Morimoto of Tokyo, Japan.

The other members of the squad include 5-9 Amber Kistler of Bayard, 5-9 Stormye Everett of Aurora, Colo., 5-3 Shelby Campbell of Hemingford, 5-9 Ariane Brown of Colorado Springs, Colo., 5-8 Madison Keller of Scottsbluff, and 5-8 Michelle Glaze of Brighton, Colo.

Gladney said this team has a lot of potential.

“The season looks really good,” she said. “I think we will have a fantastic year. We have a lot of talent and we are working really hard to put it all together.”

Gladney said this team will be able to score some points from a variety of people.

“I think our strength is we have a lot of good shooters and a lot of people that can make good moves to the basket,” she said. “I think we have to work better on transition defense because that is what coach complains about the most.”

WNCC is not quite to head coach Dave Harnish’s perfection just yet.

“Harnish is a good motivator to us. He tells us what we need to do. He likes details and is kind of a perfectionist,” she said. “We aren’t quite neat to perfecting everything, but we are working on it. He is trying to make us get there.”

The Cougars are also a young team with just two sophomores returning from last year’s 24-8 squad that lost in the semi-finals of the Region IX tournament. Those two, Kister and Everett, will be vital leaders to the team.

“We are coming along pretty well and by the time the season comes, we should do well and play as coach wants us to play,” Gladney said. “I think we have enough talent to do so. We just have to bring it all together and we should be good.”

After Saturday’s contest in Colby, the Cougars will compete in tournaments at the Air Force Prep on back-to-back weekends before heading to Garden City, Kan., for a Thanksgiving tournament. WNCC will have their first home contests Dec. 3-5 with the Colorado/Nebraska Showcase followed by the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic the next weekend.

WNCC volleyball ready for regional tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will be looking to capture its 11^th straight regional title when the Region IX South tournament kicks off Thursday at Sterling, Colo.

The Cougars, who enter the tournament with a lofty 36-3 record and a No. 3 ranking in the NJCAA national polls, earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Cougars first round contest will be Friday at 11 a.m. against the winner of Thursday’s contest between Otero Junior College and McCook Community College.

The other first-round match on Thursday will see Lamar Community College taking on Trinidad State Junior College with the winner facing the No. 2 seed Northeastern Junior College at 9 a.m. on Friday. The championship match is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Giovana Melo said this team is ready to go out and leave everything on the court.

“They need to play as a team and fight for every point,” she said. “We need to play hard at all times.”

The Cougars road to a regional championship will not be an easy one considering WNCC fell to the host NJC Plainswomen last week in five, agonizing sets. The loss, however, will turn out beneficial for the Cougars, according to Melo.

“It is a good wake up call to show that we still have a lot to learn and get better,” she said. “Also, it shows that any team can win on any given day and that is why we have to give it our best at all times.”

The one strength that this team has accomplished was playing through a lot of adversity. The Cougars were without their leading hitter for three matches earlier in the season, and then have been playing without starting 6-foot-1 setter Sabina Piegza the past five matches. Just how much Piegza will play at the regional tournament remains to be seen as she continues to come back from a knee injury.

“We are not sure about Sabina yet,” Melo said. “It depends on how much progress she makes in the next couple of days. “

The team has picked up through all this adversity and that is one that Melo said sets this team apart from other teams.

“I think we have fought a lot adversity and we have faced many different situations as we showed we can compete no matter what,” she said. “We have a lot depth and that has helped us throughout the year.”

A number of players have stepped up each and every game to contribute in different ways. With Piegza absence from the setting position, freshmen Sierra Schmidt and Kuulei Kabalis have risen to the occasion. Melo said this team needs to continue playing hard at all times.

“This is going to be a lot tougher than it has been in the past to win,” she said. “But, it would mean much more than last year because of all the difficulties we have been facing.”

The Region IX tournament will be available via video on the Internet off the NJC website at gonjc.com. WNCC’s matches will also be available on the Internet and the radio at kosy1013.com or on the radio at 101.3 FM.

The winner of the regional tournament will qualify for the national tournament Nov. 19-21 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Tournament Schedule

Thursday, Nov. 5

5 p.m. – Lamar vs. Trinidad State, 7 p.m. – Otero vs. McCook.

Friday, Nov. 6

9 a.m. – Lamar/Trinidad winner vs. Northeastern Colorado, 11 a.m. – Otero/McCook winner vs. WNCC, 1 p.m. – Otero/McCook loser vs. loser of 9 a.m. game, 3 p.m. – Lamar/Trinidad loser vs. loser of 11 a.m. game, 5 p.m. – 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. winners, 7 p.m. – winners of the 1 and 3 p.m. games.

Saturday, Nov. 7.

10 a.m. – third place game, 1 p.m. – Championship, 3 p.m. – if-necessary match.

