When Anuhea Kaohi and the rest of the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball players stepped onto the floor back in the fall, their goal was to get back to the NJCAA national tournament, something the Cougars have failed to accomplish the last two seasons.
Kaohi, a sophomore hitter from Hawaii, said she always thought they had the talent to accomplish that goal.
“I always knew this team had a lot of potential and I knew if we worked hard, this was in our future and I am happy that we did,” she said. “It [going to nationals] means a lot for the team. This was one of our biggest goals for the year and to feel what we have been working for a real long time feels really great.”
WNCC will be making their 21st trip to nationals when they open the 16-team field Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in West Plains, Missouri. WNCC earned the No. 9 seed into nationals after winning the Region IX title over Northeastern Junior College on April 2. The Cougars will face No. 8 seed Blinn College in the first round. The winner will face top-seeded Miami Dade College Thursday evening.
The tournament, however is down to 15 teams as Navarro College had to drop out because of COVID concerns on Monday. Navarro was supposed to play Florida Southwestern, the No. 6 seed. Florida Southwestern will advance in the winners bracket because of the canceled match.
WNCC ran off 19 straight national tournament appearances from 1999 through the 2017 season. WNCC missed out of trips to nationals in 2018 and 2019.
Only 16 teams make the national tournament and to be one of those 16 teams is definitely uplifting to a team that has overcome so much this year, including the COVID-19 pandemic that caused the final home game against NJC, which was sophomore recognition night, to be canceled.
“I think it will be a little bit of a shock that we are playing with some of the best,” she said. “We are excited and ready for it.”
This team is ready for nationals. WNCC comes into the tourney with a 26-5 record and have defeated Northeastern Junior College, who is also at nationals, twice this season. WNCC has also beat Utah State-Eastern, who is ranked third in the nation and also at nationals. The Cougars have also defeated North Platte Community College twice. North Platte qualified for the Division II national tourney.
This Cougar has really excelled during the year. WNCC opened the season with a loss to Eastern Wyoming College and then came right back and downed Utah State-Eastern. So, can this team finish in the top eight at nationals. That is a question that has only one answer among Kaohi and the rest of the team.
“That would mean everything to me and this team,” she said. “We definitely don’t feel like we are done yet. Winning regionals was the biggest goal of the year, but it doesn’t mean we don’t want to go to nationals and not do the best that we can.”
WNCC is one of those teams that will be the dark horse when it comes to the tournament. They have plenty of unknown quality to them and that might be good to some intent. What is known is they have plenty of fight and energy.
Kaohi is one of those players that brings plenty of energy on the court along with the other players.
“I think especially for this team, we really thrive when we have a lot of energy and positive energy,” she said. “I think that is one of the things that sets us apart and gives us an upper hand when we play is that we come out with a lot of energy. Not just on the court, but on the bench, we always feel supported and I know if I am not performing like I should have, as long as the energy is there, I am still helping.
What really has driven this team is a group of sophomores that have really bonded and become leaders on the team. The sophomores returning from last year really didn’t see a lot of action on the court as freshmen and that waiting in the wings has made that thrive to succeed.
“I think last year we bonded a lot as a teammates,” Kaohi said. “We grinded together in practice and although a lot of us didn’t see a lot of playing time, I think that helped us this year when we got on the court as far as our chemistry and how we are able to connect.”
Karen Cordero is the only sophomore that saw a ton of action a year ago. Cordero needs just 31 kills to become only the 12th player in Cougar volleyball history to notch 1,000 career kills. Cordero has played 67 matches in her two years at WNCC.
Setter Andrea Tsvetanova saw action in only 54 sets a year ago and finished with 426 set assists. This year, Tsvetanova is among the nation’s leaders in set assists, averaging 10.84 assists a set and had accumulated 1,203 assists.
Olivia Schaub, Alex Hernandez, and Anabelle Gillen have all played key roles on the team this year. Schaub is an outside hitter that has knocked down 241 kills this season. Hernandez is a middle hitter who has stepped up this season as well. As a freshman, Hernandez had 64 kills and 25 digs. This season, Hernandez has tallied 206 kills and delivered 318 digs.
Gillen has also stepped up as a defensive specialist. As a freshman, the Mitchell High graduate had 114 digs and this season she has tallied 317 digs.
Kaohi has made a big improvement from her freshman year. As a freshman, she appeared in just 61 sets and tallied 44 kills and 63 digs. This season, Kaohi is among the NJCAA leaders in total kills with 356 and had 297 digs.
Kaohi said she has grown as a player in a year.
“I think I have improved a lot as a player and a person,” she said. “Being able to play with my fellow sophomores, we had a chance to bond. A lot of us didn’t play a lot last year and so we came in feeling we had something to prove. I think we did a good job of that.”
Kaohi’s volleyball skills will continue next year as well as the 5-foot-8 outside hitter from Kailua, Hawaii, has signed to continue playing at San Diego Christian College, a NAIA school in San Diego.
Kaohi said it was an easy decision to continue her playing career at San Diego Christian because of family.
“I picked it because I really like the program, liked the school, and the psychology program as my major. My sister lives in San Diego, so that is nice, too. It will be nice to be a little closer to home for the next two years,” Kaohi said. “That is something I really struggled with here is that I was so far away from all my family. It was a big culture shock coming here. I am excited being a little closer to home.”
Kaohi and the other sophomores who will be leaving in May want to make this trip to nationals a special one, since they are starting “Anu” streak of participating in the national tournament.
They know what to expect out of Blinn first and then whoever they play next. They are just excited to be back in the national spotlight. Those two years of watching the national tournament from their dorm rooms or homes was not pleasant.
“We know they [Blinn] are a very competitive team and very energetic like us. There are a lot of similarities of how we and they play,” she said. “We are definitely excited. We know we have a lot of work to do.”
Thursday’s Schedule
8 a.m. – No. 14 Barton vs. No. 3 Snow
10:15 a.m. – No. 7 Tyler vs. No. 10 Northeastern JC; No. 15 Yavapai vs. No. 2 Odessa
12:30 p.m. — No. 9 WNCC vs. No. 8 Blinn; No. 16 Lawson State vs. No. 1 Miami Dade
2:45 p.m. – No. 13 Missouri-West Plains vs. No. 4 Utah State Eastern; No. 12 Wallace State vs. No. 5 Iowa Western
5 p.m. – No. 6 Florida Southwestern vs. Snow Barton winner; Tyler/NJC winner vs. Yavapai/Odessa winner
7:15 p.m. – WNCC/Blinn winner vs. Miami Dade/Lawson winner; MSU-West Plains/Utah State-Eastern winner vs. Wallace State/Iowa Western winner
