WNCC VOLLEYBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!

WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team kept believing and the Cougar women accomplished their ultimate goal as NJCAA national champions.

                The Cougar women, 43-4, snared the championship with a heartpounding five-set win over No. 3 San Jacinto College 28-26, 25-19, 22-25, 15-25, 15-10 win over the Ravens. This was the Cougars second national title in four years.

                “This is a dream. Not a lot of people win it and I knew we had the team from the beginning with the biggest hearts. It is just a dream come true,” Ariel Austin, the sophomore who had 13 kills including the two kills that ended the first and second sets in the Cougars favor, said. “I can’t thank my team enough. We are truly a family.

                “I cannot even describe how it feels to be number one in the nation. This is unbelievable. I don’t even have the words to describe it. It feels so great. It is a dream come true.”

Fernanda Goncalves, who was named the tournament most valuable player, was still in a lack of words to describe the moment she was feeling, that feeling of “We did it.”

                “This means everything to me because I am here for playing volleyball and winning this tournament makes me happy and I am excited,” the freshman setter who finished with 15 digs, 47 set assists and four blocks, said. “I am shaking because of this win. I feel happy right know and a little bit crazy. I was really surprised with the MVP honor.”

WNCC coach Giovana Melo said her team played their hearts out as they won the contest behind a solid defensive performance, including a career best 34 digs from Kuulei Kabalis, who was named to the all-tournament team.

                “This is a feeling that I never thought I would feel or experience it,” the third year coach, who captured the tournament coach of the year honors, said. “It is here and it is the best feeling in my life.”

                WNCC quickly took a 2-0 lead after fighting hard in those sets for the win. In the first set, both squads battle tooth and nail. San Jacinto took a 21-18 lead before WNCC fought back on a Tania Torres kill and then two Emily Hoehn points to tie things at 21. WNCC then took it’s first lead of the match at 23-22 with a Kathryn Stock serve landed for an ace.

                San Jacinto came back and tied things at 24-24 and were facing set point at 26-25 before a Debora Araujo kill tied things up. Goncalves then served an ace and Austin followed with a kill for the set win.

                The second set was back and fourth to start. WNCC held a slim 13-12 lead before Kabalis had three straight service points for a 20-13 lead. Llater, Araujo hammered home a kill and then served up an ace for a 23-16 lead. Austin finished off the set with another kill to put the Cougars one set away from the championship.

                San Jacinto fought back and captured the third and fourth set to force the deciding fifth set. Both teams traded sideouts for the early going. WNCC finally tied the game at 6-6 on a Goncalves setter dump. Kabalis then served two points on kills from Torres and Araujo for an 8-6 lead. San Jacinto came back to cut the deficit to 10-9, but it was shortlived as a missed serve gave WNCC the ball and then Araujo had an ace serve and another point for a 13-9 lead.

                The Ravens came back with a point, but a Torres kill brought the Cougars to 14-10 and then Lais Soares finished off the championship run with a kill.

                Melo told the team going in the fifth set to remember last year’s semifinal and refocus. They did.

                “I told them, especially the sophomores that experienced something like this last year when we lost in the semifinals, that this win is in our hands and if you don’t want to feel that way again like you did last year,” she said. “I told them to forget about everything that happened and to just go fight for that 15 points. It felt like nothing to us after what we felt through the year and they went out and did it.”

                Austin knew they still had this game heading into that fifth set.

                “For me it was our game,” she said. “We did not give up. We stayed disciplined and we came out on top. We had the energy and came out in the end.”

                Araujo paced the Cougars with 21 kills, 15 digs, four aces and nine points. Also having a good match was Austin with 13 kills and two blocks; Torres with 11 kills and five blocks; and Soares with 11 kills and four blocks.

                Also for the Cougars, Kabalis finished with 34 digs and seven points, and Emily Hoehn had 16 digs and six points. Stock finished with 11 digs, eight kills, three blocks and six points.

                The Cougars are scheduled to arrive in Scottsbluff with the trophy sometime Monday and Melo said she wants to show everyone the hardware when they get back.

                “I can’t wait to get this trophy to Scottsbluff and show everybody,” she said. “I am so excited. I hope everybody is there waiting for us [on Monday].”

WNCC moves into championship of national tournament after taking out Salt Lake

WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team kept their dreams alive for a national championship with a come-from-behind victory over Salt Lake Community College Friday evening in the semifinals of the NJCAA national tournament in West Plains, Mo.

                The Cougars faced deficits of five points on several occasions in the third and fourth set, but found the heart and drive they needed to succumb Salt Lake 27-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19 behind a 21-kill performance from Debora Araujo.

                The win sends the Cougars into the title game Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (MST) against San Jacinto College. San Jac swept through Western Wyoming Community College 25-21, 25-21, 25-21. This will be The Cougars third appearance in the championship match in the last six years; the last time coming in 2007 when they defeated Miami Dade for the title.

                Kathyrn Stock, who had five kills and five service points in the crucial fourth set, said this team had the confidence to win and stayed with their game of playing one point at a time.

                “It was a really big win. We went in here confident and we knew we were going to win it, but we also knew it was going to be extremely tough,” the sophomore said. “We just had to stay patient and give it our all every single point. We really, really focused on getting one point at a time. That helped us to be calm. This will give us a lot of confidence for our game tomorrow.”

                Head coach Giovana Melo was ecstatic with how her team fought back from the many deficits. The fight the Cougars had was unbelievable Friday night.

                “We had to learn from our mistakes and I had to tell them that we are a better team when we have a lot of energy, when we are happy, when we are celebrating,” she said. “We are not a good team when we are worrying about the mistakes and that [high energy] is what we went back to. This team showed that they have a lot of heart; that is for sure.”

                Stock said after they dropped that second set and were behind 15-13 in the third, they just had to remember the movie “Miracle” that they watched today as a team, where the United State came back to defeat USSR for the gold medal at the Olympics.

                “I think that movie helped a lot because there were a lot of similarities,” Stock said. “The US going against the USSR in the of the Olympic games, and we are going against a real tough team in the semifinals of a national championship. We knew it was going to be hard, but we also knew that this is the time, we have to do it know, and we have to do it as a team.

                “Going one point at a time was the key. We just had to worry about one point at a time and it kept us from freaking out. We really relied on each other as a team, playing smart with our whole hearts, every single point.”

                Salt lake controlled the first set, vaulting to a 10-7 and 13-9 lead. WNCC, however, kept strong as Stock served four points behind kills from Araujo and Lais Soares to take a 17-15 lead. WNCC kept excelling, moving out to a 24-21 lead on one of Salt Lakes’ five missed serves. But the Bruins came back taking a 25-24 lead behind three points from Kellie Turner. WNCC’s Soares followed with a kill and then Emily Hoehn served the final two points as Stock hammered home the final two kills for the win.

                Salt Lake vaulted to a 11-7 lead in the second set before a Tania Torres kill and three ace serves by Araujo put WNCC in front 12-11. The Bruins came back as Shiela Uluave had two aces for a 22-17 lead before Turner evened the match at a set apiece with an ace serve.

