WNCC sweeps Lamar in volleyball action

From Sept. 27, 2012

                There is no doubt that Danika Youngblood loves to hit and it doesn’t matter if it is from the front or the back row. Thursday night, Youngblood flashed her intense hitting with nine kills including several from the back row, to help the second-ranked Cougars sweep past Otero Junior College 25-11, 25-13, 25-16.

                Youngblood, who comes from South Jordan, Utah, said as much as she likes to power home a kill from the outside, it is those back row kills that gives her that adrenaline rush.

                “Honestly, those back row kills are my favorite to hit,” the fourth-best hitter in the NJCAA said. “I just can’t wait to hit one of those back row hits. It is the most fun hits to hit. I just feel like I Have a lot of power. “

                And there is nothing better that puts a smile on Youngblood’s face when she gets one of those back row kills that leaves a dent in the Cougar Palace floor. To be honest, Youngblood said that she has always smacked those thundering kills since high school.

                “I have always hit like that from the back row and it is nothing new for me here,” she said. “I just like the fact that I can jump forward and I have a lot of room to move around. The back row kill is my favorite by far.”

                More importantly, though, Thursday’s win was a team effort for the 23-2 Cougars. Megan Johnson pounded home 10 kills to lead the team followed by Allora Tanner with eight kills. Youngblood said the team is playing well as they are in the midst of a 17-match win streak.

                “I think we are playing really strong,” she said. “It is hard to go from a high level of play constantly to dropping to a lower level against some team but we just have to learn to keep our level high.”

                WNCC definitely looked like the No. 2 team in the nation on Thursday in the opening set as Luiza Martins served seven straight points for a 7-1 lead. Youngblood then picked up the pace from the service line with four points along with two kills from Johnson for an 18-5 lead.

                Later, Youngblood hammered home one of those back row kills for a 20-8 lead and Johnson finished off the set with a kill and the 25-11 win.

                Strong serving once again paid dividends in the second set. After Otero held a 2-1 lead, Johnson served four points for a 5-2 lead. Moments later, Morgan Broussard had the hot hand from beyond the line with four points, including two aces for a 10-3 lead.

                Youngblood followed with three straight points, including her second back row kill of the match for a 13-4 lead. Otero, however, came back to slice the lead  to 15-10. Johnson stopped the run with a kill and then Priscila Mendes had four points for a 20-10 lead before Youngblood finished off the set with a kill.

                The third set was a battle. WNCC held a 9-5 lead before Ana-Marija Kasijevic served three points to tie the set at 9-9. Tanner came back to hit a kill to put the Cougars back in front and then Martins served six points for a 16-9 lead.

                Otero sliced the lead on a kill my Kasiljevic only to watch Lauren Knox serve three points, powered by two kills by Tanner for a 23-14 lead. Tanner finally finished off the Rattlers with a kill to give the Cougars their sixth straight sweep.

                Youngblood had a near double-double on the day, finishing with nine kills, 10 digs and six points, while Johnson had 10 kills and six points. Mendes finished with four kills, six points, and 15 digs; while Kat Agson had six kills and three blocks.

                Also for the Cougars, Yoro Tovar ahd three kills, two blocks and five points; Martins had 11 points, three aces, four digs, and 30 set assists; Alex Rivera had 11 digs; Knox had three kills, two aces, and five points; Lindsay Wehkamp had two kills; and Broussard had four points, two aces, four digs, and nine set assists.

                WNCC will continue its home stretch of games with a contest against Lamar Community College on Friday at 7 p.m. Lamar fell to NJC in four sets on Thursday 27-29, 25-12, 25-13, 25-15. The Cougars will then host Trinidad State Junior College at 1 p.m. to finish off the nine-straight home schedule.

WNCC volleyball moves up to No. 2 in rankings

From Sept. 26, 2012

                The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team moved up to No. 2 in the latest NJCAA national rankings that were released Wednesday.

