The 10^th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team received 19 kills from Karen Cordero as the Cougar women captured their 21^st win of the season with an impressive 25-14, 25-19, 25-17 South Sub-region win over Otero Junior College Friday evening at Cougar Palace.

Cordero’s 19 kills moved the sophomore from California up to 14^th on the career kill list with 876 kills and 124 kills from being only the 12^th volleyball player to notch 1,000 career kills.

WNCC will be back in action Tuesday when they host Northeastern Junior College in the final home match of the season in a key South Sub-Region match-up that will decide the No. 1 seed for the Region IX tournament that starts March 31 in Casper, Wyoming. Tuesday night will also be sophomore recognition night.

Anuhea Kaohi, who finished with nine kills along with Olivia Schaub, said the team played really well to get the win, especially the way they started the match.

“I thought we had a really good game,” Kaohi said. “I thought we kept a good steady energy which was something we made a point to work on. It was a good day.”

A big reason for the sweep was the team’s start in the first set as Andrea Tsvetanova served eight straight points for an 8-0 lead. Tsvetanova added four more points on her second turn of serving to push the lead to 21-8. WNCC won the first set 25-14.

Kaohi said starting strong is vital for this team.

“That [starting strong] was something that we made a point on focusing on in practice was starting out strong because at the beginning of the season we really struggled with that,” she said. “We knew the beginning of the game was really important to us. Once we were able to do that, it set the tone for the whole game and it was good.”

The first set was what set the tone of the match. The second and third sets, however, were much closer against an Otero team that featured a pair of players that were 6-foot-3 or taller.

The second set was back and forth with Otero grabbing a 6-5 lead on two Avery Bouldin points. WNCC came right back to go up 8-6 on two Macey Boggs points and led 11-7 after two Mariah Fukamoto points.

Otero came back to tie the second set at 15 and then led 17-16 on a Getsemani Carrasco point. Schaub stopped the rally with a kill and then Fukamoto served five straight points for a 22-17 lead. WNCC won the second set 25-19 on a Cordero kill.

The third set started that same way as the second set as Otero led 6-5 until WNCC took a 10-8 lead on a Boggs’ point. WNCC led 13-9 after a Cordero kill and then the sophomore outside hitter went back to serve to points. Otero came back to grab a 12-11 lead on a Carrasco point.

Schaub got two kills for a 16-13 lead and then Anabelle Gillen ran off five points for a 21-13 lead. WNCC captured the third set 25-17 after a Cordero kill and then Cordero served the final point.

WNCC had balanced performances from everyone that played. Cordero led the way with 19 kills, nine digs, four points and an ace. Schaub tallied nine kills while Kaohi had nine kills and six digs.

Gillen finished with seven digs and seven points, while Boggs had three points. Alex Hernandez finished with six kills and seven digs, while Tsvetanova had a triple-double with 10 digs, 14 points, 51 set assists, two aces and a solo block.

Also for the Cougars, Angel Nahinu finished with three kills and Fukamoto had 12 digs, eight points, and two set assists.

Next Tuesday will be a special night for the seven sophomores – Cordero, Schaub, Gillen, Hernandez, Kaohi, Tsvetanova, and Laura Ferrao, who will be playing their final game at Cougar Palace. The sophomores, because of COVID eligibility rules put into play, could come back as no one loses a year of eligibility, but a lot of sophomores have signed or have offers to continue at a four-year school.

Kaohi said Tuesday is going to be a special night for the seven.

“We are just excited, and we know they [NJC] are a really good team and we know it will be a really good competition,” Kaohi said. “I think it will be a great night and great volleyball. We have to make sure we are ready. Tuesday is sophomore night so everyone come out, have fun, and it will be a great game, a special night, and it is our last home game.”

Otero stops WNCC women, men basketball

LA JUNTA, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s and men’s basketball teams finally got back on the court after nearly two weeks away from the game and the two squads suffered Region IX South Sub-Region defeats to Otero Junior College Friday evening.

The 9^th-ranked WNCC women held a 56-53 lead after three quarters, but saw the Rattlers hit a late bucket to earn a come-from-behind 70-68 win over the Cougar women.