Kalai and Kuulei featured in Hawaii newspaper

The Kabalises, Kalai and Kuulei, were featured in Honolulu Advertiser today. Check out the story at:

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091104/SPORTS16/911040357/Volleyball+s+Kabalises+spur+Nebraska+college

WNCC men fall in season-opener to College of Eastern Utah

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team received a 22-point effort from Geddes Robinson, but it wasn’t enough as the College of Eastern Utah outlasted the Cougars 77-61 in both team’s season opener.

Eastern Utah blistered the nets with 47 percent shooting, including making 11 of 20 from the 3-point line. WNCC, on the other hand, shot just 38.3 percent from the field, including going 1-of-15 from beyond the arc.

WNCC first-year coach Russ Beck said his team just had an off night, especially rebounding.

“We just fell through in executing our game plan in terms of getting the offensive rebound,” he said. “I would guess they had 30 points just from offensive rebounds. A team that goes 8 of 10 from the 3-point line in the first half is going to be hard to beat. The second half we knew it wasn’t going to be that way. There were eight possessions where we went zone and they scored twice. We got the stops when we needed; we just failed to convert on the offensive side. We weren’t patient enough. We took the first available shot instead of making them play defense.”

The first half was a dogfight as both teams battled back and forth. WNCC held a 14-11 lead on a Francisco Cruz bucket, only to watch the Golden Eagles come storming back to hold a 21-18 lead on a Isiah Williams 3-pointer.

WNCC kept battling against the taller Eastern Utah squad, scoring four straight buckets to take a 26-21 lead. Geoffrey Firmin had the big plays putting WNCC up by thee after getting a steal and driving the length of the court for a bucket. O’Rion Hughes followed seconds later with a bucket to put the Cougars up 26-21.

Eastern Utah came roaring back taking the lead with 4:15 to play in the opening quarter on a Cliff Coloman trey at 28-26. Robinson brought the Cougars back, scoring three straight buckets to put WNCC up 32-30 with 2:12 to play. Williams buried a trey and then Micheal Glover had an old-fashioned 3-point play with 36 seconds left to help the Golden Eagles take a 41-34 lead into the locker room.

WNCC played tough early in the second half as Robinson connected on two bucket and then Firmin hit the only trey of the game for the Cougars to cut the deficit to 47-41. Eastern Utah then went on a 12-6 run to push the lead to double digits, 59-47 on a Williams 3-pointer.

WNCC cut the lead to within seven with 5:32 to play on a Al-Akeem Watson bucket and free throws from Robinson and Firmin, but that was as close as the Cougars could get.

Robinson led the Cougars with 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field. Firmin finished with 15 points and five assists, while Cruz netted 10 points. Bamforth, who was the team’s leading scorer a year ago, was held scoreless.

“Geddes is just a horse. We run some sets for him to get some touches down low,” he said. “He is a very crafty player. He was 9 of 13 from the field and we need to continue to feed him the ball. But, give credit to CEU’s defense. They did a good job of guarding Scott Bamforth. He had an off night but that is going to happen. We just need guys to step up off the bench and I thought Al-Akeem Watson did a tremendous job coming in. He was hitting big shots and getting rebounds. O’Rion Hughes came in and gave us some solid defense.

"But, it all comes down to rebounding. If we continue to give up offensive rebounds and give teams second and third chances, we might be able to stop once, but you can’t stop two or three times.”

Eastern Utah had five players hit the double figure column. Glover led the team with 17 points followed by Williams with 12, Coloman with 11 and Chris Mast and Jonathan Mills with 10 points each. University of Nebraska recruit 6-foot-10 Vander Jorguim finished with six points, including two 3-pointers.

The Cougars will battle Eastern Utah on Saturday in Price,Utah, and Beck said they compete with anybody. They just need to execute the game plan.

“We are definitely a team that can play with the best,” he said. “It was just a night where we failed to do one important thing and that is rebounding.”

Eastern Utah (1-0) 41 36 – 77

WNCC (1-0) 34 27 – 61

COLLEGE OF EASTERN UTAH

Michael Glover 17, Isiah Williams 12, Cliff Coloman 11, Tony Dalton 5, Chris Mast 10, Jonathan Mills 10, Vander Jorquim 6.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Geoffrey Firmin 15,O’Rion Hughes 3, Joe Stock 1, Francisco Cruz 10, Al-Akeem Watson 6, Brylle Kamen 4, Geddes Robinson 22.

WNCC men's basketball team opens season Tuesday against College of Eastern Utah at home

After a month of practices, the Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team will tip off the Russ Beck era at Cougar Palace Tuesday night.

The Cougar men, who finished 25-7 a year ago, will take on the College of Eastern Utah at 7 p.m. in each team’s season0-opener. Eastern Utah was 25-7 a year ago. Tuesday’s night is also Pack the Palace night with $1 admission.

Beck, who is beginning his first season as the head coach at WNCC, said the team is ready to go.

