COUINCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – After winning both matches on Friday, the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team split a pair of contests on Saturday to finish the Reiver Invite in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with a 3-1 record.
The Cougars opened Saturday fall in three straight to Hutchinson Community College 25-10, 25-17, 25-16 before coming back and dropping the host team Iowa Western Community College in five sets 19-25, 25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 15-11.
WNCC will return to action on Tuesday when they host Eastern Wyoming College with a 6 p.m. start. After Tuesday, the Cougars are in a tourney in McCook on Friday and Saturday.
In the win against Iowa Western, Zwart pounded home 22 kills with a solo block and four service points. Dessiah Christopher finished with five kills, while Finja Schul had four kills, two solo blocks, four assisted blocks, and three points.
Taylor Tyser, Tamika Eastman, Jaylen Nachtigall, and Ahleejah Tovo-Sunia each had three kills while Nora Marginean had two kills. Tyser also had nine digs, 11 points, and three aces, while Marginean had 10 points, a solo block, and 27 set assists.
Alex Gonzalez-Orosco finished with nine digs with three points while Eastman had nine digs, nine points and an ace. Chloe Grady tallied two solo blocks and two assisted blocks.
The match itself was intense. Iowa Western controlled the first set from the start, opening a 13-11 game with a 5-point run for 18-13 and winning 25-19.
The second set was nip-and-tuck as Iowa Western led late 17-16 before Marginean put the Cougars in front 19-17 and then Eastman had two service points for a 22-18 lead. WNCC won the second on a Nachtigall kill.
The third set saw the Reivers leading 18-14 before Tyser had three service points to knot the score at 18. Iowa Western responded with four straight points and won the third 25-21.
The fourth set was one where neither team had more than a two-point lead until late. WNCC led 17-13 only to watch Iowa Western come back to tie the set at 17-17 and later 20-20. That was when Marginean served two points for a 22-20 lead.
It didn’t last as Iowa Western went up 24-22 and was one point from the match when the Reivers had a missed serve. That missed serve gave new live to WNCC and Eastman served the final two points for the 26-24 win.
The deciding fifth set was back and forth with each tied at 6-6. WNCC took a 10-7 lead on an Eastman kill and a Marginean points. WNCC went up 13-9 on a Zwart kill and Tyser points. The Reivers sliced the lead to 13-11 but WNCC got the serve back after Schul and Zwart teamed up for an assisted block. Nachtigall finished of the win with a kill and the 15-11 win.
In the opening match of the day against Hutchinson, WNCC sputtered with just 20 total kills and just four aces. Zwart led the way with six kills, two digs, and two aces; while Tovo-Sunia and Schul each had five kills. Schul also had three solo blocks. Tyser had nine digs while Marginean had 15 set assists.