                WNCC jumped out on Salt Lake in the third set behind three service points from Torres for a 4-1 lead. Salt Lake came back to take several 2-point leads, the final time at 21-19 and seemed to have the set in their hands.

                The was when the Cougars picked up their game, starting with an Ariel Austin kill. Hoehn then served three points for a 23-21 lead. Stock and Aruao each had kills to give the Cougars an exciting, come-from-behind win.

                The fourth set was a dogfight from the get-go. Salt Lake controlled the tempo early on, taking a 9-4 lead and lead 13-11. That was when Stock drilled two kills to the floor to start a rally. Hoehn then had a clutch ace serve to help WNCC take a 15-13 lead.

                Salt lake came back, tying the match at 15 before Stock rattled home another kill. Stock then had five straight service points for a 21-16 lead. Salt Lake tried making the set interesting, coming back to slice the lead to 24-19, but Aruajo blistered home a spike to send the Cougars into the championship match.

                Melo and the rest of the team was over-whelmed with emotion after moving into the championship match.

                “We did come from behind just like in the movie Miracle that we watched today, where the US came from behind in every single game they played,” she said. “I think it was a little bit of inspiration for them. They did a really good job and they played with heart and that is what it takes. When it comes down to it, when somebody is not having a good day, somebody else will have to step up and that is what happened. I am very happy. This absolutely feels amazing  and it won’t be over until after tomorrow. We will see what happens.”

                Araujo paced the team with 22 kills, four aces, eight digs and nine points. Stock also came up big with 13 kills, three aces, three blocks and 12 points. Also for the Cougars, Austin had seven kills and two blocks; Torres had five kills, four digs and five points; Fernanda Goncalves had 42 set assists, four blocks and four points; Soares had seven kills and five blocks; Hoehn had nine digs and eight points; and Kuulei Kabalis had 16 digs and five points.

                Salt Lake was led by Ame’ White with 13 kills and 12 digs followed by Sheila Uluave with 12 kills and 15 digs.

                Saturday’s championship game can be heard on KOZY 101.3 FM or online at kozy1013.com. the match will also be video streamed live at psblive.com. Friday’s semi-final match between WNCC and Salt Lake had 1,000 viewers watching online, from reports from the NJCAA.

                Stock said they don’t know much about San Jac, but they just have to worry about their game.

                “All we have to do is the same thing we did tonight, keep going one point at a time; giving it our all every time and just play as a team and we are going hard every single point,” she said. “We know we can do it.”

Gering, WNCC graduate Stacy Meisner now a student assistant coach at UAA

Stacie Meisner couldn’t help but take a step back when she stepped in the West Plains Civic Center Thursday during the first day of the NJCAA national tournament in West Plains, Mo.

                It was back in 2006 and Meisner, a Gering High graduate, played for Western Nebraska Community College. That year, the Cougars made it to the championship match before falling to Iowa Western Community College.

                “I walked in and I couldn’t help to have a little bit of bitter feelings because this is where we lost to Iowa Western in the national championship,” Meisner said. “But, at the same time, it was a great experience and that experience allowed for most of us to return the next year when we won the national championship.”

                WNCC coach Giovana Melo even asked Meisner to wear her national championship ring that she won in 2007 with the Cougars as good luck. Meisner said that is a way to still show her blue and gold spirit while wearing her UAA green and yellow colors.

                “I talked to coach Gi and she told me I had to wear it [the ring] for good luck and I did,” she said. “Because I am here recruiting, I probably won’t be in the stands cheering too much. If I can wear my ring for good luck, I will do that for them.”

                Meisner’s appearance at the national tournament this year is on a different scale; she is recruiting players for former WNCC coach Chris Green and the University of Alaska Anchorage volleyball program. Meisner serves as a student assistant coach at UAA, where she played two seasons under Green after graduating from WNCC.

                And, while her UAA team was at the NCAA Division II regional tournament in California, Meisner was in West Plains, Mo., doing some recruiting. She did; however, got to watch the her Seawolves play their match Thursday against Western Washington at regionals via the Internet, while watching the action at the junior college tournament.

                “We had a really good group of girls this year; lots of talent and lots of potential,” she said. “It was almost a younger team, but I never found that as an excuse of doing well. I think we had really high expectations for the girls. We came across some injuries that got us down at the beginning of the season. All in all, we ended up going to regionals and the NCAA tournament, which is always a goal that we always have. In that regard, they had a lot of successful moments.”

                Meisner said there is a learning curve when making the move from a player to a coach.

                “It is a little bit of an adjustment going from being a player to a coach, but it was easy for me because I have done some coaching in the past,” she said. “I had the respect from the girls already on the team last year. It has been really fun working on the coaching side with Coach Green and assistant coach Nicky Rose and learning a lot from them. It has been a really good experience.”

                One of her duties as an assistant coach is spending time at the national tournament recruiting players for next year. Meisner said as much as she wanted to be with the team in California for regionals, watching the junior college national tournament, and seeing friends from the Scottsbluff/Gering area, is making her 3-day stay memorable.

                “I really would love to be at regionals with my team, but coach needed someone to come recruit at the tournament this weekend, so he sent me down here,” she said. “That is fine because it has brought a lot of fond memories back for me and it is three days of some really good volleyball. I am enjoying myself so far.

“It is good to be here and see people from home and it is good to watch WNCC play. Even though I don’t know very many of the girls, there still is that connection to them being a player that went to WNCC and has been in their shoes before. I know the feelings and emotions that they are going through and I just wish them the best of luck.”

Meisner helped WNCC to a national tournament runner-up in 2006 and a national championship in 2007. Meisner played a variety of positions with the Cougars, coming in as an outside hitter and finishing as a libero. At UAA, Meisner was the Seawolves top defensive guru for two seasons.

Meisner said people don’t realize it, but there is plenty of talent in the junior college division.

“I think people seem to underestimate the value of junior college ball. Just watching these games here, it is really competitive,” she said. “It is not very often that you get a group of girls on the court that will go on to play at all different levels of four-year volleyball from Division I universities to Division II and III and even NAIA. You have a lot of different skill levels out there and it is not very often that you get to see put together on one court.”

                Meisner, who will finish her undergraduate studies this May and then enter graduate school at UAA, said that UAA is looking for specific position players, namely a middle hitter to replace senior Cortney Lundberg.

“We are looking to find someone with similar qualities to her who can touch close to 10-foot because that is what Courtney was touching all three years she was playing at UAA. We need that same type of athletic skill and ability to join our team next year.

                Coaching, right now, is something that is piquing her interest in the future.

                “Being a coach, is something I have always considered and planned on doing,” she said. “I am definitely learning a lot about coaching and all the tiny aspects about it that you don’t think about as a player.”

                For now, Meisner is making the most of her experiences, but still has, and always will, have that Nebraska blood in her.

