COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The Western Nebraska Community College opened the Reiver Classic on a positive note, topping pre-season No. 1 College of Southern Idaho in four games.

                The Cougars, behind the 19-kill attack of Barbara Briceno, toppled the defending national champs 25-20, 25-20, 16-25, 25-20 Friday afternoon.

                WNCC followed that up with a four-game win against Highland Community College 25-23, 24-26, 25-13, 25-21 to improve to 4-0 on the season. Briceno finished the game with 27 kills and a hitting percentage of .456.

                The Cougars will look to stay perfect on the season on Saturday at the Reiver when they face San Jac at 11 a.m. and Iowa Western Community College at 3 p.m.

                The win against CSI was one of redemption for the Cougars, who defeated the Cougars in last November's national championship match. The Cougars picked up the win by Friday by overcoming an 18-15 first game deficit to come storming back for the 25-20 win.

                The second game saw WNCC pretty much control the entire game for another 25-20 win.

                WNCC had a hiccup in game three falling to CSI 25-16. That hiccup was quickly cured as they jumped on CSI early and then held on for the 25-20 win.

                The Cougars had several players stand out in the game with the team finishing with 44 kills and a hitting percentage of .157.

                Briceno led the way with her 19 kills. Briceno also had 11 digs and two aces.

                Several other players also had big games during crucial parts of the match. Lara Picht finished the game with nine kills, seven digs, and a ace.

                Kaylee Spreier also had a big game, tallying seven kills while Brooke Kadara had six kills.

                Bia Berta finished the match with a double-double of 43 set assists, 10 digs, and two digs. Genesis Benitez-Fontanez finished with 29 digs; Maraea O'Connor had three kills and 1 ½ blocks, and Larissa Perez had three kills.

                The Highland match saw the Cougars pound out 59 kills with Briceno tallying 27 kills and Picht with 12. Picht had a double-double, collecting 15 digs in the win, while Briceno also had nine digs and seven points.

                Berta also tallied another double-double, collecting 51 set assists with 15 digs, nine points, and two assist blocks.

                Other Cougars in the Highland win included Spreier with eight kills; Kadara with nine kills and three blocks; Perez with three kills and three digs; Benitez-Fontanez with 24 digs and five set assists; Kirstee Trees with two digs