All nine Western Nebraska Community College volleyball sophomores will be heading on to play at the next level after they revealed their destinations last week.

                NJCAA All-American Erica Fava is the only one that is headed to the Division I level as the Cougar outside hitter will be a libero at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

                The other eight are headed to Division II or NAIA schools. Ogallala's Jenna Curtis and Ale Meoni will be attending the same school as those two outside hitters will be members of the South Dakota School of Mines volleyball team next year.

                Also headed to the same school are Alex Hernandez and Lexi Keoho, who will be at Saint Mary of the Woods College, which is located in Indiana. Saint Mary of the Woods is a NAIA institution that went 26-6 a year ago.

                Gordon-Rushville's Jayla Brehmer is also headed to the four-year level as the former Mustang inked with Friends University, a NAIA school in Wichita, Kansas.

                Others that went on include Juliana Oliveira to Missouri Valley College, Angel Nahinu to East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and AK Chavez to Emporia State in Emporia, Kansas.

                WNCC head coach Binny Canales is proud of these nine sophomores who will be continuing their athletic career at the next level.

                "I am very honored to have all nine of these that are year, some for two years and some for three, and they made a huge statement," Canales said. "Some of the players have won two Region IX titles and last year we all won one and finished in the Top 10, sixth in the nation. They all had huge contributions. They have been a blessing and I am honored to have them been a Cougar here at Western Nebraska."

                Fava will be taking her talents to the Division I level when she heads to Omaha. Fava is thankful for the opportunity to play Division I volleyball and a new position.

                "I am going to the University of Nebraska Omaha and I choose Omaha because I love the atmosphere when I had my visit there," Fava said. "I am going to challenge myself. I am going to try a new role and be a libero so I am excited to see how that goes."

                But, just being able to play Division I and also a chance to play a volleyball match outside on Memorial Stadium in Lincoln is going to be exciting for her.

                "Being able to continue playing the sport I love and at a D1 level is a blessing and I'm so grateful that I get to keep doing that while also studying to get my degree," Fava said. "I can't wait to get to Omaha and get to experience a 4-year school. Everything will be very different and I'm super excited!"

                Fava said that she grew a lot as a person and player at WNCC and will miss her Cougar family.

                "I've grown a lot as a player but also as a person," Fava, who is from Italy, said. "Being far away from home definitely helped me mature even more. I've grown as a player because of my teammates. WNCC gave me so many beautiful memories. We won a region IX title and went to nationals and I got to play with my closest friends."

                Fava did spend her senior year as a foreign exchange student at a high school in Wichita, Kansas, but that was during the COVID pandemic and had to go back home to Italy before she could finish out the year. Fava just wants to say thank you to everyone that has impacted her stay in Scottsbluff.
                "I really want to thank everyone that helped me getting to where I am right now," she said. "My family, my best friends, my teammates, my coaches, and the community. I'll cherish every single moment I spent here at WNCC."

                Brehmer, who was a 3-sport athlete in Gordon, is excited to continue playing. She picked Friends University because it is somewhat close to home and also the volleyball program.

                "I choose Friends because I love the team and the team athletically-wise," she said.

                For Ogallala High School graduate Curtis, she was one of the first to commit early this fall along with Brehmer. Curtis will be joined at the 4-year level with Meoni, who both will be heading South Dakota School of Mines to the Rapid City, South Dakota, because of the same reasons – the volleyball program and academics for their career.

                "I choose the School of Mines because it is the perfect degree option for me in the path that I wanted to continue and I really liked the volleyball coach," Curtis said. "And, I am pretty excited to be going with Ale. Ever since we got here, we just clicked right away. We always talked about going the same place together and that was kind of a joke, but know that it is actually happening; it is kind of exciting."

                For Meoni, she picked South School of Mines because it has a good engineering department.

                "I am going to go to the South Dakota School of mines because it is really good for engineering and I really loved the visit and the engineering department," plus I really loved the coach, too," she said.

                Meoni, who earned all-tournament honors at the NJCAA national tournament in the fall, said she has played volleyball forever and has grown a lot as a player in her two years at WNCC.

