The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball players can't wait to finally get on the court after three weeks of practicing against each other.
The 9th-ranked Cougar squad will do just that this weekend when they compete in the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
"They are tired of playing against each other," second year coach Binny Canales said. "Right now we are narrowing down the lineups and they are ready to play against other teams and really compete."
WNCC's opening weekend won't be easy, either. On Friday WNCC opens with Ranger College at 2 p.m. followed by No. 1 Iowa Western Community College at 6 p.m. Saturday's slate of matches have the Cougars playing Grandview College junior varsity at 9 a.m. and Jefferson College at 1 p.m.
"This is going to be good competition. Ranger has a new coach and have some good players and Iowa Western is Iowa Wester. They were ranked number one most of the year last year and we expect them to be one of the top teams in the country again."
Last year, WNCC went 1-3 at the Iowa Western tournament. This year, the outlook is even higher with the talent that is on this year's team. Canales said all this talent is making everyone better and his decisions of starters is not an easy one.
"That [all the talent] is a good problem to have," he said. "We have narrowed down some things and we are looking at multiple aspects, multiple skills in each player. We are happy with what we have seen. It has made the decisions tough. One day one kid has a good day and the next day someone else has a good day. We really have to balance everything out."
WNCC will be led by the five returners from last year's 29-9 team that saw the Cougars win their 16th straight Region IX title. WNCC will be led by all-region setter Fabiana Andrade, a 5-foot-7 setter from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The other returners that saw starting time include 5-8 Santanna Mitchell of Gering, and 5-7 Keala Kaio-Perez of Waimanalo, Hawaii. The other two returners are 5-10 setter Katy Ernest of Dalton, and 5-5 Fuatino Manu of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Canales said these five sophomores are like another coach on the court and they have provided plenty of leadership this season.
"I feel like they have really grown. We have sophomores that have helped with the composure and having them around is like having another coach there because they know the drills," he said. "They know what we are doing offensively and defensively and that has helped tremendously. The kids that we have signed are really buying into what we are doing and I am happy."
The nine freshmen on the team will be providing plenty of depth for this year's team. Canales is impressed with all of them.
"We have so many kids that are playing team volleyball," he said. "We don't have one superstar that will have all the attention, they need each other. We need good passers to make our setter standout. We then need our setter to excel so our hitters stand out. We are happy with the balance of our team."
Canales said a few have been standing out, including 6-0 outside hitter Hady Gerotto of Sao Paulo, Brazil; 5-11 outside hitter Lara Picht of Brandenburg, Germany; 5-10 outside hitter Barbara Rabanal of Lima, Peru; and 6-0 Shaney Tiumalu of Kaneohe, Hawaii.
The other freshmen on the team include 6-0 outside hitter Kaylee Spreier of Gering; 6-2 middle hitter Kennedy Cyza of Alliance; 5-11 rightside hitter Vaniriz Vazquez of Caguas, Puerto Rico; 6-0 rightside hitter Maraea O'Connor of Hilo, Hawaii; and 5-6 libero Alwaise Villa of Honolulu Hawaii.
What Canales likes about this year's team is the fact that they compete 100 percent, never giving up.
"Right now I like our composure on the court," he said. "I think we handle things really well. They compete hard at practice and when things get tough, they don't bend. They might bend a little bit but they don't break. They fight their way back into it and they have a lot of composure."
The Cougars schedule is not easy either. WNCC will be on the road the first four weekends for tournaments. After this weekend, WNCC will travel to Rock Springs, Wyoming, for a 2-day tournament Aug. 28-29 before heading to the Salt Lake Community College Invite Sept. 4-5. After that, they will compete in the Pizza Hut Classic Sept. 11-12.
WNCC's first home match will be Sept. 17 when they host Western Wyoming Community College followed by the annual Wyo-Braska Invite Sept. 18-19.
WNCC has 13 matches against teams that are ranked or received honorable mention votes in the pre-season poll that was released this week. Canales, however, he isn't worried about the schedule because as long as they play hard, things will come together.
"Right now we have to go and compete and play hard," he said. "We need keep everybody fresh and healthy for regionals and nationals."