WNCC set to host Region IX volleyball tournament
Cougars will open play at 1 p.m. Wednesday
By News Channel NebraskaWestern Nebraska Community College will play host to all 12 Region IX volleyball teams beginning Wednesday when the Region IX tournament kicks off bright and early.
Like previous years, this year’s competition is up for grabs with any team capable of winning and earning a berth to the National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas, Nov. 18-20.
Two Region IX teams will qualify for the tournament. Last April WNCC and Northeastern Junior College qualified for the tournament and both teams will have a chance to win two regional titles in the same calendar year. WNCC defeated NJC in the winner’s bracket title game and then NJC came back to down Central Wyoming in the second championship game.
Both WNCC and NJC earned a first-round bye into the bracket play this year. NJC, who is ranked 13th in the NJCAA polls, is the No. 1 seed from the south and the Cougars, ranked 18th in the polls this week, are the No. 2 seeds from the South. The north top two seeds that earned a bye include No. 11 Central Wyoming College and Northwest College.
Macey Boggs, who will be playing her third straight semester of volleyball after helping Gering High to the district finals a year ago and then helping WNCC win a regional title in April, said it will be special to win a second regional title in 2021.
“Winning again in 2021 will be a unique accomplishment that no other team at WNCC has been able to do,” she said. “It will be a time to reignite the winning tradition at WNCC.”
WNCC, 22-13 on the season will open tournament play at 1 p.m. on Wednesday against the winner of the play-in game between Eastern Wyoming College and Lamar Community College. Those two teams will play bright and early Wednesday at 8 a.m. with the winner advancing to bracket play and the losing ending their season.
The Lancers enter with a 11-12 record and are 1-1 against the Cougars. Lamar brings a 3-29 record into the tournament.
There will be three other play-in games Wednesday morning. The other 8 a.m. contest pits Otero College (11-24) against Western Wyoming Community College (4-26). The 10 a.m. play-in games will have Laramie County Community College (12-15) taking on Trinidad State College (12-18) and then McCook Community College (19-16) facing Casper College (13-18).
Bracket plays begins at 1 p.m. with the Cougars facing either EWC or Lamar. The other first-round games in the bracket play will pit Northwest (23-5) against the winner of the Otero and Western Wyoming match at 3 p.m.; Central Wyoming (21-6) taking on the McCook and Casper winner at 5 p.m., and then NJC (20-10) meeting the LCCC and Trinidad winner in the nightcap at 7 p.m.
The tournament continues with four matches on Thursday and the first Region IX champion will be crowned Friday with the winner’s bracket championship game slated for 4 p.m. The second regional title will come from the loser’s bracket as that tournament championship game will be played Saturday at 4 p.m.
Boggs said this team has the potential to capture a title, but they need to be on their toes from start to finish.
“We need to play at our best every point,” she said. “We have to bring tons of intensity. We also need to remain selfless on the court.”
The Cougars are 13-6 against teams in the tournament. Five of the six losses were in four sets. The Cougars lost three times to Central Wyoming, twice in four sets and once in three. WNCC also lost both matches to NJC and the Cougars also lost to EWC at Torrington, Wyoming.
Boggs said it doesn’t matter who they play, they have to play their game.
“No matter who we play, we have to show up with our best game,” she said. “Playing as if each game is our last because it could be.”
WNCC has plenty of talent on the team. The Cougars also played one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Of the 13 losses, 11 of which came to teams that are ranked in the final NJCAA rankings.
WNCC has a couple players that are among the top five in the country. Boggs is fourth in total assists with 1,226 assists while Fava is second in total kills at 505.
There are other players from Region IX among the top five in the nation as well. Trinidad State’s Amirah Young leads the nation in total kills (534) and kills per set (4.85), while Central Wyoming’s Makenzie Templeton is fifth in kills per set at 3.96.
Region IX players that are in the top 10 in the nation besides those mentioned include Ale Meoni of WNCC with 449 kills (7th), Fava ninth in kills per set at 3.85, McCook’s Janie Sommer at seventh in total sets (1,087) and Casper’s Kamille Nate at ninth (983); Northwest’s Jacie Walker sixth in assists per set (9.87); Lamar’s Austyn Nash in sixth with total aces (67) and WNCC’s Fava eighth with 64; Otero’s Getsemani Carrasco fourth in total digs (653) and 10th in digs per set (5.63); and Otero’s Riley Davis in fifth of total blocks with 143.
Boggs said the way to win is to stay connected and this team has done this several times in matches they have won and even in a couple matches they lost, that they had opportunities to win, including the Iowa Western Community College match at Cougar Palace where they played one of their best matches before losing in five sets, falling in the fifth 15-12.
“The team has to remain as one unit,” she said. “We need to play cohesive and for each other or we will not be satisfied with the way our season will end. It is time to get the [championship winning] streak back.”
Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 3
8 a.m. – Game 1: EWC vs. Lamar; Game 2: Otero vs. Western Wyoming
10 a.m. – Game 3: LCCC vs. Trinidad; Game 4: McCook vs. Casper
1 p.m. – Game 5: WNCC vs. EWC/Lamar winner
3 p.m. – Game 6 Northwest vs. Otero/W. Wyoming winner
5 p.m. – Game 7: Central Wyoming vs. McCook/Casper winner
7 p.m. – Game 8: Northeastern JC vs. LCCC/Trinidad winner
Thursday, Nov. 4
Noon – Game 5 and Game 7 losers
2 p.m. – Game 6 and Game 8 losers
4 p.m. – Game 5 and Game 7 winners
6 p.m. – Game 6 and Game 8 winners