LAMAR, Colo. – The 5th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team made short work of Lamar Community College Saturday in a Region IX South Sub-Region conference contest as the Cougars improved to 26-3 on the season with a 25-10, 25-11, 25-14 over the Lopes.

The Cougars captured the win in a little over an hour as everyone got a chance to play and put up some sort of statistic.

Eleven different players picked up a kill in the win while another 11 had at least one service point.

Erica Fava paced the offense with 10 kills while also tallying three digs and just one point. Ale Meoni and Jenna Curtis each had six kills while Emmalei Mapu had five kills. Meoni also had two digs while Curtis had five digs.

Shanelle Martinez finished with 12 points with nine digs, two kills, and 34 set assists, while AK Chavez had 10 points with three aces, and six digs. Megan Bewley also tallied seven points, while Alex Hernandez and Charli Blackman each had four points.

The match was one where WNCC trailed just once in the contest and that was 1-0 after a missed serve to start the set. Other than that, WNCC led 99.9% of the time with just three ties, two in the second set at 1-1 and 2-2 and once in the third at 1-1.

The first set saw Martinez start the match with two points with two kills from Fava for a 3-0 lead. WNCC led 11-4 after two Hernandez points and then led 16-6 on two Martinez points.

WNCC went up 21-7 on four Chavez points and won the first set 25-11 as Curtis tattooed a kill for the set winner.

The second set was back and forth to start as Lamar led 1-0 and trailed just 5-4 and later 7-5. That was when WNCC started heating up as Hernandez had two service points followed by three points from Blackman for a 14-6 lead. WNCC kept going as Martinez added six points for a 21-8 lead and Jayla Brehmer served the final point for the 25-10 win.

The third set started out at 1-1 before Chavez added two points for a 4-1 lead and then Bewley had six points to push the score to 13-4. WNCC just kept going as the Cougars controlled the pace of the game. WNCC won the match as Blackman hammered down a kill and then Blackman served the final point while Angel Nahinu got the final kill.

Other players in the contest with good performances saw Blackman finish with two kills and four points; Maya Angelova had two kills; Paige Nakanelua had three digs; and Nahinu had two kills.

WNCC 26-3, will be back at home next week for a big conference showdown with Northeastern Junior College on Friday at 7 p.m. The winner of that contest will earn the top seed from the South for the Region IX tournament that begins in November.

Friday’s contest is also Homecoming as well as PAWzitively Pink Breast Cancer Awareness night.

WNCC, Trinidad men settle for tie

TRINIDAD, Colo. – The men’s soccer teams from Western Nebraska Community College and Trinidad State College had a very competitive match as the two teams couldn’t decide a winner in the conference game.

In the final game of the regular season, the Cougars and Trojans settled for a 1-1 double-overtime score as both teams get ready for the postseason next weekend.

The men finish the regular season at 4-6-1 and could play Laramie County Community College next weekend but that is depending on the outcome of the LCCC and Otero game that was played Saturday evening.

Trinidad State led 1-0 at halftime as the Trojan’s Rafael Hashimoto scored to go up 1-0.

The second half saw the Cougars get the tying goal as Matheus Nascimento scored off an assist from Alex Alarcon.

Neither team scored again forcing overtime. The first overtime saw neither team score and that set up the second 10-minute overtime, which resulted in no score.

WNCC head coach Todd Rasnic said the men’s team dominated play but just couldn’t get enough balls into the back of the net for the win.

WNCC and Trinidad were practically equal in shots with WNCC tallying 10 shots with six on frame, while Trinidad had nine shots and four on frame.

The Cougars were led in the shot category by Pablo Dominguez with four shots and three on frame followed by Nascimento who was a perfect two of two in shots.

WNCC dominated on offense in another area as the Cougars tallied 10 corner kicks to zero for Trinidad.

TRINIDAD, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team got back on the winning track with an impressive win over Trinidad State College in the 3-2 win.

WNCC finishes the regular season at 7-6 as they enter the Region IX tournament postseason next weekend and WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said the women more than likely will face Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming, next weekend.

The Cougar women started slow in the contest with Trinidad as the Trojans’ Yaddelis Alderete got things going first with a goal for the 1-0 lead.

WNCC scored the equalizer when Andrea Jimenez took a pass from Aileen Perez and found the back of the net. The goal by Jimenez was the first goal for the Cougars in two weeks. The two teams were knotted at 1-1 at intermission.

The second half started as the Cougars’ Vicky Granda made it 2-1 as Granda sent the penalty kick into the net for the lead.

The lead was short-lived as Trinidad came back and tied the match as Alderete scored her second goal.

The game stayed tied until WNCC went ahead for good as Lesley Vasquez scored off an assist from Tania Razo with about 10 minutes to play and then they kept the Trojans at bay the rest of the contest.

WNCC was dominant on the offensive end with 28 shots in the contest with 13 on goal. Trinidad had just 10 shots with six on frame.

Perez had four shots with all on frame, while Vasquez had seven shots and two on frame. Jimenez had six shots with two on goal, while Granda was two of three shots on frame.

WNCC also controlled the corner kicks with seven compared to just one for Trinidad.

The two teams were also physical as WNCC committed 21 fouls while Trinidad had 18.

There were also plenty of cards issued as Trinidad was issued three yellows while WNCC had two yellows. The Cougars also had two red cards issued.

WNCC women pick up seventh win topping Trinidad