SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. -  The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team received a double-doubles from Kyana Gabriel, Dani Cruz, and Natalia Nowak and the Cougars advanced to the semifinals of the Region IX Tournament with a 25-13, 19-25, 25-18, 25-19 win over Laramie County Community College Wednesday morning at Cougar Palace.
In other first-round matches in the tournament at WNCC, North Platte Community College swept past Central Wyoming 25-16, 25-20, 25-22; Casper College topped Trinidad State College 25-13, 25-22, 25-20; and Northeastern Junior College defeated Gillette College 25-13, 25-9, 25-13.
Thursday’s semifinals in the winner’s bracket will pit WNCC against Casper at 4:30 p.m. and North Platte against NJC at 7 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet Friday at 5 p.m. for the first Region IX championship. The second elimination bracket on Thursday will have LCCC taking on Trinidad State at 11 a.m. and Central Wyoming facing Gillette at 1:30 p.m.
Emma Hergenreder, who finished the LCCC match with 13 digs, eight service points, and two aces, said the team played well and were focused.
“I think we played very well today in our win over LCCC. We came together and fought, and honestly, we showed LCCC that we are a completely different team than we were when we last played them,” Hergenreder said. “I think a few key things that helped us win was keeping our side in system and attacking aggressively. When we attack aggressively, very little can stop us.”
WNCC will face a Casper team that is playing well right now. Casper has won their last 17 matches and in their win Wednesday against Trinidad State, the T-Birds hammered down 42 kills, led by Peyton Carruth with 14.
Hergenreder said they need to stay in system to have a chance to move into the Northwest Plains A bracket championship game.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) we need to stay in system and start strong,” she said. “Casper is a great team, but if we start strong then we have all the momentum and power within us. I think this win has elevated our confidence and we’re hungry for more. We cannot wait to continue regionals and fight for a championship.”
WNCC had to fight against LCCC, a team that swept the Cougars on September 6 pretty easily. Wednesday, the match was a battle.
The first set saw LCCC up 5-2 before Maria Niedzwiecka served four points for a 7-5 lead. WNCC went up 17-9 after two Hergenreder points, three Gabriel points, and two points from Alex Gonzalez-Orozco. WNCC closed out the set 25-13 on a Hergenreder ace serve.
The second set saw LCCC jump to a 13-7 lead and moved it to 19-11 after three points from Sila Yildiz. LCCC won the second 25-19.
LCCC started the third set up 4-1 and led 6-4. Gabriel chanced the momentum with a kill and then Hergenreder served four points for a 9-6 lead. The Golden Eagles tied things at 9-9. Nadiyyah Northern hammered a kill and then Gabriel served nine straight points for a 19-9 lead and won 25-18.
LCCC started the fourth set going up 6-0 after five points from Savannah Cummings. WNCC responded after a kill from Niedzwiecka and then then Niedzwiecka had four points including three aces to go up 8-7. LCCC had a late 18-17 lead when Natalia Nowak had a setter kill and then Gonzalez-Orozco served six points for a 24-18 lead. Dani Cruz, who had 16 kills to lead the Cougars, ended the match with a kill and the 25-19 win.
WNCC finished with 54 kills compared to 41 for LCCC. Cruz had 16 kills with 11 digs and six points. Gabriel had 12 kills, 15 points, and nine digs. Keira Zelada finished with nine kills while Nowak had six kills, 14 digs, and 37 set assists.
Niedzwiecka had 12 service points, four aces, and five kills, while Northern had five kills, and Gonzalez-Orosco had 16 digs, seven set assists, and eight points.