                "I have been playing volleyball since I was four and I can't imagine a life without it," Meoni said. "This sport is pretty much the only constant in my life and it helps me a lot relieving stress and anxiety that I might have for school or life. It's so important for me to continue playing because I know I can count on it to take my mind off life for a few hours."

                Meoni said she has grown a lot as a person and player in her two years at WNCC. Meoni's dad Marco Meoni won a silver medal for Italy as the starting setter at the 1996 Olympics and a bronze at the 200 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

                "I think I've also grown a lot. I used to get upset at myself very easily and shut down completely which made me 'useless' afterwards because I wouldn't put effort in the game. However, being here I've learned that everybody makes mistakes and if for some reason I'm having a bad game I can still do my part by cheering and supporting my teammates. If one mistake is made, just shake it off and focus on the next point, every play is different so there's no need to feel demoralized."

                Nahinu is going East Central University which is a NCAA Division II school that former Cougar Aloni Jordan attended. Nahinu, spent three seasons at WNCC and is thankful for her time here and is excited to continue playing in Oklahoma.

                "I am going East Central University," The middle hitter from Hawaii said. "I choose the school because I liked the coach and the team chemistry."

                Hernandez and Keoho will be attending the same school in Indiana and both are pleased with going together for another two years. Hernandez spent three seasons at WNCC and helped win two Region IX titles while Keoho just spent the last two years in Scottsbluff.

                "I choose this school because of the coaches. They really cared about their players so that was a big thing for me," Hernandez said. "It is exciting (to be going with Lexi). She has been a good friend to me since I have been here so I am excited to be playing with her another two years."

                Keoho said she picked Saint Mary of the Woods, a NAIA school, because of the coaches.

                "I choose this school because after talking to Coach Ashley (Harris) and Coach Ian (Harris), and the girls, they made me feel like I would have a home-away-from-home there," she said. "I am just excited to be playing with Alex. It makes me feel better going further away from home in knowing that I have someone that I am close to."

                Oliveira is headed to Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri. Oliveira is the second athlete from WNCC to head there next year as WNCC men's soccer player Tom Pelzer inked there earlier in April.

                "I am going to Missouri Valley College and I choose this school because I really like the coach and the girls," she said.

                Chavez, the libero on the team from Laredo, Texas, is going a little closer to home after signing with Emporia State in Emporia, Kansas.

                "I am very excited to continue playing," Chavez said. "It has always been my dream to play at a 4-year school and it is amazing to watch myself accomplish my goals. I think I have grown so much these past two years. I have learned so much from Coach Binny and my previous coaches. They have definitely shaped me into the person I am today."

                The nine sophomores only have a few more weeks together before graduation and they said it will be hard to leave their friends and teammates that have known for the last two years.

                "It will be really hard especially because we got here at WNCC together and we grew up together in these two years and I'm so proud of all of us," Fava said. "It's hard to think that I'm going to another school and I won't have them with me. Just thinking about the fact that we only have one month left together makes me really emotional."

                Chavez echoed the same thought.

                "It definitely will be tough because we all came in here together and it was really fun playing with them," she said. "They are like my sisters, so it will be hard parting from them so I know they will do really well and I am excited to see what they will do."

                Meoni said May will be hard, but at least she is going to school with her Cougar teammate Jenna Curtis.

                "It's going to be really hard knowing that we won't see each other again (or not as often) breaks my heart," she said. "Our sophomore group is very close, we all love and care for each other and I think that's why we were able to connect so well on the court. I'm gonna miss everyone so much and who knows maybe we'll all be able to come back for an alumni game."

                Meoni said these past two years have been special and wants to thank everyone that helped her along the way.

                "I just want to thank the Scottsbluff community for being so supportive and coming to our games, it really made the difference," she said. "I also want to thank my dorm family because they are very welcoming and nice and I had so much fun with them, I am grateful for everything they've done for me, their support and enthusiasm. I also want to thank Erica Fava, Jenna Curtis, and Jayla Brehmer for being the best group of friends I could ever ask for."

                Chavez said her sophomore teammates will definitely make it hard to leave western Nebraska.

                "This has been one of the best teams I have ever played with," she said. "It will definitely be hard moving on without these eight incredible sophomores. We have made so many memories that I will cherish forever, and they will always hold a special place in my heart."