Finja Schul and Lilly Zwart traveled across the two different oceans to play at Western Nebraska Community College.
                Schul from Germany and Zwart from New Zealand played the last two years at WNCC and now they won’t be apart when the two head to Division II Colorado State University Pueblo after the two inked Tuesday night.
                Zwart and Schul agree it is weird how they came to Nebraska and have become the closest of friends.
                “For me, I just think it's crazy about all the circumstances that lined up, like who would thank someone from Germany and someone from New Zealand and everyone else on this team would find each other in the middle of Nebraska of all places,” Zwart said. “So, just like all of those things laying up, I just think it's like fate really for all of us to be able to know each other and keep playing with Finja.”
            For Schul, they had dreams of playing together at a 4-year school and after Schul originally signed with Western Colorado in February, that possibility didn’t look good.
            “I think it's amazing. We talked about going to the same school after our freshman year and that we wanted to try it, and then in the middle it didn't look like we were going get to go to the same school,” Schul said. “But, in the end, we're glad that it worked out and that we can continue to play two more years of volleyball together.”
            Schul had her mind made up to play at Western Colorado under head coach Jordon Bruere. A month later, Bruere was offered the head coaching position at Colorado State Pueblo which was her ala mater, and accepted. Schul said it was exciting that she wanted to bring her recruits with her to Pueblo.
            “When she (Pueblo coach) told us that she's got an offer at Pueblo, we were really excited for her, and at first we didn't know what that means for us,” Schul said. “But, as soon as she gave us the opportunity to follow her, we were really excited and we knew right away that we're going do it.”
            And for Zwart, she had Western Colorado as well as Pueblo on her radar and things just worked out.
            “Going to Pueblo is everything that's important to me, my friends, my boyfriend, like all the people that have made the past years really good for me,” she said. “It's a really competitive program and I think it'll just help me excel so that next level.”
            Zwart added it makes her decision more special that she gets to spend two more years with Schul.
            “?I'm really excited to keep this connection going, I think we've come really close over the two years and on the court as wells” she said. “We work really well together for the one rotation we do get in the front row together. ?And so being able to see where that can take us for the next few years and see if that can lead to us potentially continuing to play after our time at Pueblo as well, overseas or anything like that.”
            Zwart said she had plenty of options, many farther from Nebraska, but wanted to stay close.
            “For me, it wasn't that much of a decision to pick (UCS-Pueblo),” Zwart said. “Anybody who I talked to about it with knew that I was leaning towards going there pretty heavily to begin with. I had a few offers quite far away, programs that I did really enjoy, but each just didn't have the aspect of what I wanted that I could find at Pueblo. So, I'm really happy with my decision.”
            Zwart had a strong sophomore season at WNCC, where she was named a NJCAA Third Team All-American. Zwart’s standout season this  year saw the sophomore from New Zealand tally 474 kills, 119 digs, and 105 blocks. She finished her 2-year career with 848 kills, 40 service aces, 192 blocks, and 223 digs. She was named Region IX South Player of the Year this season as well as a South All-Region player.
                Zwart said she became a different player under first-year head coach Fatima Balza this past season.
                “I broadened how much smarter I played on the court,” Zwart said. “Most people who know me from my freshman year, I just liked to hit the ball has hard as I could and hope for the best. Coach this year taught me to be a little bit more smarter and taught me new ways to score instead of just swinging hard at the ball every time. So, I’m really thankful for that. ?I think she also gave me a lot more confidence in myself this season.”
            Schul also improved this season under the coaching of Balza and is grateful for that coaching style.
            “A lot of things have changed from our freshman year to our sophomore season,” Schul said. “I think it has been a great season and we grew a lot as players and persons with coach B.”
            For both Schul and Zwart, coming to a junior college was the best choice that they could have made for several reasons.
            “I think coming to junior college is great as a start, especially as an international player,” Schul said. “For me, as someone that didn't speak English the whole time. It was great to have a close community and not like bigger colleges and a lot more people. I think it's great to come to a smaller school where everyone is really close. All the athletic teams are basically all friends.”
            Zwart agreed.
            “I would definitely say the same. JUCOs definitely have more of those international athletes and just being around people who were also going through missing their family, being in different times zones, and having that connection was just something they really made being here enjoyable. I would suggest it to anybody who ever thinks about coming to America to play volleyball to definitely start at a JUCO level.”
            The two will get to play with each other two more years and not far from here as Colorado State-Pueblo is a member of the RMAC and plays teams like Chadron State, South Dakota School of Mines, Black Hills State, etc. For Schul and Zwart, they hope to continue playing after college, but that is down the road.
            “I don't have a plan at all yet,” Schul said about her non-college days. “I don't know what I'm going do. ?I'm just going keep playing for these two years and then see what the road takes me.”
            Zwart wants to keep playing and whether it is here in the states or back home in New Zealand is undetermined.
            “For me, I have two options. I'd love to continue playing whether that's over in Europe or here in America since they have all the new leagues,” she said. “Or I'd like to go back to New Zealand and start my life and continue there. So, I'm just I'm kind of the same as Finja to jut see where the world takes me really.”
            With just about a month left at WNCC, the two will definitely miss their time at WNCC.
            “I think I will miss mostly the people,” Schul said. “But, we just come to love like the town, even though it's small and just the program and all the people.”
            For Zwart, it is the same, but especially the people and the smallness of the town that they grew to love.
            “The thing I'm going to miss most are the people, like the staff, my teammates, everyone that I've made friends with in this small little place,” Zwart said. “I've come to love living in quite a small town.”
            Zwart added that the state of Cougar volleyball is under great leadership under Coach Balza.
            “I think it looks really promising for the future,” she said. “The recruits that I've been told that are coming next season, I think next year's going to be a really, really good year for the Cougars. I see it getting back to that absolute like powerhouse school that we were back in the early 2000s. And will be really nice to see the Cougars bring home more and continue that. So, I think Coach B as been doing a great job.”