“I believe we are ready to go. We had a great week of practice last week. We are starting to focus on some things in terms of team rebounding that will help us. As long as we do the things that we have been practicing and being who we are, we have an excellent chance of winning this ball game. “

The players, themselves, couldn’t be more excited to get on the court.

“They are excited. They gained a little bit of confidence out there at the Jamboree [in October],” Beck said. “They realized a bunch of things they need to work on out there. I think everyone is excited. More and more guys are getting into the gym to get in extra shots.

WNCC brings plenty of talent into the season. The Cougars return pre-season NJCAA All-American candidate Scott Bamforth and Francisco Cruz. The two combined for over 1,100 points and over 80 3-pointers a year ago. Bamforth was a third team pre-season all-American.

Beck said while Bamforth and Cruz are the “headliners” on this year’s team, there is plenty of supporting cast members.

“I think the fans are familiar enough with Scott and Francisco to know they are a huge part of what we want to do,” Beck said. “But, other guys that will have an impact include Geoffrey Firmin at the point to take some burden off of Scott bringing the ball up the floor. Geoff really showed us at the Casper Jamboree that he is capable of running this team.

“Geddes Robinson and Brylle Kamen are two guys that transferred into the program and should be huge on the block and to battle and defend and score when needed. Those are the main guys right now, along with an O’Rion Hughes off the bench that we hope to be really productive for us.”

Firmin is a 6-2 redshirt freshman from Brussels, Belgium, while the 6-7 Kamen and 6-5 Robinson are transfers from Jacksonville State. Hughes is a 6-3 forward/guard from Aurora, Colo.

Other players on the team include returners 6-2 Saul Torres, 6-7 Ritchie Mundende, and 6-1 Mateus Chaves. Torres saw action last season for the Cougars, while Mundende and Chaves red-shirted.

Other players include Joe Stock, a 6-0 guard from Thibodaux, La., Kwame Alexander, a 6-7 transfer from Irviine Valley College, Dustin Murray, a 6-0 guard from Wilson, N.C., and Al-Akeem Watson, a 6-8 center from Newark, N.J.

Eastern Utah head coach Chris Craig is in his third-year. Craig played at Arizona Western and then professionally in Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Mexico.

Beck knows this could be one of the Cougar’s toughest games of the year.

“They may be the best team we will play all year,” Beck said. “Sometimes you may look at that and think it is unfortunate that we play them the first two games of the year, but I think in the long run, it is very beneficial to our team. Win or lose, you will now where you are at. They were 25-7 last year and they have numerous kids that have transferred into the program. They are as good of a team that we will see on our schedule this year.”

Beck said the key to victory will be battling on the boards and taking care of the ball.

“They are a team that will be significantly bigger than us and probably deeper than us on the bench. They have a very athletic tea,” he said. “So, competing with them on the rebounding category is very key. Limiting our turnovers and making sure we hit our free throws are also very large keys for us. We really just need to focus on executing our game plan and controlling the tempo. They are a team that wants to get a lot of possessions so we need to limit their amount of possessions in the game, and at the same time, we need to take care of the ball and take the best shot that we can get. “

After Tuesday’s season opener, the Cougars will travel to Price, Utah, to face the College of Eastern Utah. WNCC will then spend back-to-back weekends at the Air Force Prep for different tournaments before returning home for the Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 27-28

WNCC volleyball team drops McCook in regular season finale, preps for regional tournament this weekend

MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team tuned up nicely for this weekend’s Region IX tournament by dropping McCook Community College in straight sets Sunday afternoon on the road.

The Cougars, 36-3, topped the Indians 25-14, 25-9, 25-15 in a contest that was rescheduled from Friday because of weather conditions. It was also WNCC’s final regular season and sub-region contest of the season. WNCC finished the sub-region 9-1 and captured the No. 1 seed in the North Region IX tournament that begins Thursday in Sterling.

On Sunday, Kaleinani Kabalis recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs. Cami Weimer also put up a good effort, finishing with a near triple-double of nine kills, nine points and 16 digs.

Also for the Cougars, Brooke Blomenkamp had 12 kills, Tania Torres had six kills, Ariel Austin had six kills, Emily Hoehn had 23 digs, Kuulei Kabalis had 26 set assists, seven points and four aces, and Sierra Schmidt had 17 set assists.

Sunday’s win was an uplifting victory for the team after the Cougars fell to Northeastern Junior College on Wednesday on the road in five sets. Freshman Tania Torres said it was also good for the team to get back on the winning track entering the regional tournament on Thursday.

“The game against McCook was a really good one for us as a team,” she said. “Even though we won in three sets, it was a good game for practices and to get better. We, as a team, have to keep working for regionals and nationals. The contest got us ready for this important weekend.”

WNCC’s first contest in the regional tournament will be Friday morning at 11 a.m. against the winner of the No. 4 and 5 seeds. A win Friday morning will send them in a contest Friday evening at 5 p.m. The championship match is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. with the winner qualifying for the national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Nov. 19-21.