The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will open the season this weekend with plenty of motivation after the NJCAA released its pre-season volleyball poll Monday afternoon.
WNCC, which finished 34-5 a year ago, finishing in the top six at the national tournament, enter the season ranked sixth in the country.
Charli Blackman, one of the five returning sophomores from a year ago, said this ranking gives them motivation as they enter the season.
"It doesn't put pressure, but we have a different with a whole new dynamic and basically a new team," Blackman said. "Our whole team is different this year with new hitters, new passers, new everything, but I believe in them and coach believes in them and we know they know what to do and do what is best for the team. We are really excited and I know those girls are excited for being sixth and working hard to move up."
The announcement of a Top 10 pre-season ranking did bring plenty of excitement to the team and the WNCC community when the news got out. Blackman said it is a great honor, but the players know they have to work hard to stay up there or even higher.
"It is really awesome to see our hard work last season really paid off," Blackman, the hitter from New Zealand, said. "We will really have to fight to stay up there because we know there will be some hard competition but we are super-stoked to just be in the top 10. Six is such an honor so we want to move up this year."
To stay in the Top 10 with the schedule the Cougars have will not be an easy chore. In the first four tournaments, the Cougars will play seven of the Top 20 teams, including four of the top five teams. Blackman said that competition should make them better.
"We have some hard competition coming up in Iowa this week and in Salt Lake City and then the Wyo-Braska tournament here, but I reckon we can do it," she said. "We have an awesome team and talent with different players from all over the country and other countries. I think we can do it if we put our minds to it. It will just be a lot harder than what we anticipated."
Florida Southwestern State College is the pre-season No. 1 team followed by the next four teams who the Cougars will play, including No. 2 Miami Dade College, No. 3 Missouri State-West Plains, No. 4 Indian Hills Community College, and No. 5 Salt Lake Community College.
WNCC comes in at No. 6 with Trinity Valley Community College at No. 7, New Mexico Military Institute at No. 8, Utah State Eastern at No. 9, and Seward County Community College at No. 10.
WNCC will face New Mexico Military along with No. 12 Northeastern Junior College, No. 16 Snow College, and No. 17 Butler Community College.
WNCC opens the season this weekend when they have four matches at the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa, beginning Friday. The Cougars open the season against Butler followed by Iowa Western on Friday followed by showdowns with Dodge City Community College and Indian Hills on Saturday. The Cougars will then return home for a home match on Tuesday, August 22 against Casper College.
At the Salt Lake tourney over Labor Day Weekend, the Cougars will have games against Lee College, Salt Lake, Miami Dade, and College of Southern Idaho. The following weekend at a tourney in Sterling, Colorado, WNCC will have another hard weekend when they face Snow College, Indian Hills, New Mexico Military and then Dodge City.
That will set up the Wyo-Braska Classic at Cougar Palace September 14-16 when the Cougars will face Missouri State-West Plains, Laramie County, Gillette College, and Central Wyoming College.
Blackman said they are excited to get the season started this weekend in Iowa.
"We are excited for this weekend. We cannot wait to get on that court," she said. "We have a scrimmage tomorrow (Tuesday against EWC and Chadron State) and we can't wait to get on the court and play like a team. The scrimmage will be like a pre-season game, but we are all excited to go to Iowa."