PAWsitively Pink Night for Breast Cancer Awareness turned into a positive ending for the 5th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team as the Cougars swept past Northeastern Junior College 25-14, 26-24, 25-23 Friday night.

            The win was the Cougars' 27th of the season to just three losses. It was WNCC’s ninth straight win and it was also the first time since Nov. 3, 2017, that WNCC has swept NJC.

            Jenna Curtis, who finished with nine kills, said the team played well and were focused in the contest. 

             “The team played really well together,” Curtis said. "We have been preparing for this game for a few weeks now so we knew what we needed to do in this game in order to accomplish the sweep. Our energy was pretty consistent.”

            The last time WNCC played NJC in September, the Cougars won the fourth and fifth sets to get the five-set win. Friday night, the Cougars didn’t need the fourth and fifth set as the first time they weren’t as prepared as they were Friday.

             “The difference was that we weren’t as prepared the first time and we were kind of just playing by the seat of our pants,” Curtis said. We prepared and changed some things in order to win this important match.”

            The win guaranteed WNCC the No. 1 seed from the South Sub-Region as the Cougars moved to 8-0 on the season while Northeastern dropped to 5-3.

            Curtis said this win was huge for the Cougars as they are nearing the end of the regular season.

             “We have envisioned this game for weeks now and we had been watching film so we knew who and where to attack,” Curtis said. “We had all the energy on our side of the court and that remained pretty constant throughout the game."
            And it was definitely a team win for the Cougars as everyone contributed in some fashion in the win.

            Curtis finished with nine kills, but Erica Fava led the way with 10 kills with 11 digs, eight points, and two aces. Curtis also had five digs, six points, and two aces.

            AK Chavez also had a double-double with 14 digs, 12 points, and two aces. Shanelle Martinez finished with a double-double as well with 11 digs, 33 set assists, and five points.

            Ale Meoni tallied eight kills with eight points and three digs, while Alex Hernandez had four kills; Lexi Keoho had seven digs; and Emmanei Mapu had three kills.

           WNCC started the contest at 3-0 but saw NJC take a 5-4 lead and then led 8-7 after two points from Allie Schumacher. Curtis hammered down a kill and then Meoni had four points for a 12-8 lead.                         

            WNCC pushed the lead to 22-12 after six points from Chavez and won the opening set 25-14 on two Fava points and the set-winning kill from Meoni.

            After that run-away first set win, the second and third set were tight as neither team enjoyed more than a 3-point lead. And a big factor in the Cougars winning those two sets was the play of the defense with plenty of hustling plays. Curtis said the defense played out of their minds.

             “Yes, the defense was very good tonight,” the sophomore from Ogallala said. “We played very scrappy. We knew NJC would play scrappy so we just wanted to be even better.”

            The second set saw NJC grab an 11-9 lead on a point from Annika Helf and then later at 17-15 after three points from Faith Trenkle. Meoni stopped the service string and the Cougars went up 21-19 after three Curtis points.

            WNCC led 23-20 after a Fava kill and Martinez point but saw the Plainswomen tie the set at 23-23 on two Grace Yoder points. The set was tied at 24-24 when WNCC got the ball back and Fava served the final point for the 26-24 win.

            The third set was back and forth as well with NJC leading 6-5. WNCC got the serve back and Meoni served three points for a 9-6 lead. NJC came back to lead 12-10 and later at 22-18 after three points Schumacher. Fava stopped the run with a kill and then Chavez finished off the set with four straight sets including the match-winning kill from Fava. 

            WNCC will wrap up the regular season next week when they host Otero College on Thursday and then Trinidad State College on Friday. Both contests are set for a 6 p.m. start. Also, Friday will be sophomore recognition night as the Cougars recognize the nine sophomores.