TORRINGTON, Wyo. – The 11th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team needed four sets, but the Cougars claimed two wins at the EWC triangular Tuesday night in Torrington, Wyoming.
WNCC opened the triangular with a 25-17, 25-14, 17-25, 25-13 win over North Platte Community College before taking down Eastern Wyoming College behind Enna Masaki's 17 kills 23-25, 25-15, 25-12, 25-22 to improve to 8-4 on the season.
North Platte went 1-1 in the triangular, topping Eastern Wyoming College in four sets 25-15, 25-22, 20-25, and 25-20 to open the triangular.
In the first match against North Platte, Masaki recorded a double-double in the four-set win. The sophomore from Hawaii finished with 12 kills and 10 digs. Masaki also had six points and a solo block.
Leslie Mamai-Lagafuaina tallied nine kills in the win against the Knights while Amryi-Grace Paris had seven kills.
Also for the Cougars, Jayme Commins had 36 set assists, seven points, and five digs; Gabi Canavati had five kills; Cami Esselin had 10 points and three digs; Kaile Tuisamatatele had five kills, five points, four digs, and two solo blocks; Logan Belford had four kills; Santana Monroe had a solo block; Ana Costas had 19 digs and five points; Adia Sherbeyn had tw0 points; and Terri Takita-Robins had two digs and two points.
The Eastern Wyoming match was a battle. EWC squeaked out the first set win 25-23 before WNCC came back and took the second set 25-22 as WNCC used strong serving by Esselin, Sherbeyn, and Costas for the 25-15.
WNCC used strong serving in the third set to roll to the 25-12 win behind Masaki serving the final seven points. The fourth set saw WNCC bolt to a 19-15 lead and led 24-17 before winning 25-22.
Masaki had a triple-double in the win with 17 kills, 10 digs, and 23 points. Masaki also had three aces.
Canavati and Mamai-Lagafuaina each had eight kills while Tuisamatatele had seven kills. Paris had five kills while Belford had two. Mamai-Lagafuaina had four solo blocks.
Also for the Cougars, Commins had 35 set assists, four points, four digs, and two aces; Sherbeyn had nine digs, 14 points, and three aces; Esselin had four digs and eight points; Tuisamatatele had four points and a solo block; Costas finished with 12 digs and six points; and Aloni Jordan a solo block.
WNCC, 8-4, will next be in action this weekend when they head to a tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, Friday and Saturday. The Cougars will battle Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Utah State-Eastern on Friday before taking on Arizona Western and Salt Lake Community College on Saturday.