                “Alaska definitely is my home right now. This will be my third year up there know,” she said. “I like it up there but of course Nebraska will always be my real home/”

WNCC men bounce back with win

Submitted by Jeremy Woznick, Scottsbluff Star-Herald

TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team rebounded from its first loss of the season with a solid 85-61 win over TAAG Academy (Fla.) during the opening day of the K&T Steel Classic Thursday night in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Hauns Brereton and Marko Kovacevic both recorded double-doubles for the Cougars in the win. Brereton had 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Kovacevic finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Justin Omogun led WNCC offensively with 22 points. He also added four blocks and four steals. Also finishing in the double-figure scoring column for the Cougars were Raul Delgado with 13 points and Justin Standley with 10.

“We had a nice run in the second half fueled by a few big plays by Omogun and strong inside play by Marco,” WNCC coach Russ Beck said. “We controlled the boards and we had good team play. It was good to bounce back from that loss against Central Wyoming. We didn’t want to lose two games in a row. I think we’re on the right track.”

WNCC held a 40-30 advantage at halftime.

The Cougars finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field and 89 percent from the free-throw line.

Omogun knocked down 6 of his 8 free throws and 8 of his 13 shots from the field.

Brereton and Delgado led the Cougars with six assists each. Aaron Turner dished out four helpers.

The Cougars, now 6-1 on the season, will take on Sullivan County Junior College (N.Y.) today. Sullivan County is the top ranked junior college in Division III. The College of Southern Idaho beat Sullivan County 87-77 Thursday. CSI is ranked 13th in the Division I national poll.

WNCC (6-1)                40 45 — 85
TAAG Academy                30 31 — 61
WNCC
Justin Standley 10, Hauns Brereton 17, Marko Kovacevic 12, Justin Omogun 22, Aaron Turner 2, Joe Stock 3, Brady Mason 3, Stephen Shepherd 2, Raul Delgado 13, Preston Eaton 1

Cougar women hold on for sixth win

Submitted by Jeremy Woznick, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team survived a late scare against Air Force Junior Varsity to post its sixth win of the season in the opening day of the Air Force Prep Tournament Thursday night in Colorado Springs, Colo.

After having their 10-point, second-half lead dwindled to just a single point in the final minute, the Cougars watched as a last-second jumper by Air Force bounced off the mark giving WNCC a 46-45 win.

“We almost gave it away,” WNCC coach Dave Harnish said. “We turned it over a couple times and fouled a little too much to let them get right back in it late. But it was good that we won and hopefully we can learn from it. It was a good win for us. We played hard against a very good team.”

Harnish, who went over the 600-win mark at WNCC just a couple weeks ago, said he was most pleased with the type of defense his team played on Thursday.

“We played great defense to hold them to just 45 points,” Harnish said. “They’re an upper-level team and I just thought we played great defensively all night long.”

WNCC, now a perfect 6-0 on the season, held a 26-24 advantage at halftime. The Cougars knocked down 9 of 13 free throws in the opening half, but didn’t get to the line at all in the second half.

Offensively, Carolina Alves paced the Cougars with 12 points.

“Carol has done a good job giving us a scoring punch and being a leader as a sophomore early on,” Harnish said of Alves. “She’s stepping up big for us.”

Shelby Campbell netted nine points and Tiffany Moorer added six.

For the fourth straight game, WNCC played without 6-foot-7 sophomore Thais Pinto. Pinto, who led the Cougars in scoring in the first two games of the season, suffered a stress fracture and probably won’t return until January.

“Having Thais out has really hurt us inside. She averaged 20 points a game for us and she’s a huge force defensively. She was playing well for us,” Harnish said. “But we’re learning to play without her better and it’s allowing some other kids to step up and get more minutes. When we do get her back it’s going to make us a better team because other kids have had to play in her spot. We’re developing better depth.”

WNCC will be back on the court Saturday against Trinidad State Junior College. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

WNCC (6-0)                26 20 — 46
Air Force JV                24 21 — 45
WNCC
Samantha Sanders 4, Shelby Campbell 9, Tiffany Moorer 6, Kyra Peterson 5, ChaCha Ofoegbu 5, Darachia Johnson 3, Leona Garrett 2, Carolina Alves 12

WNCC captures two wins, earns 7th straight trip to Final Four

 

                WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team moved into the semifinals of the national tournament for the seventh straight year by sweeping No. 13 Wallace State-Hanceville and then No. 5 Blinn College Thursday in the first day of the NJCAA national tournament in West Plains, Mo.

                The Cougar women steamrolled through Wallace State 25-16, 25-19, 25-14 in the first round and then used strong defensive play to stop a talented and tall Blinn College 25-22, 25-21, 25-21.

                The win sends the Cougars into a semifinal match against No. 8 Salt Lake Community College, who upended previously unbeaten and No. 1 Miami Dade College in three sets 31-29, 25-22, 25-15 at 5:30 MST. The other semifinal will pit the other Region IX team Western Wyoming Community College against San Jacinto College. Western Wyoming defeated Barton Community College 25-22, 25-23, 25-20 before getting by Eastern Arizona 25-18, 26-24, 22-25, 25-14. The winners of the two semifinals will face off for the championship Thursday night at 5:30 while the losers will play for third at 3:30 p.m.

                 “Overall, I thought they played the best that I have seen them play as a team,” WNCC coach Giovana Melo said. “They were playing together the entire time and they were playing with a lot of heart. That is something that I am very proud of them for.”

                Melo said it feels great to be back in the Final Four.

“It feels great, but obviously we have to focus on the next game and see if we can make it to the finals,” Melo said. “We know how good they [Salt Lake] is because we lost to them in the regular season. But I think the girls are ready.”

                If the Cougars play anywhere to what they did Thursday, they easily could be finding themselves playing for a national title because that is just how on the Cougars were.

                “I thought we played well offensively and defensively. I have nothing to complain about,” Melo said. “We just played really strong and hard as a team.”

                What stood out for the Cougars in both matches on Thursday was their defensive play and many of those stellar defensive plays by Kuulei Kabalis, Emily Hoehn and Fernanda Goncalves kept rallies going, which saw WNCC terminate with a momentum-changing kill. For instance, in set one against Blinn, Hoen and Goncalves teamed up with two great saves that led to a Cougar point and a 10-6 lead.

                Moments later, after an Ariel Austin change-up kill for a point, there was another long rally that saw a number of saves before Austin put down another change-up klll for a point. Two serves later, Kathryn Stock picked up the momentum another notch as she won a joust at net to put WNCC up 17-13. Austin finished off the first set with a hammering kill.

                Blinn took a 2-0 lead in set two before Debora Araujo had three service points for a 4-2 lead. Blinn sliced the lead to a single point on several occasions, but the Cougars never relilnguished the lead as the Cougars won the second set 25-21.

                WNCC fell behind three times in set three, the final time at 11-9. That was when Araujo served three points behind two monster kills from middlehitter Tania Torres for a 13-11 lead. Kabalis then widened the lead as she had four service points, including a kill from Araujo and two more kills from Torres for a 21-15 lead. Austin finished off the match, sending the Cougars to the Final Four, with her 11^th kill of the match.

                Araujo led the Cougars with a double-double of 15 kills, 10 digs and nine points. Also for the Cougars, Austin finished with 11 kills, while Torres had 10 kills, two blocks, and three points. Stock had four kills and five digs; Lais Soares had four kills’ Kabalis had 10 points and six digs; Hoahn had three digs; Fernanda Goncalves had nine digs, 34 set assists, and seven points.

