STERLING, Colo. – The 5th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team battled No. 4 Indian Hills Community College to the brink in the opening match of the Sheila Worley Invitational in Sterling, Colorado, Friday afternoon.

              WNCC held a 2-1 lead after three sets, but Indian Hills came back to capture the final two sets in earning the 25-19, 20-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13 win over the Cougars.

              Indian Hills then faced No. 19 Northeastern Junior College and the No. 4 team in the country posted a five-game thrilling win over No. 19 NJC.

              WNCC's second match was against 17th-ranked Hutchinson Community College and the Cougars dropped the first set before coming back to take down the Blue Dragons in four sets 24-26, 25-19, 25-16, 25-14.

              The opener against Indian Hills was the match of the tourney as the two Top 5 teams in the latest NJCAA polls did not disappoint in the talent of both squads.

              The first set was back and forth as Indian Hills led 11-7 before WNCC sliced the lead to a single point at 15-14. Indian Hills pushed the lead back to 21-15 and later 23-16 before registering the 25-19 first set win.

              Indian Hills started the second set on a 3-0 run before an Emmalei Mapu kill and then three Jenna Curtis points put the Cougars up 4-3. WNCC went up 9-5 on two Ale Meoni points only to watch Indian Hills come back to lead 11-10 and later 17-15.

              WNCC came back to lead 17-16 and then led 20-17 after two Erica Fava points. Indian Hills sliced the lead to 20-19 before a Curtis kill and then three Alex Hernandez points put the Cougars up 24-19. WNCC won the second set 25-20 on a Mapu and Curtis block.

              The third set saw WNCC jump to a 12-9 lead and went up 15-11 after two Shanelle Martinez points. Indian Hills came back to tie the set at 16 and then later 17, but the Cougars went up 19-17 on a Fava kill and then led 21-18 on another Fava kill. Indian Hills cut the lead to 22-19, but Hernandez had a kill to get the serve back and served the final two points for the 25-19 win.

              The fourth set saw WNCC take control early as the Cougars led 9-4. Things changed after that as Indian Hills went up 11-9 after a 6-point service run. WNCC tied the set at 11-11, but fell behind 17-11. Indian Hills led 21-14 only to watch the Cougars cut the lead to 21-17 on a Meoni ace serve. WNCC trailed 23-19 after a Fava service point, but the Indians won the fourth set 25-19 to force a fifth.

              WNCC led the important fifth set 5-4 on an Anna Jasinsky point. Indian Hills went on a run to lead 7-4 and later 10-8. WNCC came back to grab a 11-10 lead on two Martinez points. Indian Hills went back in front 13-12 only to see Meoni hammer a kill to tie the fifth set at 13, but Indian Hills got the final two points for the win 15-13.

              Fava had a double-double for the Cougars with 17 digs and 11 points. Fava also had seven kills and two aces. Curtis led WNCC on offense with 17 kills. The Ogallala native also had two solo blocks, five digs, eight points and an ace. Meoni finished with a near double-double with 12 kills and nine points. Meoni also had three digs and an ace.

              Also for the Cougars against Indian Hills, Martinez had 48 set assists, eight digs, and seven points; Alex Hernandez with six kills, eight points, three digs, and an ace serve; Jasinsky had 15 digs and three points; Megan Bewley had five digs; Mapu had five kills, three solo blocks, and three assisted blocks; and Charli Blackman had three kills.

              Against Hutchinson, the Cougars dropped the heart-breaking first set 26-24 and then woke up to get the next three. The second set saw Curtis score the final three points as Meoni had the set-winning kill.

              The third set saw Curtis get a kill, then a side out as WNCC won the third.

              WNCC won the fourth set and the match as Hernandez got a side out and served the final point as Mapu got the winning kill.

              Curtis had a triple-double with 19 kills, 10 digs, and 10 points. Meoni and Fava each had 10 kills. Meoni also had seven digs and six points, while Fava had 14 digs with seven points.

              Also for the Cougars, Martinez had 53 set assists, seven digs, two kills, two solo blocks, and four points; Hernandez had seven kills, 14 digs, 11 points, and four aces; Mapu had nine kills with three digs; Bewley and Jasinsky each had two digs; and Lexi Keohi had two points. 

              WNCC will wrap up the invite on Saturday when they face Casper College.