Western Nebraska Community College's Erica Fava and Shanelle Martinez captured some prestigious honors when the NJCAA came out with the All-American Volleyball teams.

                Both Cougar players garnered First Team honors after helping the team to a 34-5 and a Region IX championship. This is Fava's second First Team honor after receiving the honor last year.

                The two were also selected as Second Team AVCA All-Americans. The AVCA ranks all the players from all three NJCAA divisions, the CCCAA, and the NWAC. There were 45 student-athletes from 39 two-year schools in the United States that made one of the three teams.

                Fava, who was named Region IX South player of the year, said it is an honor to be selected First Team All-American by the NJCAA for a second straight season.

                "Just like last year, being named NJCAA first team all-American is amazing," Fava said. "It's the best way to end my time at western Nebraska."

                For Martinez, the freshman Region IX South setter of the year for the Cougars from San Antonio, Texas, said it is humbling to receive that honor.

                "This to me means that all of the days I spent trying to better myself finally paid off," Martinez said. "I am greatly humbled to have received this honor. I'd like to thank my family, my friends, and my coaches. They've taught me everything I need to know to be a better daughter, sister, teammate, student, etc. Nothing would be possible without these incredible individuals that have been placed in my life."

                Martinez and Fava were two of the 12 members selected to the First Team. The other members of the team include Barbara Koehler of Florida Southwestern; Romina Cornelio of Miami Dade; Hennesys Lalane and Jarolin delos Santos of Indian Hills; Liznyela Lopez of Trinity Valley; Ruth Manuela Bibinbe of Missouri State-West Plains; Laura Fiabane of Salt Lake; Iva Popovic of New Mexico; Mio Yamamoto of New Mexico Military, and Seyun Park of Seward County.

                Florida Southwestern's Koehler was also named the NJCAA Volleyball Player of the Year as well as she helped her team to their first national title with a win over Miami Dade College.

                Second Team All-Americans include Kaila Ru of Polk State; Yaliancis Flores of Monroe, Haley McUne of Utah State Eastern; Natalia Slazynska of Arizona Western; Kaia Baker of Eastern Arizona; Ivy Fink of Butler; Hanna Tylska of Navarro; Doga Kutlu of Missouri State-West Plains; Alohilani Bursey of Jefferson County; Roberta Pusashaj of Florida Southwestern; Tricia Tua'one of Snow; and Danika Washington of Vernon.

                Honorable mention All-Americans include Daisy Manasco of Wallace State-Hanceville; Alice Munari of Hillsborough; Ilana Assis of Missouri State-West Plains; Brinley Smith of Central Wyoming; Kennedy Kelly of Butler; and Sofia Velez of Trinity Valley.

                Both Cougar players had solid seasons are thankful of their teammates for making the seasons special.

                "I think I had a good season and I think I improved a lot and became a better player because I was lucky to be so trounced by many talented players," Fava said. "As a team I would say it was an amazing season. We finished our season with a good record, won regionals, and finished 6th in the nation. I remember answering this question last year and I remember saying that 'My goal for next year is to win the region IX tournament and then carry my team to nationals.' I'm just so happy that I was able to put in actions what I said and it couldn't have been possible without my teammates."

                This past season, Fava finished with 415 kills, 367 digs, and had 52 aces. For her two-year career, Fava had 964 kills, 879 digs, and served 119 ace serves.

                Martinez had a stellar freshman year as the setter of the Cougar team. Martinez had 1,399 assists for a 10.36 average. She had 45 kills, 28 ace serves, and had 376 digs. Martinez said it was a great first-year for her and the team.

                "I felt I had a great season overall. It was a very productive, enjoyable, and fast four months," she said. "I felt as a team, we had an extremely strong season, we took care of business when needed and had a goal to do the best we possibly could."

                Fava said she had a lot of memories from this past year and the biggest one was winning regionals.

                "I have a lot of memories this season that I'll never forget," Fava said. "My favorite one is definitely winning regionals. I can still picture the moment, it's amazing. Sophomore night was definitely another one, and I'm so grateful that I was able to play with my best friends, our group of sophomores was very close and I'll miss playing with them for sure. Last but not least, our trip to nationals is something that I won't ever forget and even if it didn't go like we wanted, we fought until the end."

                Martinez said her first year at WNCC was special in many ways and she hopes to grow even more next year and accomplish the same things as a member of the Cougar team.

                "My memories for this season were for me getting the opportunity to make a new family here at Western Nebraska and see what it was like to play with athletes from different parts of the world and sharing all of the successes we made possible this year," Martinez said. "My goals for next year are to be a two time All-American and to win the region for a second year in a row. As well as making it to the National Tournament again because the experience and skill level is very exciting to compete with."

                Fava said that she hopes wherever she continues playing next year she have the same king of success as her past two years at WNCC.

                "All I can say is that I'm just grateful for my time at western Nebraska," she said. "I want to say that I would've not being able to get this honor if it wasn't for the coaches and teammates that pushed me to be better every day in the gym, so this honor goes to them too."