                WNCC was just as impressive in the opening match against Wallace State putting with two players notching double figure kills with Araujo and Stock pacing the team with 13 and 11 kills respectively. Austin also hammered home eight in the opener, while Tania Torres had five, and Lais Soares had 12.

                Kabalis, who had some eye-popping digs in the two matches, said the team played well in the opener.

                “I thought we had plenty of energy and we played together as a team and we just had to work for one point at a time,” Kuulei Kabalis said. “We just want to leave everything on the court and play with our hearts and our mind. We worked so hard for this moment, and we just want to give it all we got.”

                The Cougars dominated play for much of the match. Wallace State did hold a couple leads on the Cougars and trailed No. 4 WNCC 10-8 in the first set. Then, a Stock kill and three points from Stock pushed the lead to 12-8. WNCC went ahead 18-9 on four Kabalis service points and the first set win. 25-16.

                Wallace State jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set and led 7-5 at one time. WNCC rebounded, taking a 13-9 lead on three Goncalves service points and stayed consistent the rest of the way for the 25-19 win.

                WNCC controlled the third set from the get-go, taking a 4-0 lead on three Goncalves kills before Emily Hoehn pushed the lead to 12-3. WNCC went on to capture the match on a Araujo kill.

                Aruajo also finished with five Aces and six digs, while Stock had nine digs, five points and two blocks.

                Also for WNCC, Goncalves had 12 points, four aces, 32 set assists, and five digs; Austin had two blocks; Torres had six blocks and seven points; Soares had four blocks; Hoehn had points; and Kabalis had four points and nine digs.

Thursday Scores
Match 1: #3 San Jacinto def. #14 Jefferson (25-10, 25-13, 23-25, 22-25, 15-5)
Match 2: #6 North Idaho def. #11 Iowa Western (25-23, 25-17, 25-11)
Match 3: #10 Eastern Arizona def. #7 Florida St.-Jacksonville (25-21, 25-20, 25-19)
Match 4: #2 Western Wyoming def. #15 Barton County (25-22,25-23, 25-20)
Match 5: #1 Miami-Dade def. #16 Gadsden State (25-11, 25-12, 25-17)
Match 6: #8 Salt Lake def. #9 Midland (25-12, 19-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-8)
Match 7: #5 Blinn def. #12 Temple (16-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-17)
Match 8: #4 Western Nebraska def. #13 Wallace State (25-16, 25-19, 25-14)
Match 9: San Jacinto def. North Idaho (17-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-20)
Match 10: Western Wyoming def. Eastern Arizona (25-18, 26-24, 25-22, 25-14)
Match 11: Salt Lake def. Miami-Dade (31-29, 25-22, 25-15)
Match 12: Western Nebraska def. Blinn (25-22, 25-21, 25-21)
Friday’s Schedule
Match 13: Jefferson vs. Iowa Western, 9 a.m.
Match 14: Florida State Jacksonville vs. Barton County, 9 a.m.
Match 15: Gadsden State vs. Midland, 11 a,m.
Match 16: Temple vs. Wallace State, 11 a.m.
Match 17: North Idaho vs. Eastern Arizona, 1:30 p.m.
Match 18: Miami Dade vs. Blinn, 1:30 p.m..
Match 19: 13 winner vs. 14 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Match 20: 15 winner vs. 16 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Match 21: San Jacinto vs. Western Wyoming, 5:30 p.m,.
Match 22: Salt Lake vs. Western Nebraska, 5:30 p.m.

WNCC ready for national tournament

After a week of hard practices and a long 2-day bus trip to the NJCAA national tournament, the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will be anxious to get their drive for a national championship started.

That drive will begin Thursday when the Cougars open tournament play at 2 p.m. against Wallace State-Hanceville in West Plains, Mo.

WNCC enters the national tournament seeded fourth with a 39-4 record while the Lady Lions are seeded 13^th with a 52-1 mark. This will be the second straight year WNCC has faced Wallace State in the opening round, having beaten the Alabama school 25-21, 25-20, 25-14 last year.

The nearly 15-hour drive wasn’t terribly long for the team as they broke the trip up, including a practice stop at the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Monday. The Cougars had a hour-long practice at the West Plains Civic Center Wednesday afternoon.

Sophomore Emily Hoehn said the long bus trip shouldn’t affect them on bit, especially since they made a stop at her house in Kearney on the way to stretch their legs.

“We have had quite a few long travels through the season, so it was nice that it was broken up into two days,” Hoehn said. “It wasn’t as hard, especially getting off at Kearney to practice and stretch our legs. It really hasn’t seemed like that long of a ride. I think everybody is thinking about playing at nationals so it distracts us from the long ride.  We even stopped at my house and saw my wiener dog, Chaz, who is good luck.”

Ariel Austin said the team is ready and focused for the tournament.

“We had to really focus last week. We had hard practices all week to get better,” the Woodland Park, Colo., rightside hitter said. “I think it really helped us just getting off the bus in Kearny and just moving around. Having a few extra practices has helped before we hit the court for our tournament.”

When the Cougars hit the court on Thursday, sophomore Kathryn Stock said they will be ready.

“We are really excited and we think and talk about it all the time,” she said. “We good goose bumps and chills every time we think about it because we know we can really go in there and do some damage.”

WNCC is ready as any of the top 16 teams in the nation that are here for this tournament to try to bring home a national title. Hoehn said they are the only ones that can win or lose a match.

“At the national tournament there are a lot of good teams and there will be a lot of good play, so we will have to really focus on our game and our side of the court,” Kearney Catholic graduate said. “If we do what we have been doing all season, come together and play as a team, be disciplined, we are going to come out with a championship.”

Austin said they have one of the toughest roads to haul. A win in the first round could put them up against No. 5 Blinn College, who has five players 6-foot or taller. After that, there is the possibility of playing either No. 1 Miami Dade College or Salt Lake Community College, a team that defeated the Cougars earlier this season.

“I think the tournament is pretty evened out in talent. All these teams that made it to nationals are all good teams,” Austin said. “I think, however, we have the hardest bracket. It is like coach said; we are going to have to think about every point and come out as hard as we can to get those points to win the games.”

Wallace State comes into the match with a near-perfect 52-1 campaign after dropping Gadsden State in straight sets to earn their second-straight national tournament appearance. Wallace State’s only defeat came in a four-set loss to Loyola University out of New Orleans. The Lady Lions have just one player above 6-0 in Alysha Smith.

WNCC, on the other hand, has plenty of national tournament experience. The Cougars are making their 12^th straight appearance in the tournament field having made the Final Four the six previous visits to the tournament, including a national runner-up in 2006 and a national championship in 2007.

                Hoehn said she can’t remember anything about last year’s match with Wallace State; it is all about how her team comes out and plays.

                “I am not going to lie, I really don’t remember a lot about Wallace State. I remember we played them last year but coach hasn’t talked to us about any of their strategies,” she said. “I think really to beat this team, or all these evenly-matched teams; everyone has a the talent and it will come down to who has the most heart.”