The WNCC men saw the Otero men have a big first half and then hold on for the 89-77 win Friday night over the Cougars.

The Cougar women were out-rebounded in the contest 53-36 as both teams shot about 35 percent for the game.

Otero led 21-18 after the first quarter and led 40-31 at halftime.

WNCC came out in the third quarter and went to work, outscoring the Rattlers 25-13 to hold a 56-53 lead. It was the fourth quarter that the Cougars couldn’t hit any buckets in the final two minutes. WNCC held a 66-61 lead with 4:14 to play.

Otero came back to tie the game at 68-68 with 1:04 to play. The Rattlers took a 70-68 lead with 33.6 seconds to play. WNCC turned over the ball and then had another chance after Otero missed two free throws with 14 seconds to play. WNCC, however, couldn’t get the tying bucket to fall to Otero.

WNCC had two players in double figures. Lidsey Mahoukou led the way with 16 points followed by Shanti Henry with 12 points. Ashley Panem and Alejah Douglas each had eight points.

WNCC was 25 of 32 from the charity stripe while Otero was just 17 of 25. The Cougars had one more trey than Otero, nailing five 3-pointers. Henry buried four treys, while Payton Fields had the other one.

The men’s contest saw Otero bury 10 treys compared to just six for the Cougars in getting the South sub-region win.

WNCC was within striking distance at halftime, trailing 41-29. WNCC got back within the game early in the second half, but a big run by Otero opened the contest. Both teams finished with 48 points in the second half.

WNCC put four players in double figures. Issad Solano led the way with 17 points followed by Chase Thompson with 16 points. Tyler Mack finished with 14 points including four treys, while Carter Brown had 10 points.

The WNCC women will be back in action Saturday when they travel to face Trinidad State Junior College. The Cougar men will next be in action Sunday when they head to McCook Community College for a Sunday afternoon contest.

Women’s Game

WNCC 18 13 25 12 – 68

Otero 21 19 13 17 – 70

WNCC

Alejah Douglas 8, Bella Sparaco 4, Ky Buell 5, Martrice Brooks 7, Shanti Henry 12, Ashley Panem 8, Payton Fields 4, Isabelle Cook 4, Lidsey Mahoukou 16.

Men’s Game

WNCC 29 48 – 77

Otero 41 48 – 89

WNCC

Carter Brown 10, Chase Thompson 16, Jasiya DeOllos 2, Tayler Johnson 4, Tyler Mack 14, Agwa Nywesh 5, Issad Solano 17, Turumbil Zaki 2, Them Koang 7.

WNCC baseball splits with Luna on Saturday

LAJUNTA, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College and Luna Community College baseball teams split an Empire Conference doubleheader in La Junta, Colorado, Saturday.

The first game saw Luna score seven early runs and held back a WNCC furious comeback to edge the Cougars 9-8.

The second game saw the Cougars score seven fourth inning runs while hitting four home runs and then received stellar relief pitching from Noah Baumann and Owen Vantillo to give the Cougars the 12-10 win.

Luna scored first with two in the first inning, but WNCC answered with two of their own in the bottom of the first as Joey Olson ripped a 2-run home run.

Luna followed with three in the second to go up 5-2 and then another two runs in the third for a 7-2 lead. WNCC added a single run in the third and then added seven in the fourth for the 10-7 lead.

The fourth inning saw the Cougars load the bases with one out. Sergio Tanango scored on a wild pitch and then Jayden Orozco rips a 3-run home run tie the game at 7-7.

WNCC wasn’t through. Matt Womack, Dillon Fabricus and Jack Jones all earned free passes to load the bases. Quinn McCafferty scored the go-ahead run as he got a free pass. Tarango then singled in two runs to put the score at 10-7.

Luna added two runs in the sixth to slice the Cougar lead to 10-9. WNCC added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth as Caleb Coats and Luis Alcantara had back-to-back, 2-out home runs to make it 12-9.

Luna added one in the seventh and had two runners in scoring position when Vanthillo got a strike out to end the game.

WNCC was outhit in the second game 16-9. Womack and Sergio Tanango each had two hits in the contest. Womack had a double with a run scored, while Tanango had two singles with two RBIs and a run scored.