                The Cougars, 22-2 and winners of 16 straight matches, are ranked second behind San Jacinto College, who has a 20-1 record. The rest of the top five include College of Southern Idaho at No. 3, North Idaho College at No. 4, and Iowa Western Community College at No. 5.

                WNCC will continue its home slate of games Thursday when they host Otero Junior College at 6 p.m. Note the earlier start time. The match with Otero Junior College will also be dorm parent recognition as well as the Special Olympics taking part and playing a short game at intermission.

                The Cougars will continue their home stand when they host Lamar Community College at 7 p.m. on Friday followed by Trinidad State Junior College on Saturday at 1 p.m.

                This week’s national polls took plenty of shuffling. The rest of the top 10 has Salt Lake Community College at six, Tyler Junior College at seven, College of Central Florida at eight, Miami Dade College at nine, and State College of Florida at 10.

                Four other Region IX teams made the listing. Central Wyoming College moved up from No. 20 to No. 13, while Western Wyoming moved down from No. 13 to No. 15. Casper and Northwest College are the only other Region IX teams to receive points, each receiving honorable mention votes.

                WNCC defeated all three ranked Region IX teams last week, topping Western Wyoming in four sets before sweeping past Central Wyoming and Northwest College during the Wyo-Braska Shootout.

WNCC sweeps McCook in volleyball action

From Sept. 25, 2012

                Luiza Martins and Morgan Broussard ran the 6-2 offensive to perfection Tuesday night as the No. 3 Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team had little trouble in sweeping past McCook Community College 25-9, 25-10, 25-9.

                “We have been working on that [6-2 offense] a lot,” Broussard said. “I know that is one of the things that Coach wanted to see us doing at the end of the season. We are starting to run it early and it should help us out a lot.”

                Broussard said the team is starting to hit its stride and it is nice that they have put together a string of 16 straight matches.

                “It is nice to have that streak but we are not focused too much on the wins; we are focused on getting better each time,” she said. “That, getting better is our main goal.”

                With the 6-2 offense that the Cougars showcased Tuesday night, they took a huge step in getting better. Martins and Broussard combined for 39 set assists, 23 from Martins and 16 from Broussard as the Cougars showed plenty of depth in the South subregion win.

                “The 6-2 offense should be a big threat for other teams and it is good for us all to play in different roles and get different people on the court,” he said. “Every person has something to give out which is nice. We are all ready to play and that will really help out.”

                The Cougars had a plethora of hitting stars Tuesday night. The team combined for 45 kills on just six hitting errors. Kat Agson paced the Cougars with 11 kills followed by Danika Youngblood with eight, Allora Tanner and Yoro Tovar with seven each, Lauren Knox with six, and Megan Johnson with four.

                WNCC also took away the net game from the Indians, recording 12 blocks in the match. Tanner finished with four assisted blocks, while Johnson had one solo block and two assisted blocks. Lyndsay Wehkamp also had two assisted blocks.

                Broussard said the team just played well and if they can fine tune the 6-2 offense, they could be a dangerous team heading down the stretch.

                “Tonight we did good. Our serves were a lot better. We did send a few out and into the net, but I think we got a lot better with our serves and our hitting accuracy. We had a lot of fun, too,” she said.

                WNCC quickly jumped out to a 13-4 lead behind strong serving from Martins, Johnson and Youngblood. McCook sliced the lead in half at 18-9, but a Agson kill and then six Tovar service points gave WNCC the first set 25-9.

                Martins served eight straight points to start the second set before Broussard served three points, including an ace, for a 15-4 lead. McCook came back to cut the deficit to 18-8, but a Tanner Kill and timely hitting gave WNCC the second set 25-10.

                The third set was close at the beginning as WNCC held a slim 9-5 lead. After that, the Cougars strong serving game surfaced as Alex Rivera served five points for a 15-5 lead and then Broussard had three points on an ace and two Johnson kills. Moments later, Tanner hammered home another kill and WNCC would come away with the 25-9 win.