                The player’s heart for a national title will be crucial as well as performing well in all areas on the court. Stock said they will definitely need their A game this weekend.

                “It will be really tough. There are a lot of really good teams in the tournament,” Stock said. “But I know we all have the confidence that we know we can win if we give it our all and go and play our game every game.

“We have to play confident. We have to play as a team. And, we have to go hard every single point.”

While the extra practices along the bus trip was a welcomed sight, anything thing that the Cougars have in their favor is uniforms. Stock said they are not bringing their white uniforms with blue trim.

“We are not taking those uniforms,” Stock said. “Those are bad luck, I guess.”

The Cougars’ losses this season came while they were wearing those “uni­forms,” including the Region IX tournament loss to NJC, as well as the semi-final five-set loss to Missouri State-West Plains at last year’s national tournament.

Still, the Cougars have to show up and play like they did during their 21-match win­ning streak because the tournament field is up for grabs. But, having been pushed in the Region IX tournament might be beneficial in the long haul.

“When I think about regionals, it gives us motivation to work that much harder,” Austin said. “I still think about it every day in winning that Region IX title and the awards I worked for. It makes me want to work that much harder to win a national title.”

Stock said for them to come away with wins at nationals, they need to stay upbeat. Stock said the team is going in the at­titude that they can survive anything that comes their way.

“We all believe we can win a national title,” Stock said. “It is just a matter if we go in and do it. It is our choice, but we definitely have the potential.”

The Cougar games can be heard on KOZY 101.3 FM as well as the Internet at kozy1013.com. The games will also be video streamed live at psblive.com.

NJCAA First Round Games

No. 3 San Jacinto (26-9) against No. 14 Jefferson College (21-10) and No. 6 North Idaho Col­lege (26-6) against No. 11 Iowa Western (42-6) at 8 a.m.; No. 7 Florida State-Jacksonville (30-7) against No. 10 Eastern Arizona (30-4), and No. 2 Western Wyoming (37-5) against No. 15 Barton County (25-8) at 10 a.m.; No. 1 Miami Dade (33-0) against No. 16 Gadsden State (29-9) and No. 8 Salt Lake (26-6) and No. 9 Midland College (33-5) at noon; and then the Blinn/Temple and WNCC/Wallace State matches rounding out the first round at 2 p.m.

Quarterfinals will be played Thursday night with semifinals Friday afternoon. The championship is slated for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Peltz records triple-double in win over Oglala Lakota

Western Nebraska Community College's Mike Peltz had a triple-double and the Cougar men picked up their fifth straight win with an 113-50 victory over Oglala Lakota College Saturday afternoon at Cougar Palace.


               Peltz, an Alliance graduate, was just one of four players to finish with 20 or more points in the win. Peltz finished with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to help pace the WNCC team. Preston Eaton led the Cougars with 30 points, while Joe Stock netted 24 points including six 3-pointers.

               "Overall, as a team, we did O.K. but our defensive intensity wasn't there and coach told us in the locker room that we weren't jumping to our lines and doing the basic things that it takes to win big games," he said. "

               This was the second time in a week the Cougars has played Oglala Lakota, topping them 161-34 last Saturday. On Saturday, the Cougars played a different style of game playing just six players to match the six that suited up for the Bravehearts.

               Peltz said that sometimes it is tough to get up for a game after beating someone earlier, but they still need to learn to play a full 40 minutes. That was something they didn't do on Saturday.

               "I think potentially we can be very good," he said. "When we play hard, we definitely are really good. We just have to play hard for a full 40 minutes and do the little things right."

               Saturday the team had spurts in the game where they let up and Oglala Lakota took advantage in going on mini runs. It was obvious from the beginning WNCC had just too much talent running out to a 9-0 lead before Oglala scored a free throw with 16 minutes to play. WNCC continued excelling as Peltz eight of the Cougars' next 12 points for a 21-1 lead Eaton scored the first of his 30 points after taking a pass from Peltz.

               Oglala started to make a comeback as Tanoa Big Crow nailed seven of a nine point run for the Bravehearts to cut the lead to 28-13, but WNCC finished the half on a 18-0 run, including two treys from Scott for the 54-17 halftime lead.

               The second half was lukewarm for the Cougars as they allowed Oglala to score 33 points, including five 3-pointers. WNCC, however, was like an well-oiled machine as Scott buried three straight 3-pointers and the Cougars blitzed the nets for 65 shooting in the final 20 minutes for the victory.

               Peltz, who struggled in finding the net in the previous four games, broke out with his first collegiate triple-double. He added that it isn't all about scoring, but getting the entire team into the game.

               "It is always an adjustment to college basketball so it took a while," Peltz said. "It is good to score, I guess, but every time I get on the court I try to set people up."

               WNCC also had a double-double from Miguel Ramos, who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Stephen Shepherd had 20 points, including three dunks.

               WNCC, 5-0, will be back in action Tuesday when they host Central Wyoming College. Peltz said that game will be a test.

               "We scrimmaged Central Wyoming in Casper and they are a good team," he said. "They have a lot of shooters. That is also the start of a big week for us. Hopefully we can take care of things starting on Tuesday."

Oglala Lakota                    17 33 -- 50
WNCC (5-0)                        54 59 -- 113
OGLALA LAKOTA
Byron Bear RObe 5, Cody Red Wing 9, Tanoa Big Crow 20, Leroy Lame 9, Mark Buckman 7.
WNCC
Mike Peltz 20, Preston Eaton 30, Joe Stock 24, Stephen Shepherd 22, Marcello Crivellente 5, Miguel Ramos 12.

Alves scores 21 to lead WNCC women

COLBY, Kan. -- Sophomore Carolina Alves scored 21 points and the Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team put together a solid second half in topping Hastings College junior varsity 77-60 Saturday at the Ambassador Classic in Colby, Kan.


               WNCC coach Dave Harnish said his team bolted to a big lead early and then lost focus to let Hastings College close the gap at intermission 41-38.

               "It was similar to yesterday [Friday]. We got up big early, something like 30-12 and we let them close it up to three at halftime by us fouling and getting lackadaisical," he said. "The second half was much better as we outscored them 36-22. We were better defensively and we didn't foul as much and we were more solid in the second half."

               What impressed Harnish the most was the improvement his team has made on free throws. In the first three games of the year, the Cougars made about 50 percent of their charity stripe. Friday night against Colby, they shot 68 percent and then against Hastings College, the Cougars went 20 of 25 for 80 percent.

               The Cougars also shot the ball decent from the field, shooting 42 percent for the game.

               Harnish is still waiting for this team to play a complete 40 minutes, but for now, he has seen enough progress to  make him satisfied.

               "It seems when we get leads we start reaching  and fouling. We have started games well by getting up by 15 to 20 points on teams but we let it go," he said. "We don't put them away. We played good the second half the last two nights. Making free throws is encouraging. I thought Carol stepped up tonight in baking some key baskets."

               WNCC had three players hit the double-figure column on the afternoon. Alves paced the team with 21 points followed by Kyra Peterson with 17 and Samantha Sanders with 11. Peterson added three 3-pointers to her scoring spree.

