WNCC moves closer to regional title
Cougars down Otero, NJC to move into championship
The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team is one win away from notching their 19th straight Region IX title after capturing two wins on Friday at Cougar Palace in the Region IX South Tournament.
The Cougars opened the day with a five-set win over Otero Junior College 25-15, 16-25, 25-17, 26-28, 15-9 before sweeping past top-seeded Northeastern Junior College 28-26, 25-17, 26-24.
WNCC will play for the title at 1 p.m. Saturday against the winner of the Saturday 10 a.m. contest between NJC and Lamar. Lamar earned a hard-fought five-setter against McCook late Friday 25-22, 24-26, 25-20, 23-25, 17-15 to stay alive.
Logan Belford, a freshman from Loveland, Colorado, said the win against NJC was huge considering the Plainswomen beat the Cougars twice in the regular season.
"The difference between Otero and NJC is we didn't focus on ourselves," she said. "We focused more on the other team [against Otero] but with NJC we really focused on what we needed to do to play well against them. We also brought a lot more energy to the NJC game but left emotions of the last games against them out."
The NJC match was just like a championship match between two squads faced each other for the title the past 13 years.
Belford said the sweep against NJC was all energy. Another factor was errors, where NJC had a number of missed serves and WNCC minimized their errors.
"The key for the sweep against NJC versus the five-set match against Otero was that we focused on ourselves and what we needed to work on rather then what NJC was doing," she said.
It worked Friday, but Saturday is a different day. WNCC and NJC could face each other one more time for the title, too, and Belford said they need to play together.
"Tomorrow we need to play as a team and work together," she said. "We all need to bring energy and play without pressure."
Both matches on the day saw contributions from a lot of players. Belford stepped in during the Otero match after some sickness hit the Cougars and played well in both matches. Belford had seven digs and eight points against NJC, and five points and four digs against Otero.
The NJC and WNCC match was everything it was billed for. NJC opened up with a 6-0 lead before Genesis Benitez served five points to tie things at 6-6. WNCC led 16-12 at one stretch after three Kadara Marshall points. The Cougars pushed the lead to 20-16, and led 24-21 before NJC tied the first set at 24-24.
From there it was back and forth before Syenna Masaki had a kill and then Belford served the final point for the 28-26 win.
The second set was just as dramatic. WNCC led 13-9 after three Lauren Shaul points and led 16-11 with two Benitez points. WNCC kept excelling in the set to capture the 25-17 lead on a Shaul point.
The third set was a duplicate of the first. NJC led 5-2 after back-to-back ace serves and led 20-17 at one time. NJC kept going strong, leading 23-21. NJC had set point at 24-23 before Joise Maldonado hammered home a kill and then two Marshall points, including Maldonado getting the match-winning kill, sent the Cougars into the championship.
Against Otero, the Cougars had three players tally double-figure kills. Maldonado led the way with 20 kills followed by Kaawa with 12 and Sarena Bartley with 11. Jayme Commins dished out 49 set assists in the win.
And, the Cougars needed every one of those kills to avoid Otero's upset bid. WNCC won the first set 25-15 but faltered in set two, falling 25-16. The Cougars took the third set 25-17.
The fourth set was a dogfight as both teams played spirited ball. Otero led 17-15 and 20-16 at one time. The Rattlers even held set point at 24-22 before WNCC came back to hold match point at 26-25. Otero fought back to steal the fourth set 28-26 and force a deciding fifth set.
Belford gave the Cougars an 8-3 lead in the fifth with five straight points. After that, the Cougars kept the pressure on as Maldonado got a key kill at 14-9 before Commins served the final point for the win.
In other action on the day, NJC topped McCook 25-15, 25-20, 25-17; Lamar eliminated Otero in five sets 22-25, 25-20, 14-25, 28-26, 15-10, and McCook eliminated Trinidad 25-17, 25-20, 25-18.
Stats for WNCC vs. NJC
Kills – Brooke Kaawa 11, Sarena Bartley 8, Syenna Masaki 3, Kaila Tuisamatatele 5, Kadara Marshall 7, Joise Maldonado 8.
Solo Blocks – Bartley 1, Masaki 1, Marshall 1.
Digs – Kaawa 7, Masaki 10, Benitez 14, Lauren Shaul 8, Logan Belford 7, Bartley 3, Marshall 1, Tuisamatatele 2.
Set Assists – Masaki 33, Kaawa 1, Benitez 2.
Points – Kaawa 1, Masaki 4, Benitez 7, Shaul 7, Marshall 9, Belford 8.
Aces – Kaawa 1, Benitez 3, Shaul 1, Belford 1.
Stats for WNCC vs. Otero
Kills – Kaawa 12, Bartley 11, Tuisamatatele 5, Marshall 6, Maldonado 20, Jayme Commins 3.
Solo Blocks – Tuisamatatele 3, Marshall 1, Commins 2.
Digs – Kaawa 13, Benitez 19, Kirstee Trees 5, Shaul 9, Belford 4, Commins 6, Bartley 1, Maldonado 1, Marshall 3.
Set Assists – Commins 49, Kaawa 4.
Points – Commins 2, Kaawa 4, Benitez 7, Trees 10, Shaul 3, Marshall 12, Belford 5.
Aces – Commins 1, Benitez 1, Marshall 1.