After the first two weeks of competition, the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team is starting to make some noise in the national polls.
The NJCAA released its first Division I volleyball poll on Tuesday and the Cougars moved into the rankings at No. 18 with their 7-2 record. WNCC was a no-show in the pre-season rankings that were released mid-August.
The Cougars went 3-1 last weekend in the McCook Labor Day Invite topping Hill College, Hutchinson Community College, and Southeast Community College. Their only defeat that weekend was to No. 11 Indian Hills Community College. The win over Hutchinson was a key win in their moving into the Top 20.
Finja Schul, a sophomore middle hitter who is third in the nation in solo blocks with 15, said this is a testament of the work they have been putting in.
“I think it is very exciting to be ranked again,” Schul said. “This year there was no pressure to keep a spot, but we had the grit to work for one. This year is a lot different from last year and it’s rewarding to see that our hard work with our new coaches pays off.”
This season was a learning curve in many ways for the team with new coaches. Schul said this season is special to the players and the coaches of what they are achieving.
“First of all, it is special for everyone because we have a great new coaching team with Coach B (Fatima Balza) and Coach Rada (Ashley Rada),” Schul said. “With having such a large returning sophomore class it was great that we already had a pre-existing connection. We really had to fight to get our ranking back from a season with so many ups and downs. For the rest of the season, we’re gonna keep fighting to keep being the Western Nebraska team we know we can be.”
The last time the Cougars were ranked was back in late August when they were ranked No. 10. After that, the Cougars fell out of the national rankings. The Cougars were ranked as high as No. 4 in the final polls in 2022.
This year’s team is made up of plenty of talent that is starting to put things together. The win over Hutchinson, who was ranked in the pre-season polls, but dropped out after last week, was a huge win on Saturday when WNCC won 30-28, 25-20, 16-25, 25-17 behind four players with double-figure kills led by Lilly Zwart and Finja Schul each with 12 and Ahleejah Tovo-Sunia and Tamika Eastman each with 10 kills. Taylor Tyser also dug up 30 digs in the win.
Schul said that win over Hutch on Saturday is a defining moment to the season.
“After losing to Hutch last weekend, we knew it was going to be a good battle, but we came together as a team and played our best high intensity volleyball,” she said. “Especially this game was a lot of fun and put us in a positive mindset for the rest of the season.”
WNCC is one of four Region IX teams that received recognition in the polls. Northeastern Junior College dropped from No. 2 in the pre-season polls to No. 3 in this week’s poll. WNCC is the only other Region IX team ranked at No. 18.
Central Wyoming College and Trinidad State College received honorable mention votes this week. CWC went 3-1 in their first outing of the year at Salt Lake City, only falling to Utah State-Eastern while beating College of Southern Idaho, Arizona Western, and North Idaho.
Trinidad State is 6-3 on the season after going 2-2 at the LCCC Invite that feature the Trojans falling to No. 1 Eastern Florida State and Colby Community College before beating Seward County and Central Arizona.
Trinidad State will host the SOCO Classic this weekend, a tournament that WNCC will also be at. WNCC will face Eastern Wyoming, Frank Phillips, North Platte, and Clarendon College over Friday and Saturday.
Schul said they need to keep playing smart and strong to stay in the rankings and winning.
“Well, we obviously need to win,” she said. “By siding out quick, communicating a lot and staying up, we can win every game. I’m very excited to play again and experience the intense atmosphere that our team creates on and off the court.”
The Top 10 teams include Florida Southwestern at No. 1 followed by Miami Dade College, NJC, New Mexico Military, Salt Lake, Barton, Colby, Trinity Valley, Weatherford, and Utah State-Eastern.
The second 10 starts with Indian Hills at No. 11 followed by Eastern Arizona, Blinn, New Mexico, Odessa, Hillsborough, Navarro, WNCC, Missouri State-West Plains, and Eastern Florida.
