STERLING, Colo. - The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team wrapped up the regular season falling to No. 4 Northeastern Junior College 25-11, 25-18, 25-16 Wednesday in Sterling, Colorado.
The Cougars wrap up the regular season with a 14-19 overall record and 11-3 in the conference to earn the No. 2 seed from the South for the Region IX tournament that will be held at Cougar Palace beginning Wednesday, November 4.
NJC earned the No. 1 seed from the South Conference with a 14-0 conference mark. WNCC will open the regional tournament at 11 a.m. on Wednesday and they will face the third seed from the North conference. NJC will play at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the North fourth seed.
Wednesday’s contest saw the Cougars finish with 19 total kills and they hit just .086. NJC had 49 kills and hit .396. Emma Hergenreder led the Cougars with six kills followed by Nadiyyah Northern with four kills and Kyana Gabriel with three.
NJC was led by Kiera Heaven Loe with 13 kills and Samantha Mosley with 11.
WNCC started the first set with a 2-0 lead, but quickly got behind as NJC went on three 3- and 4-point service runs to lead 15-6. WNCC made it 18-11 but NJC closed out the set with seven straight points for the 25-11 win.
The second set was a battle as the Cougars went head-to-head with the No. 4 team in the nation WNCC led 10-9 on a Hergenreder kill. The contest was tied at 14-14 and WNCC got a point, but NJC challenged the call and won, which gave them the point and a 15-14 lead. The Plainswomen then went on a 5-point service run to lead 20-14 and won 25-18.
The third set was close for a while as WNCC led 5-4 on a Gabriel kill and Hergenreder service point. NJC came right back and had a 6-point run to lead 10-5. WNCC sliced the deficit to 11-8, but the Plainswomen went on another service run to lead 15-8 and won the third set 25-17.
WNCC had less service errors than NJC, finishing with just four compared to nine for NJC. Hergenreder, Alex Gonzalez-Orozco, and Allie Twamley each had three points. Twamley ahs had two aces, seven set assists, and a solo block. Hergenreder had two points with seven digs, while Gonzalez-Orozco had eight digs.