               "We made progress this weekend," Harnish said. "It is good to be 5-0 after winning three this weekend. I thought we got better as each game went along."

               Kimball graduate Kayli Rageth finished with 12 points for Hastings College junior varsity

               The Cougars will hit the road next weekend when they head to the Air Force Prep tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo., before returning home for the Thanksgiving Classic.

WNCC (5-0)                        41 36 -- 77
Hastings JV                         38 22 -- 60
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Carolina Alves 21, Samantha Sanders 11, ChaCha Ofoegbu 7, Kyra Peterson 17, Tiffany Moorer 2, Shelby Campbell 8, Shelby Jones 2, Leona Garrett 7, Darachia Johnson 2.

Goncalves ready to lead volleyball at nationals

Fernanda Goncalves as always had the dream of playing volleyball in the United States, but it took a few years after high school to achieve that dream.

Goncalves graduated from high school in Brazil in 2008 and was just playing club volleyball with hopes of getting the opportunity to play collegiate in the states. That is when Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach Giovana Melo came calling and Goncalves was ready to make the 5,700 mile trip to Scottsbluff.

“I wanted to come here since I graduated in high school and then coach Gi watched a video and contacted me,” the freshman setter said. “It’s great for me to have Gi as a coach because she was a setter. She is a great example and I’m learning a lot with her.”

Goncalves has come a long ways in her four months in the States from hardly speaking English and volleyball. During that early learning time, Goncalves blossomed into being named Region IX’s Freshman and Setter of the Year. She also can speak relatively good English.

On top of all that, Goncalves is leading the Cougars into the NJCAA national tournament which begins next Thursday in West Plains, Mo.

Goncalves still can’t believe what kind of season she is having, and when she was named the Freshmen and Setter of the year, she was flabercasted.

“I felt really happy and it was an unexpected award,” she said. “The volleyball season is going great because we just won regionals and we are now going to nationals.”

Goncalves and the rest of the team will open the national tournament on Thursday when they face Wallace State-Hanceville at 2 p.m. Goncalves said the team is practicing hard to represent the college well with hopes of bringing home a national title.

“I feel that we can win nationals because I feel in practice how the girls want this,” she said. “The beginning of the season we had problems to get along in the court, but now we are like a family.”

Goncalves is averaging 10 set assists a game and ranks second in Region IX. But her success in volleyball should come as a surprise to anyone. Goncalves has been playing volleyball for seven years, and was named Region IX all-region along with her teammates Debora Araujo, Tania Torres and Ariel Austin.

Her goal is to continue playing volleyball as long as she can, including playing professionally someplace besides Brazil.

“I want to go pro, but I don’t want to play in Brazil again,” she said. “I want to play professionally in somewhere else. But this is just after I graduate.”

Goncalves, the youngest of three sisters, is the only sibling that has turned to sports. Her older sisters are pursuing degrees in Brazil. She said she owes a lot to her parents.

“I miss my family a lot,” she said. “Everything that I have is because my parents always stay with me and if I won something, I want to dedicate it to them.”

Goncalves has also learned a lot about volleyball from Coach Gi, who was in the same shoes Goncalves was in when she attended WNCC about eight years ago.

“It is great for me to have coach,” she said, “especially because she was a setter. She is a great example and I’m learning a lot with her.”

The biggest adjustment for her though was learning English as well as volleyball. She said that volleyball in the states is more intense since the season is within a four-month time frame.

“I thought I would never get used to this town especially because when I came I didn’t know English,” she said. “The hardest part when I came here was the fact that I have to communicate in English because when I came here, I didn’t know any English and now I can understand people. But, I still have to learn more.”

The other thing that Goncalves is getting used to is snow. In fact, when she woke up Thursday morning and saw snow, she couldn’t wait to go out in the white stuff.

“This is the first time I have seen snow,” she said. “When I woke up, I was so excited.”

What will excite Goncalves even more is capturing a national title and seeing her father in the stands watching her accomplish it.

“In Brazil, my dad went to all my games,” she said. “I would love to have him come over here to watch me.”

WNCC women outshoot Colby for 4th win of season

COLBY, Kan. -- The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team jumped out to a 20-2 lead and never looked back in eclipsing Colby Community College 67-49 in the second day of the Ambassador Classic in Colby, Kan.

WNCC coach Dave Harnish was pleased with the effort, especially second half, of what his ball club did in registering their fourth win of the season.

"We got off to a good start. We were up 20-2 with nine minutes to go in the half and then we scored two points the rest of the half," he said. "But, again, I thought the defense was good all night. We did shoot it better in the second half. The first half we shot 27 percent and the second half we shot 44 percent. We shot it better, defended better, got some steals and pressed the entire second half and kind of opened it up."

The big difference in the second half was the Cougars' defensive intensity, which helped the Cougars score at a consistent level. They also hit the boards, out-rebounding the Trojans 37-25, including 16-5 on the offensive glass.

Another area that pleased Harnish was the team's free throw shooting, where they finished 13-of-19 for 68 percent. In the team's previous three games, they shot 50 percent or below from the charity stripe.

WNCC also had balanced scoring with three players in double figures. Leona Garrett paced the team with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Samantha Sanders led the Cougars overall with 13 points, while Tiffany Moorer finished with 11 points. Kyra Peterson, Shelby Campbell and ChaCha Ofoegbu each had eight points.

Harnish said he is expecting to get this kind of balanced scoring night in and night out, considering they are playing without Thais Pinto, the 6-foot-7 center, who is averaging 20 points a game.

"It is typical to have that kind of balanced scoring," he said. "We still have to learn to play without Thais because we are losing 20 points a game. But, Leona did a better job tonight. I thought we made a lot of progress the second half. We played hard and I am hoping it carries over to Saturday.

WNCC will finish off the Ambassador Classic with a 1 p.m. contest against Hastings College junior varsity.

WNCC (4-0) 22 45 -- 67
Colby 16 33 -- 49
WNCC
Carolina Alves 6, Shelby Campbell 8, Leona Garrett 11, ChaCha Ofoegbu 8, DaNae Quijas 2, Samantha Sanders 13, Kyra Peterson 8, Tiffany Moorer 11.

--

WNCC women escape Colorado Northwestern in first day of Colby Classic

COLBY, Kan. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team withstood a late Colorado Northwestern rally to drop the Spartans 55-51 in the first day of the Colby Classic in Colby, Kan.

The Cougars vaulted to a 27-20 halftime lead. The second half was a different story. WNCC held a 12-point lead midway through the second half before the Spartans came back, taking a one-point lead with three minutes to play. WNCC, behind two clutch buckets by Tiffany Moorer and a 3-pointer by Samantha Sanders, stormed back to get the win.

WNCC coach Dave Harnish said they finally made some shots down the stretch to help the Cougars to their third win of the season.

“We finally were able to make a couple shots in the last three minutes that we weren’t making throughout the game,” he said.

Harnish was pleased with his team’s defensive effort; it was the offensive side they need to get better at. The Cougars also played with 6-foot-7 Thais Pinto, who stayed home nursing an injured leg.