                Broussard had a excellent match on Tuesday, finishing with three aces to go along with her 16 set assists and six points. Martins had 23 set assists and 12 points.

                Defensively, Alex Rivera had 17 digs followed by Youngblood with five, and Kasey Lafitaga and Lauren Knox each with four.

                WNCC, 22-2, will next be in action Thursday when they host Otero Junior College at 7 p.m. The Special Olympics will be a part of Thursday’s action. After Thursday, the Cougars will host Lamar Community College on Friday followed by a home game with Trinidad State Junior College at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

WNCC volleyball finishes Wyo-Braska Classic 4-0

From Sept. 22, 2012

                The third-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team continued to flash its offensive depth in sweeping past two more opponents in the second day of the Wyo-Braska Invite on Saturday.

                The Cougars opened up the day as Danika Youngblood pounded home 18 kills as the Cougars rolled over No. 20 Central Wyoming College 25-7, 25-19, 25-19, before the Cougars combined for 40 kills in a sweep over Northwest Wyoming 25-17, 25-13, 25-20 to finish the tournament unbeaten at 4-0.

                Luiza Martins, who recorded 72 set assists in the two matches, likes the offensive arsenal she has to choose from.

                “I have confidence in all the girls [hitters],” Martins, who only has been setting since 2009, said. “I think having all these hitters along with good passing has helped me a lot. They [the players] give me confidence so I can play with the girls.”

                Overall, while the Cougars swept both opponents, Martins said they have a habit of sometimes letting up and letting teams back into sets. Fortunately, each time that happened, one of the hitters would come through with a big kill.

                “I think we played well,” Martins said. “I think we need to be better because in the third games we go down and we need to do a better job at that. But, we are playing good. We are always ready to play.”

                Martins, the freshman setter from Brazil, said she has learned how to play American volleyball.

                “I love playing with this team and I am learning a lot of things,” she said. “I am from Brazil and there we play way different than here. When we are winning, it is just an amazing feeling.”

                WNCC has been doing a lot of winning as of late. The Cougars have won 15 straight matches and have dropped just four games in their last 14 matches. Saturday was another dominating performance from the Cougars.

                In the opening match against ranked Central Wyoming, The Cougars blew out the Rustlers in the first set, winning 25-7. They accomplished it with great serving as martins started things with a four-point service run, followed by Tasha Meyer with a four-point run to put the score at 13-3. Later, Alex Rivera had a four-point run for a 20-6 lead before Martin finished out the set with four straight points.

                The next two sets were tighter. In the second set, WNCC held a 20-13 lead only to watch Central Wyoming come back to cut the lead to 22-19. After a missed serve, Martins finished off the set with two service points.

                The third set saw the Cougars build a 16-11 lead only to watch the Rustlers cut the deficit to 16-13. WNCC rebounded as they went up 21-14 on two Youngblood points and a kill. She even had a backrow kill during her serving rotation that she sent so hard that it made a dent in the floor.

                WNCC had a multitude of offensive starts in the win. Youngblood finished the match with 18 kills, three blocks, 17 digs and 10 points. Priscila Menes and Megan Johnson each finished with seven kills. Johnson also had five assisted blocks, five digs, and four points; while Mendes had two blocks, 10 digs and four points.

Also for the Cougars,  Agson had two kills; Yoro Tovar had three kills and three blocks; Martins had two blocks, 39 set assists, 13 points and 15 digs; Tasha Meyer had seven points and 10 digs; Alex Rivera had 18 digs and two aces; and Allora Tanner and Taylor VanderWerff each had two kills.

The Cougars kept spreading around the offense in the win against Northwest. In the opening game, WNCC built a 10-5 lead and led by as much as 16-11 before the Trappers sliced the lead to 18-16. Agson then powered home a kill and Meyer served four straight points for a 23-16 lead. WNCC won on a Youngblood service point.

