WNCC Volleyball enters 2022 season ranked 18th in nation

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team enters this weekend’s opening tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with plenty to look forward to after earning a No. 18 ranking in the NJCAA pre-season volleyball poll that was released on Monday.

As the 18^th-ranked team in the nation, the Cougars will be entering the Reiver Classic this weekend as underdogs as of sorts as all four teams the Cougars will face are ranked among the top 12 teams in the nation, including three in the top five.

Still, returning all-American outside hitter Erica Fava said the ranking will give the team motivation as they move up in the rankings.

“It definitely is something that will make us get better every day and that will push us to give our best effort,” Fava said. “Being 18^th in the nation means we can just get better and work our way up to the Top 10 and then maybe Top 5 and then maybe win nationals.”

This weekend will not be an easy task for a Cougar team that has plenty of talent with eight returning players and 10 newcomers that will hit the court for real Friday. This weekend will give the Cougars an idea of the competition they will be facing as they will face some national quality teams.

Fava, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Piacenza, Italy, said playing that competition will only get the team better down the road.

“That will be a reason for us to give our best effort and show them what we can do and we belong there,” she said. “It will be like one game at a time and work our way up.”

The Cougars, however, will be going in with plenty of talent themselves. WNCC will begin the season against No. 3 Missouri State-West Plains at 12 p.m. on Friday followed by a match with No. 1 Iowa Western Community College at 6 p.m. Iowa Western is the defending national champions.

The Cougars will wrap up the Reiver Classic on Saturday when they face No. 5 Butler Community College at 8 a.m. followed by an 11 a.m. encounter with No. 12 Jefferson College.

Fava said they will be ready to go Friday after having a competitive intersquad scrimmage on Tuesday.

“We are working really hard at practice and we will just have to give our best effort against those teams,” she said. “Those teams will be ready and we are ready. It will be matches where we can get better.”

Besides Fava, WNCC returns seven players from a year ago including plenty of starters. Those returning are Jayla Brehmer, a 5-10 outside hitter from Rushville; Jenna Curtis, a 5-10 outside hitter from Ogallala; Ale Meoni, a 6-0 rightside hitter from Friendswood, Texas; Juliana Oliveira, a 6-0 outside hitter from Ribocoe Pouto, Brazil; Angel Nahinu, a 5-11 middle hitter from Kapolei, Hawaii; Lexi Keoho, a 5-7 setter/defensive specialist from Hauula, Hawaii; and Anakaren Chavez, a 5-4 libero from Laredo, Texas.

Also returning from a couple years ago is Alex Hernandez, a 5-8 middle hitter from El Paso, Texas.

 The newcomers are deep with plenty of hitters and defensive specialists. The smaller defensive players and setters include Megan Bewley, a 5-4 libero from Scottsbluff; Paige Nakanelua, a 5-4 libero from Honolulu, Hawaii; Shanelle Martinez, a 5-9 setter from San Antonio, Texas; Shae Hardy, a 5-6 setter/libero from Windsor, Colorado; and Anna Jasinsky, a 5-4 libero/defensive specialist from Victoria, British Columbia.

The freshmen hitters on the team are all talented. They include Emmalei Mapu, a 5-8 outside hitter from Kahuku, Hawaii; Charli Blackman, a 6-1 rightside hitter from Auckland, New Zealand; 6-2 Maya Angelova, a middle hitter from Bulgaria; and 6-1 Autumn Bennett, a hitter from Sandy, Utah.

Fava said there is a lot of talent on this year’s team.

“There is a lot of talent on this team,” Fava said. “Each player can do everything really good. Each player can play different roles on the team and that really helps. We just need to connect better, but I think that is something we can build on in practice.”

 After this weekend’s opening tournament, the Cougars will come back to host Eastern Wyoming College on Wednesday, Aug. 24 before hitting the road for a couple matches on Friday, Aug. 26 at Laramie County Community College at Cheyenne, Wyoming, and then Tuesday, Aug. 30 at Casper College.

As for the pre-season rankings, the two Region IX teams besides WNCC are ranked in the Top 10. The entire Top 10 includes No. 1 Iowa Western Community College, No. 2 New Mexico Military, No. 3 Missouri State-West Plains, No. 4 Florida Southwestern State College, No. 5 Butler Community College, No. 6 Miami Dade College, No. 7 Blinn College, No. 8 Snow College, No. 9 Central Wyoming College, and No. 10 Northeastern Junior College.

The bottom 10 has a couple teams the Cougars will play later in the year. No. 11 is Salt Lake Community College followed by No. 12 Jefferson College, No. 13 Tyler Junior College, No. 14 Utah State Eastern, No. 15 Polk State College, No. 16 Hillsborough Community College, No. 17 Seward County Community College, No. 18 WNCC, No. 19 Indian Hills Community College, and No. 20 Hill College.

Last year, the Cougars finished the year ranked 18^th in the country after beginning the year ranked eighth in the pre-season poll. The last time the Cougars won the Region IX tournament and an appearance in the national tournament was April 2021 and finished the season ranked 11^th in the country.