The #1 ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team, 4-0 with wins over 3 teams ranked in the Top 10, makes it home debut Tuesday night hosting Casper College. First serve will be at 7 p.m.
Sophomore setterLuiza Martins says the Cougars are looking forward to the home contest after opening up this weekend in impressive style at the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
“I think we are all excited for the first home match. I think when we played this weekend, it showed we are in the right spot right know but we need to keep practicing and keep getting better. We will show the public that we are here and we are working hard.”
The Cougars topped #2 Iowa Western Community College in 4 sets, swept #4 San Jacinto College, and went the full 5 sets in taking down #6 Salt Lake Community College.
Despite the wins, Martins says the weekend showed them what they need to work on to get even better. “It is really good being 4-0 over the weekend and it shows us that we are capable of doing it. We just need to practice to get better.”
WNCC faces a Casper team that played well in its first tournament of the season at College of Southern Idaho, but finished 1-2, including a sweep by the host school, defending national champion and 3rd-ranked Southern Idaho.
The T-Birds opened by topping Utah State-College of Eastern Utah in five sets 28-26, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10 but was then swept by Snow College 25-19, 25-23, 25-23 before falling to CSI 25-22, 25-14, 25-21.
Casper is led by freshman Madison Legerski of Laramie, who is averaging 2.82 kills a game and 1.55 digs a game. Also proving to be one of Casper’s go-to hitters are sophomore Rahnee Jackson at 1.91 kills a game and freshman Kira Schafer at 1.89 a game. Schafer is a 5-foot-10 freshman from Schwerte, Germany, while Jackson is 5-5 from Casper.
WNCC is using a 6-2 offense this year, with Martins splitting time at setter with sophomore Morgan Broussard of Scottsbluff. Martins says offense is paying dividends for the team.
“Running the 6-2 offense is really good for us because we have three hitters up front at the net all the time and at least more two more in the back. It gives us more hitters and more power. “
The Cougars flashed plenty of front row power at Council Bluffs. In the San Jacinto win, sophomore Lindsay Wehkamp had 16 assisted blocks in the match. Freshman Kylie Fa’amoe also played strong on the front with an average of nine assisted blocks a match.
The Cougars are quite deep at hitters as well. Besides Wehkamp, sophomore Priscila Mendes and Allora Tanner came up with big hitting performances over the weekend. Tanner led the team in kills with 11 against Barton.
Several freshmen have also stepped up, including 5-10 Kayla Martin, who had 13 kills in a five-game win against Salt Lake on Saturday. Martin also had 11 points, seven digs, and three aces in the win.
A big key for the Cougars was finding a libero and freshman Rachael McCracken has stepped In that roll nicely. The 5-7 defensive stalwart from Weldona, Colo., finished with 24 digs in the win against Salt Lake.
More importantly, McCracken has come up big in the serving department, where she had five aces in the Salt Lake win, including four in the row during a crucial junction of the match.
After Tuesday’s home opener, the Cougars will hit the road for four matches in Salt Lake City, where they will face North Idaho College, Snow College, #8 Missouri State-West Plains, and College of Southern Idaho.