The second set saw the Cougars hold a slim 7-6 lead before starting to open up the contest in taking a 16-9 lead and led by as much as 19-10 on two Youngblood kills. Rivera finally finished off the set with three service points as Tovar hammered home the last point.

                WNCC opened the third set 6-0 before the Trappers came back to tie things at eight on five points from Ana Jakovljevic. Both teams were knotted at 12-12 before WNCC opened things behind a Tanner kill and three Rivera points for a 16-12 lead.

                Northwest battled back to within two, 21-19, but after a missed serve, Meyer served up two points and WNCC would won the match on a Trapper missed serve.

                Youngblood led the way with 13 kills and nine digs. Tovar also pounded home 11 kills with three blocks, while Mendes had seven kills, three blocks, and eight digs.

                Also for the Cougars, Agson had four kills; Martins had two kills, two blocks, six digs, and 32 set assists; Johnson had two kills; Rivera had 13 digs and two aces; and Meyer and five digs.

                Martins said the team is a little tired right know, but they will be ready for next week when the Cougars host four matches, beginning on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against McCook Community College. After that, they will host Otero Junior College on Thursday, Lamar Community College on Friday, and Trinidad State on Saturday.

                Martins said this team has improved by leaps and bounds from the beginning of they year.

                “We can’t compare the improvement from the beginning of the year,” she said. “At the beginning we were lost and now I think we are improving step by step and we are playing well.”

Saturday’s Scores

@ WNCC

Cowley County over Sheridan, 25-12, 25-16, 25-14

Casper over Air Force Prep, 25-11, 25-14, 25-23

WNCC over Central Wyoming, 25-7, 25-19, 25-19

Casper over Dawson, 25-18, 25-17, 25-9

Cowley County over Laramie County, 25-20, 25-12, 25-15

WNCC over Northwest, 25-17, 25-14, 25-20

Laramie County over NJC, 25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 33-31

@ EWC

Northwest over Dawson, 25-12, 25-15, 25-7

Western Wyoming over Lamar, 25-8, 25-12, 24-26, 25-22

Seward over EWC, 25-27, 25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 15-13

Western Wyoming over NJC, 28-26, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19

Sheridan vs. Air Force Prep

EWC vs. Lamar

Seward vs. Central Wyoming

WNCC men's soccer downs NJC 3-2

From Sept. 21, 2012

                STERLING, Colo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team overcame a 2-0 deficit to register its first Region IX win in dramatic fashion, topping Northeastern Junior College 3-2 in double overtime Friday afternoon in Sterling, Colo.

                The win was WNCC's second of the season and first in Region IX to put the Cougars 1-3 in conference play. But, at one point, it looked as if the Cougars were not going to get the win.

                After a scoreless first half, NJC went up 2-0 with about 20 minutes to play while playing a man down. One of NJC's goals came on a penalty kick as well.

                After spotting the Plainsmen the 2-0 lead, the Cougars decided to wake up and they went on a two goal scoring spree to not the game and force overtime. WNCC's first goal came off the foot of Thomas Wright off an assist from Jacob Santos.

                WNCC continued playing hard in the final minutes and finally ended up tying the game off a Edwin Contreras goal with assists from Wright and Santos.

                Neither team scored in the first sudden death 10-minute period, and both teams nearly didn't score in the second overtime period either. But, with under a minute to play, Wright scored his second goal of the game off an assist from Kyle Gonzales to give the Cougars the victory.

                WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said while he will take the win, he wasn't pleased with how his team played overall.

                "We got down 2-0 and than we decided to play," he said. "They even got up on us playing a man down."

                The Cougars even outshot the Plainsmen taking 20 shots on frame compared to just three for NJC. The bottom line if the Cougars want to make a run to a regional title is they have to start converting shots.

                The Cougars, 2-5, will return to action Sunday when they host Lamar Community College at the Landers Soccer Complex. Kickoff for the men's game only is slated for 2 p.m.