It will be a big weekend of volleyball for the No. 16 Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team as they get ready to host two Top 20 teams in action Friday and Saturday.
More importantly, this weekend is vital to right the ship after the Cougars dropped back-to-back contests for the first time since 2019 when they lost two straight in August. The last time the Cougars lost three straight was at the 2016 NJCAA national tournament in Casper, Wyoming.
The competition this weekend will be top notch as the Cougars, 16-10, will open Friday with a Region IX South conference game against McCook Community College. McCook will then face No. 2 Iowa Western Community College at 5 p.m. followed by WNCC meeting Iowa Western at 7 p.m.
Saturday's action has just two contests beginning with No. 13 Central Wyoming facing No. 2 Iowa Western at 11 a.m. followed by Central Wyoming taking on WNCC at 1 p.m.
The Cougars have dropped their last two matches to Northeastern Junior College on Saturday and Eastern Wyoming College on Tuesday in road contests. Both matches went four sets with the Cougars winning the first set and then falling in the next three.
Freshman Erica Fava said they can't change what happened on Tuesday, they just need to regroup as a team and get the confidence back.
"Coming back from Tuesday's loss will definitely change our attitude and help us getting our confidence back," Fava said. "Unfortunately, we cannot change what happened on Tuesday but now we have to think about this weekend. We need to use what happened on Tuesday as a lesson and grow from it. We definitely have to stay focused the whole game and try to stay positive and don't let the mistakes bring us down. It is very important to get out of this as a team. I think that if we get our confidence back, we'll have a lot of fun for the rest of the season."
Fava added o regroup, they just need to play well and keep the energy up to pick up some wins.
"We have to use all of our energy to win both games," she said. "We have to stay focused on what we're doing and compete hard."
Both teams will be tough. McCook enters with a 16-9 record and winners of their last three. The Indians, after falling to NJC on September 28, topped Lamar Community College in five sets before knocking off Southeast Community College on Tuesday 3-1 and then Central Community College-Columbus 3-2 on Wednesday.
Iowa Western enters with an 18-1 record and have won 10 straight after falling in five sets to Butler Community College on September 17. During that 10-game win streak, the Reivers topped No. 8 Missouri State-West Plains in five sets, No. 15 Indian Hills Community College in four sets, and swept No. 18 Mineral Area College in three sets.
"Both teams are good," Fava, the 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Italy, said. "We never played McCook, but we know that they won against EWC. We know Iowa Western because we played them in Colorado a month ago. I would say that the key to pick up a win against Iowa Western is to limit our errors, stay focused the whole game, and have fun."
The Cougars, even though they have struggled in their last two matches, have played one of the hardest schedules in the nation this season. WNCC has played 12 teams ranked in the Top 20 in the current NJCAA volleyball poll, topping No. 10 Utah State Eastern twice, the first time in five sets on August 21 and then in five sets on Sept. 11, and No. 11 New Mexico Military in four sets on September 3,
WNCC has played four five-set matches gong 3-1, while going 5-7 in four set matches. WNCC has recorded an 8-2 record in straight set sweeps.
After Friday, the Cougars will then play No. 13 Central Wyoming College on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Rustlers, who have defeated WNCC twice this season, will play Iowa Western at 11 a.m. on Saturday.