“We held them to 51 points so I think we defended well and we rebounded decently,” he said. “But, we just can’t put the ball in the hole and finish shooting shots.”

WNCC shot just 37 percent from the field and 41 percent from the free throw in the contest.

“We struggled being on the floor offensively,” Harnish said. “We only shot 37 percent for the game which is not good. It just seemed like we missed easy shots inside and can’t make free throws, which allows teams to just hang in there.”

WNCC had a balanced scoring attack, paced by freshman Kyra Peterson with 11 points and three 3-pointers. Also netting near double figures was Moorer with nine points and Shelby Campbell, Carolina Alves, and ChaCha Ofoegbu with eight points each.

The Cougars will face Colby Community College on Friday at 4 p.m. before taking on Hastings College junior varsity on Saturday. Harnish said his team needs to capitalize offensively against a talented Colby squad.

“It is not that we need play a complete game because I think we defend pretty well because we play defense and we rebound; we just shoot ourselves in the foot when we don’t capitalize on lay-ups and easy 3-footers in side,” he said. “We are shooting under 50 percent for the year in free throws. It shouldn’t have been a close game if we would have made free throws and easy shots. We should have won my more.”

WNCC (3-0) 27 28 – 55

Colorado NW 20 31 – 51

WNCC

Samantha Sanders 5, Tiffany Moorer 9, Carolina Alves 8, Kyra Peterson 11, Leona Garrett 6, ChaCha Ofoegbu 8, Shelby Campbell 8.

3-pointers – Sanders 1, Peterson 3.

WNCC volleyball earns No. 4 seed at nationals, will face Wallace State in first round

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team’s road to a national championship begins Thursday and it won’t be an easy journey.

The Cougars, who are making their 12^th straight appearance at the NJCAA national tournament, earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament. WNCC, 39-4, will tip off tournament play Thursday at 2 p.m. against the 13^th-seed Wallace State-Hanceville Community College. The tournament will be played at the West Plains Civic Center in West Plains, Mo.

Wallace State enters the 16-team tournament field with a 52-1 record after dropping Gadsden State in straight sets to earn their second-straight national tournament appearance. WNCC earned a spot at the national tournament by sweeping Northeastern Junior College 25-23, 25-22, 25-20 in the if-necessary match.

This is the second straight year that WNCC and Wallace State collided in the first round. Last year the Cougars topped the Lady Lions 25-21, 25-20, 25-14 on their way to a third place finish at the national tournament.

WNCC coach Giovana Melo said she is not under estimating Wallace State since this year’s tournament is wide open.

“I expect from them [Wallace State] as much as I expect from everybody else. It is a national tournament,” Melo said. “Every team will be playing as hard as they can. I am not doing anything different then what we have been doing all year. We are just trying to get better as a team.”

The tournament field is fairly balanced. The only teams missing from the field is defending national champion the College of Southern Idaho and the host team, Missouri State-West Plains. Other than that, it will be a dogfight to the title.

“We have a very tough schedule and we have to take one game at a time,” Melo said. “We are going to focus on every point then winning will be a consequence. This year’s teams are very equal in talent I think the National Title it is up for grabs. It will come down to every single detail.”

The top five seeds in the national tournament include Miami Dade College, Western Wyoming Community College, San Jacinto College, WNCC and Blinn College.

WNCC is in the same side of the bracket as Blinn and Miami Dade. Also on the Cougars side is Salt Lake Community College, a team that defeated the Cougars earlier in the year.

If WNCC wins its opening game, they will face the winner of No. 5 Blinn, 31-5, and No. 12 Temple College, 25-11, Thursday at 6:30 p.m. A first-round loss by the Cougars sends them to the consolation round against the loser of the Blinn/Temple contest. Blinn comes into the contest with plenty of height with five players 6-foot or taller, including 6-4 Tereza Chudobova, a freshman from Opava, Czech Republic.

Wallace State, the Cougar’s first-round opponent, fell just once this season, a four-set loss to Loyola University out of New Orleans. The Lady Lions have just one player above 6-0 in Alysha Smith.

Melo said her team should be ready for the first-round contest, even though they will be one of the last teams to play.

“It is not going to be any different than they would be if they played the first game of the tournament,” she said. “It will take a lot of will, heart, discipline, and determination.”

The tournament schedule will pit No. 3 San Jacinto (26-9) against No. 14 Jefferson College (21-10) and No. 6 North Idaho College (26-6) against No. 11 Iowa Western (42-6) at 8 a.m.; No. 7 Florida State-Jacksonville (30-7) against No. 10 Eastern Arizona (30-4), and No. 2 Western Wyoming (37-5) against No. 15 Barton County (25-8) at 10 a.m.; No. 1 Miami Dade (33-0) against No. 16 Gadsden State (29-9) and No. 8 Salt Lake (26-6) and No. 9 Midland College (33-5) at noon; and then the Blinn/Temple and WNCC/Wallace State matches rounding out the first round at 2 p.m.

Quarterfinals will be played Thursday night with semifinals Friday afternoon. The championship is slated for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The WNCC athletic department also announced that there will be a public send-off for the volleyball team on Saturday during halftime of the WNCC and Oglala Lakota men’s basketball game. The game is slated for a 3 p.m. start and there will be no admission charge for Saturday’s game.

WNCC interim dean of student services Carla Stein will introduce the team and present each player and coach a token of good luck in wishing them good luck during their trek for a national title.

Melo said she is appreciative of all the support that the team is receiving.

“I think that is good for the team,” she said. “It all shouldn’t interfere with anything we are trying to do. In all reality, it should actually give us more motivation to go play hard, knowing we have that much support around us.”

WNCC men earn fourth win of season with 90-75 win over Lamar

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team received their first test of the season and passed it with flying colors, stopping Lamar Community College 90-75 that didn’t see the unbeaten Cougars pull away until the final five minutes.

Hauns Brereton paced the Cougar attack with a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds, but it was Justin Omogun 19 points with a stretch of eight straight, including an alley-oop dunk off an inbounds play that turned a 51-49 deficit into a 58-51 lead.

Brereton said that dunk was a momentum changer.

“That was a game changer,” the 6-foot-7 sophomore said. “That got us all energized and ready to go. We were D-ing up and everything after that alley-oop.”

The Cougars trailed just three in the contest and each time they made a quick response to get out of the deficit. The first was at 15-13 when Josh Turner nailed a 3-pointer for Lamar. After that, Aaron Turner hit a shot and then Joe Stock put the Cougars up 17-15. Ultimately, WNCC went on to lead by 11 at halftime, 45-34.

The second deficit occurred early in the second half as the Lopes went on a 13-0 run to lead 49-47, and then later at 51-49 before Omogun’s eye-popping, electrifying dunk that sent the crowd abuzz.

“We have been in a few situations where we were down but the strength of our team is we come together when we do get down,” Brereton said. “Ultimately, we don’t want to be down, but sometimes we do come into those situations and that is when we pull together.”

Omogun’s run spearheaded a Cougar attack that saw the Cougars outscore Lamar 41-24 the rest of the game. Still, Lamar sliced the lead to four points on several occasions, but each time WNCC’s defense came up big thwarting second-chance points and the Cougar offense getting some clutch buckets.

