LAJUNTA, Colo. – In the Western Nebraska Community College's second conference match of the season, the 19th-ranked Cougars swept through Otero Junior College, who received votes in the latest NJCAA rankings, in thundering fashion 25-19, 25-21, 25-21.
WNCC moves the Cougars to 18-5 on the season. It was their seventh straight win as they head into a match-up with No. 20 Northeastern Junior College on Friday at Cougar Palace in PAWzitively Pink night for breast cancer awareness.
WNCC received a balanced hitting attack Saturday afternoon against Otero. Leslie Mamai-Lagafuaina led the way on the front line with 10 kills and six solo blocks. Karen Cordero tallied nine kills followed by Luisa Beining and Gabriela Canavati each with eight kills. La'Treva Kennedy added five and Olivia Transfiguracion had three.
A big key in the win was hitting. WNCC hit .536 for the contest with just 13 hitting errors, while Otero had a .080 hitting percentage with 21 hitting errors in three sets.
The Cougars also had a strong serving game as Cordero and Ana Costas each had 10 points, followed by five each from Transfiguracion and Adia Sherbeyn. Sherbeyn had two aces, while Transfiguracion and Cordero each had one.
Transfiguracion tallied 31 set assists with five digs, while Costas had eight digs. Cordero finished with six digs, while Sherbeyn and Canavati each had four. Anabelle Gillen had three digs and two points.
Friday's match-up of two Top 20 ranked teams will be a battle. PAWzitively Pink activities will include breast cancer survivors getting in free and spectators getting $1 off admission if they wear pink.