Olson had three runs scored with two RBIs along with a home run.

Also blasting home runs in the win were Alcantara, Coats, and Orozco.

Trent Richter got the starting nod and picked up the no-decision after going three innings in allowing nine hits, seven runs, and striking out two. Baumann got the win, going 2 1/3 innings with six hits, two runs, and one strikeout. Vanthillo earned the save in going 1 2/3 innings in allowing just a hit and a run while striking out one.

The first game saw the Roughriders score five runs in the first two innings and then held a 7-3 lead after three innings. WNCC scored one in the second and fourth and two in the third to trail Luna 9-4.

WNCC scored one in the second as Michael Felton singled home Matt Womack. The Cougars added two in the third as Kinneberg doubled and scored on a passed ball. Alcantara came around to score on a Orozco single to cut the Luna lead to 7-3.

The Cougars added a single run in the fourth as Felton scored on a passed ball.

It wasn’t until the sixth that saw WNCC make a big comeback, scoring four runs. It all started as the Cougars loaded the bases as Felton and JT Cafferty each singled and Womack walked. Kinneberg followed with a walk to force in one run followed by Caleb Coats doing the exact same thing to make the score 9-6.

WNCC then hits into a double play, but scores another run. After two free passes, Coats scored on a fielder’s choice hit to cut the lead to 9-8.

WNCC put the tying run on in the seventh as Felton singled, but a double play ended the game without a chance to get the tying run ome.

WNCC finished the game with nine hits compared to 10 for Luna. Michael Felton led the way with a 3-for-3 contest with two runs scored and an RBI. Joe Kinneberg had two hits with a double.

Jerson Morales suffered the loss on the mound, going three innings in allowing six hits, seven runs, and striking out three. Harold Baez tossed the final four innings in allowing four hits, two runs, and striking out two.

WNCC and Luna will face each other in another doubleheader Sunday in La Junta, Colorado. WNCC will then return home for a 9-inning game on Wednesday against Northeastern Junior College.

Game 1

Luna 232 300 0 – 9 10 0

WNCC 012 104 0 – 8 9 6

LP – Jerson Morales.

2B – Joe Kinneberg.

Game 2

Luna 232 00 2 1 – 10 16 1

WNCC 201 702 x – 12 9 1

WP – Noah Baumann; S – Owen Vanthillo.

2B – Dillon Fabricus, Matt Womack.

HR – Luis Alcantara, Caleb Coats, Joey Olson, Jayden Orozco.

WNCC softball falls twice to NJC

STERLING, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team dropped a Region IX conference doubleheader to Northeastern Junior College Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars, who haven’t played a game since March 5, were one-hit by NJC’s Stacy Butt in falling to the Plainswomen 19-0.

The second game saw a little more offense and the Cougars were striking distance until NJC scored eight in the fourth for the 14-4, five-inning win.

WNCC started game two as Bailey Blanchard led off with a solo home run for the 1-0 lead. NJC answered with three runs. The Cougars came right back with a single run in the second as Mackenzie Bakel singles home Bella Coffman to make it 3-2.

NJC added another three runs in the second to go up 6-2. WNCC fought back with two in the fourth. Emma Schweitzer and Bakel each singled. Chayden Chong then delivered a 2-out single to score Schweitzer and Bakel to make it 6-4.

WNCC couldn’t get any closer as NJC added eight runs in the bottom of the fourth for the 14-4 win.

WNCC finished game two with eight hits. Bakel led the way with two hits with two singles and a run scored and an RBI. Blanchard had the only extra base hit with a home run. Chayden Chong finished with two hits.

The first game saw NJC score 19 runs on 14 hits. NJC’s Butt had a no-hitter going until Bakel singled with two outs in the fifth inning to break up the 5-inning no-hit attempt.

WNCC and NJC will be back in action Sunday at Sterling, Colorado, for another conference doubleheader.

Game 1

WNCC 000 00 – 0 1 1

NJC 502 (12)x – 19 14 0

LP – Lexi Butterfield.

Game 2

WNCC 110 20 – 4 8 3

NJC 330 8x – 14 16 1

LP – Ashley Quinn.

HR – Bailey Blanchard.