Brereton said this was a big test for them, especially after setting a school record 161-point contest the last time they stepped on the court Saturday against Oglala Lakota College.

“This was a big test and we were looking forward to this,” he said. “We take it just one game at a time and each game has its own goals. Today we wanted to come out and execute what we were working in practice, which was our offense and working on keeping people out of the middle.”

Once again, the WNCC had many stars of the game. Brereton might have led the team with the double-double, but Omogun finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Also coming up big in the scoring column were Justin Standley, Brady Mason, Raul Delgado and Aaron Turner with nine points each.

A big key for the undefeated Cougars was shooting, where they blistered the nets for 48 percent while holding Lamar to just 39 percent shooting. They also out-rebounded Lamar 47-42 and committed just 11 turnovers.

Brereton said this team’s depth is definitely a plus.

“One of the specialties of our team is we are really deep,” he said. “Each player, whether they are on the bench or on the court, is capable of executing the plays and coming up big for us, whether it is scoring or rebounding.”

WNCC, 4-0, will return to action Saturday when they host Oglala Lakota College at 3 p.m.

Lamar (1-1) 34 41 – 75

WNCC (4-0) 45 45 – 90

LAMAR

Allen Tate 18, Arden Dennis 8, Sean Williams 4, Ron Waller 2, Trey Beverly3, Davoun Hunter 8, Josh Turner 20, Tidjane Diop 4, Tony Davis 8.

WNCC

Mike Peltz 1, Preston Eaton 4, Justin Standley 9, Joe Stock 7, Justin Omogun 19, Stephen Shepherd 1, Hauns Brereton 23, Raul Delgado 9, Aaron Turner 9, Marko Kovacevic 3.

WNCC volleyball earn Region IX title for 12th straight year

LA JUNTA, Colo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team utilized a strong blocking attack and precision passing in securing a trip to the NJCAA national tournament by collecting its 12th straight Region IX championship Saturday afternoon at La Junta, Colo.

The win, however, wasn't easy. The Cougars, who swept through Trinidad State Junior College and Northeastern Junior College on Friday, needed an extra match to capture the south regional title.

The Plainswomen topped the Cougars in four sets 26-24, 13-25, 25-20, 25-20 to force the if-necessary contest. WNCC came out with a different focus in the second title contest, sweeping NJC 25-23, 25-22, 25-20 behind a triple-double from Debora Araujo with 16 kills, 11 points and 10 digs.

The championship was exciting for the players, who had to find heart to make another return trip to the national tournament.

"it feels amazing. It is a feeling that you can't describe," sophomore Tania Torres, who was named to the all-region and all-tournament team, said. "It is the best feeling that I have and we are now going to nationals.

"It is indescribable right know. It is crazy [on the bus]. The team doesn't stop talking, there are people still crying. I was crying a little bit. The girls are still excited and Kuulei has her eyes watery, and Ariel was crying. Everyone is excited about this."

It took plenty of heart for the Cougars to shake off the four-set loss to the Plainswomen, which snapped a 19-match winning streak. They accomplished the win because of a blocking attack that accounted for 15 assisted blocks. The Cougars also dug deep, literally, as Kuulei Kabalis had 23 digs, Fernanda Goncalves had 14 digs and Araujo ahd 10 digs in the title match.

"I think blocking was one of the main reasons we shut them down," Torres said. "Our block was big on them and they were getting desperate because we were blocking so good. That was one of the keys on our part to keep them down."

Kabalis said that they just played as a unit in the second match.

"The big key was our blocking. our passing, which broke down a little in the first match, and our serving," the sophomore from Hawaii said. "We lost the first mach because we thought we had the game after we had beat them [on Friday] and we were not focused in the game. The second game we made sure we were focused and we played together with heart and we didn't give up."

In the first championship match, WNCC dropped the opener 26-24 but came back with force in claiming the second set 25-13. The third set was a back and fourth affair NJC holding a four point lead on several occasions before holding off the Cougars for the 2-1 set advantage.

The fourth set saw the Plainswomen, behind the Region IX player of the Year Karen Rivatto, stop the Cougars and force another title contest. Rivatto finished with 27 kills in the opening match.

Kabalis said coach Giovana Melo really didn't have to say much to the team; they knew what they had to do.

"She was really positive with us making sure that we had a positive mindset going into the second match," Kabalis said. "We were a little down, but we were able to pick it up and play with some fire."

The second title contest wasn't easy either. In the first set, the two Region IX south powers were tied at 18-18 until WNCC went up 20-18. NJC came back to tie the set at 22-22 before a Lais Soares kill put WNCC in front. Aruajo then hammered home the final kill for the first-set win.

The second set was another slugfest as both teams were knotted at 15-15 before WNCC went up 24-18 on a Araujo kill. NJC fought back, staving off four set points before WNCC got the final point to capture the second set 25-22.

The third set was all Cougars as the Plainswomen were totally taken out of the set as WNCC rolled to a 6-1 lead and led 10-4 on two Emily Hoehn service points. The Cougars kept playing national championship volleyball as Fernanda Goncalves, who was named Region IX South setter and freshman of the year, put down a setter dump for a 14-9 lead.

WNCC went up 19-12 on a Ariel Austin kill, who second kill within a four-point run. NJC wasn't about to quit as they rattled off a run that cut the deficit to 21-18. But a kill and block by Torres moved the score to 24-19 and Aruajo finished off the title run with a kill.

Torres said that they might of had to work harder for this title, and she is cherishing this one just a little bit more.

"Last year we [the sophomores this year] were freshmen and it felt good but we knew we were coming back for another year," she said. "This year it is my last year here, and winning it makes me want to cry. My eyes are watering right now because I won't have another chance to do it."

WNCC had several players step up in the two matches. In the first championship match, Aruajo finished with 15 kills, four blocks, four points and 17 digs; Austin had 14 kills and three blocks; Torres had nine kills, seven blocks, seven points and four digs; Kathryn Stock had nine kills, two blocks, and 10 digs; Lais Soares ahd seven kills and three blocks; Tori Bozzo had two kills; Goncalves had 42 set assists, 11 points and 13 digs; Kabalis had eight points and 21 digs; and Hoehn had three points and six digs.

In the second championship match, Aruajo paced the team with the triple-double. Austin also chipped in eight kills and four blocks; Stock had seven kills and nine digs; Torres had four kills; Soares ahd four kills and three blocks; Goncalves ahd three blocks, 29 set assists, six points and 14 digs; Hoehn had three points and five digs; and Kabalis had five points and 23 digs.

In post-tournament honors, four Cougars made the all-region team in Torres, Austin, Araujo and Goncalves. WNCC players on the all-tournament team included Torres, Austin and Araujo. WNCC third-year head coach Giovana Melo was named the Region IX coach of the year.

WNCC know qualifies for the national tournament Nov. 18-20 in West Plains, Mo. Torres said they will be hitting the court to practice for a run at the national tournament.

"We won regionals so we are going to step it up for nationals at Cougar Palace on Monday and start practicing as hard as we can so we can try to win a national title in Mi8ssouri," she said.