MCCOOK – Karen Cordero and Luisa Beining each pounded home 11 kills and the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team opened the season with a sweep over Durham College out of Canada 25-20, 25-14, 25-19 Thursday afternoon in McCook.
The Cougars, 1-0, will next be in action at the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa, when they face No. 3 Iowa Western Community College Friday.
WNCC coach Binny Canales said they had some shining moments and some not so bright moments in the win.
"We were hot and cold," Canales said. "We played a lot of people and used a lot of different lineups. At times we looked really good and at times we could tell it was the first match of the year."
WNCC looked strong in the first set as they bolted to a 20-10 lead behind Cordero and Beining. Canales said both did well.
"They are very talented young ladies and they can go all the way around," Canales said. "They can pass and hit. They have solid blocks. They are smart and they see both sides of the court. They did a great job."
The first set was close with WNCC holding a 5-4 lead. After a Cordero kill, Ana Costas served six straight points for a 12-4 lead. WNCC grew the lead to 20-10 before winning 25-120 on a Cordero kill.
WNCC controlled the second set from the get-go, running to a 6-1 lead and leading 11-4 on three Beining points. WNCC pushed the lead to 21-10 on three Olivia Transfiguracion points and won the set 25-14.
The third set saw Durham battle the Cougars, holding a 5-3 lead. Both teams were tied at seven before WNCC started to put some air between them and Durham, leading 16-11 and then 21-15 on two Cordero points. WNCC captured the match on a Beining kill.
A lot of Cougars got into the hitting flow. After Cordero and Beining's 11 kills, Leslie Mamai-Lagafuaina had nine kills, Alex Hernandez and La'Treva Kennedy each had four, Anu Kaohi, Gabriela Canavati, and Transfiguracion each had three. Olivia Schaub tallied two kills.
Transfiguracion tallied 45 set assists while Andrea Tsvetanova and Costas each had four.