Erica Fava had a double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs and the No. 18 Western Nebraska Community College found a way to get the sweep over Otero College 26-24, 25-15, 25-19 in the South Region IX Conference opener for both squads Friday night at Cougar Palace.
The win was the Cougars 14th of the season as they have won five straight. WNCC will look for its sixth straight when they host Trinidad State College Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
WNCC returning setter Macey Boggs, who had a double-double of 34 set assists and 10 points, said it wasn't the team's best performance but they found a way to get the win.
"We didn't play to our full potential," Boggs, the Gering High graduate, said. "The first set we started off really slow. The second set we saw a little bit of improvement and the third set we were down a little bit. We just have to work on being more consistent and then I think our play will elevate.
There was a marked difference between the play from Thursday night's win over Northwest College to the win Friday against Otero. Against Northwest, the Cougars dominated the second and third set and Friday night, the play wasn't as crisp as Thursday.
"Right now, we have to work on putting two days together," Boggs said. "We have been struggling of putting two days of playing well together. We play good one day and then not so good the next. As soon as we can put two matches together we will be unstoppable."
WNCC started well, jumping to a 13-8 lead behind a Ale Meoni kill and led 16-12 at one time. Otero didn't back down against the 18th-ranked Cougars as they tied the game behind three service points from Avery Bouldin to tie the set at 16-16. WNCC went back in front 20-16 on three Juliana Oliveira points.
Otero came back to take a 24-23 lead on an ace serve from Getsemani Carrasco. WNCC tied the set at 24 and then AnaKaren Chavez served the final two points with Hyleigh Fornstrom getting the set-winning kill for the 26-24 win.
Boggs started the second set with three straight points and the Cougars led 9-4 after three Chavez points. WNCC doubled up the score at 14-7 on a Jenna Curtis point. Otero sliced the lead to 15-12 on two points from Tessa Ortiz. Angel Nahinu stopped the run with a kill and then Boggs served five points for a 21-12 lead. The Cougars won the second set 25-15.
The third set saw WNCC take a 9-3 lead on three Laura Milori points. WNCC led 14-8 after a Fava kill before Otero sliced the lead to 14-12 on three points from Carrasco. WNCC called a timeout and got a sideout and Chavez served three points for an 18-12 lead.
The Cougars led 20-13 only to watch Otero cut the score to 21-18. Fava stopped the run with a kill and then Fornstrom and Mariah Fukumoto each got a service point to bring it to 24-19. WNCC won the match on a Jayla Brehmer kill 25-19.
After Fava and Boggs' double-doubles, Meoni had 14 kills five points, two digs, a solo block, and three assist blocks, while Miloni had five kills and four points.
Also for the Cougars, Holleigh Jaime had two digs, Oliveira had four points, four digs, and three kills; Julia Moccellin had six assists and two digs; Chavez had six digs and eight points; Jenna Curtis had four kills and two digs; Nahinu had three digs, two kills, and four assist blocks; and Fornstrom had three kills, two solo blocks, and two points.
WNCC, 14-8, will be looking for win number 15 when they host Trinidad State on Friday.
"We just need to play smart, play hard, and have tons of energy on the court which will bring a lot of communication," Boggs said.