TRINIDAD, Colo. – The 20th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team struggled early but came on strong in the third and fourth sets to down Trinidad State College 25-20, 20-25, 25-12, 25-14 for the Cougar’s 20th win of the season.
The win was a crucial South conference contest as the Cougars are fighting for the No. 1 seed for November’s Region IX tournament, which WNCC will host beginning November 3. WNCC has one conference loss and trails Northeastern Junior College, who is unbeaten in the conference.
Saturday’s match with Trinidad was a battle early on. In the first set the two squads were tied at 18-18 before a strong service run pushed the Cougars lead to 22-18. WNCC won the first set 25-20.
The second set saw the Trojans roll to a 9-2 lead and led the ranked Cougars 11-5. WNCC made a comeback, slicing the lead to 18-16. A missed serve, however, helped Trinidad move to a 22-17 lead and they went on to a 25-20 win.
The third and fourth set saw a totally different Cougar mindset out on the court as WNCC opened the third set 4-0 and never looked back as they easily won the set 25-12.
The fourth set was just as spectacular as WNCC dominated on all levels in earning the 25-14 win.
Erica Fava, who leads the nation in total kills, led the way with a double-double of 14 kills, 20 digs, eight points, and three aces.
Jenna Curtis led the team in kills with 18. Curtis also had six points, three digs, and an ace serve.
Ale Meoni had a near triple-double on the night. Meoni, who is fifth in the NJCAA in total kills, had nine kills, nine points, and eight digs on the day.
Macey Boggs and AnaKaren Chaves each had double-doubles. Boggs finished with 42 set assists and 11 digs. Boggs also had three points and two assisted blocks. Chavez had 16 digs and 11 points.
Also for the Cougars, Holleigh Jaime had five digs; Mariah Fukumoto finished with 10 digs; Angel Nahinu had two kills, three digs, two assisted blocks, and two solo blocks; Hyleigh Fornstrom had two kills, four points, and a solo block; Alexa Keoho had two digs; and Laura Milori had a kill.
WNCC, 20-12, will be back in action next week for three matches. WNCC will host Casper College on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Tuesday’s contest is PAWzitivily Pink Breast Cancer Awareness night as well as WNCC alumni night. Breast cancer survivors as well as WNCC alumni get in free.
After Tuesday, WNCC will host Lamar on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by a Saturday afternoon contest against Northeastern Junior College.
