Cougar notes: WNCC volleyball team sports height, talent this season

A year ago, the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team finished 28-10 and fourth at the Region IX tournament. This season could be a different story as second-year head coach Fati Balza has a team that has plenty of height with a good combination of returners and newcomers.
Dani Cruz, a third-year player from Guadalajara, Mexico, can already see the talent and the camaraderie on the team after three days of practices.
“Practices has been really fun, it’s great to see so many new faces and new ways to approach volleyball,” Cruz, who had to red-shirt a year ago because of surgery, said. “Even though all of us are a little bit sore you can see that everyone is putting their 110% to every practice or activity we’re doing.”
This team has all the ingredients to push for a Region IX championship and berth to the national tournament, which will be held at Austin Paey Univesity in Tennessee in November.
“I think this team is really talented, everyone comes from a different background which brings so many things that only add greatness to the team,” Cruz said. “We have girls that have played at many different levels bringing lots of experience. I can tell we’ll get far this season.”
WNCC returns three players who will be in their third year after each endured a red-shirt year because of an injury. Besides Cruz, the other two are Kyana Gabriel of Hilo, Hawaii, and Jaylen Nachtigall of Hot Springs, South Dakota.
The other returners include Alex Gonzalez-Orozco of Gering; Ahleejah Tovo-Sunia of Laie, Hawaii; and Nadiyyah Northern of Avondale, Arizona.
The newcomers have height with five players 5-foot-11 or taller. The newcomers include Emma Hergenreder, 5-11 of Scottsbluff; Elizabeth Braithwaite, 6-4, and Keira Zelada, 6-2, both from Lima, Peru; and Maria Niedzwiecka, 6-0 of Poland.
The other newcomers include Anika Davison, 5-9 of Aurora, Colorado; Reese Fleck, 5-6 of North Platte; Natalia Malinowska, 5-9 of Poland; and Allie Twamley, 5-7 of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
For Cruz, she is excited to be out there playing this year after taking a year off.
“I’m super excited to be back on the court especially to be back playing for WNCC again,” she said. “Last year was a tough year since I had to get surgery but now I’m really enthusiastic to be able to play here one more time 4.”
Practices have not been easy and the players are all battling each other for intense sessions.
“Practice has been really intense but I think everyone was prepared for it; we all knew that we were only going to have a couple of weeks to get ready for our first game day which is on August 22nd, so we were all prepared for intense practices to be the best version of this new team,” Cruz said.
WNCC early schedule is not easy. WNCC will have some scrimmages at Sterling, Colorado, on September 16 and then open the season August 22-23 at the Riever Invite where they will face Iowa Western Community College and Salt Lake Community College.
It is the following week, September 29-30, where the team will see competition when they compete in the Salt Lake tournament where they will face four Florida teams in Hillsborough Community College, Eastern Florida State College, Florida SoutWestern State College, and Daytona State College.
An interesting fact about that Florida SouthWestern State match on Saturday August 30 is Balza and first-year Florida SouthWestern coach Cesar Benatti were assistant coaches under Giovana Melo at WNCC.
WNCC will then have tournament games at Cheyenne, Wyoming (Sept. 5-6) and Sterling, Colorado (September 12-13) before their home-opener Tuesday, September 23 against Northeastern Junior College. WNCC will also host the Region IX tournament this year November 5-8.
What sets this team apart is how this team has connected together and that could be a sign of good things to happen.
“I’m really surprised on the team, the freshman really connected since day one with each other and with us the sophomores,” Cruz said. “The first moment we all met each other, it looked like we have known each other for years. I think we just need to keep doing what we’re doing and for when the season starts, we will definitely be a unit, probable even before that."
Cruz said the little BBQ that they had with family and friends on Friday, the day they checked in, was definitely something that really brought the team together.
“Having the opportunity to give back to the community with the BBQ was something really special,” Cruz said. “Seeing so many faces that all of us know or have seen around town was great because we got to give back a little bit to them, talking with people who maybe you’ve seen around campus or town and knowing that they support the team is something that can’t compare, so it was a really great experience that I believe helped the team to understand the importance of representing the school.”