Western Nebraska Community College volleyball players Barbara Briceno and Lara Picht earned NJCAA all-American honors after the Division I list was released Tuesday.

                Briceno, a 5-foot-11 sophomore from Lima, Peru, earned first team honors, while Picht, a 5-11 sophomore from Brandenburg, Germany garnered second team honors.

                WNCC was just one of three community colleges to have two players each recognized on the team. Central Florida and Polk State were the other two schools that received two players.

                Briceno, who was a second team selection as a freshman, is thankful for the recognition.

                "I feel like I had a lot of support from my teammates and a lot of support from my friends," Briceno said. "The honor is because of my teammates."

                While it is Briceno's second all-American honor in two years, Picht was surprised in getting the recognition.

                "This is a big honor for me because I didn't expect it all," Picht said. "I think we all knew Barbara was going to get it, but I wasn't expecting to get it. I was really surprised and happy when I first heard about it."

                Picht said it wasn't a goal of hers to be an all-American, it just happened by her work on the court.

                "It really wasn't a goal of mine because I didn't expect that to happen," she said. "Last year I wasn't nominated at all and I didn't think about it all. The surprise was even bigger once I saw it now."

                Briceno is joined on the first team by Maria- Fernanda Sandoval of Arizona Western, Rafaela Fonseca of Central Florida, Caitlyn Cooper of Iowa Western, Massiel Matos of Miami Dada, Lauga Gauta of Northwest, Haley Seyfarth of Palm Beach State, Ana Carolina Oliveira of Panola, Andrea Brady of Salt Lake, Madison Rhoder of San Jacinto, Alycia Wodke of Southern Idaho, and Nina Petranovic of St. Petersburg.

                Picht's counterparts on the second team include Nathaly Alvarez of Central Florida, Aleksandra Malek of Colby, Yanjiao Zhao of Indian Hills, Kayla Juenger of Jefferson, Christen Coryatt of Monroe College, Anna Rupertova of Odessa, Y'lae Cobb of Pensacola State, Kathya Garcia of Polk State, Landri Greathouse of Temple, Halee Brewer of Tyler, and Kelsea Bivins of Wallace State.

                The six that earned honorable mention recognition include Yasmine Ataee of Hill, Annie Wehrheim of John A. Logan, Cailey Bracken of Mineral Area, Yue Wu of Polk State, Nadine Williams of Santa Fe, and Martza Mesa of Seward County.

                Both Cougar players said it is an honor for WNCC to have two all-Americans. WNCC had three all-Americans last year with Briceno as a second teamer and Jady Gerotto and Fabiana Andrade first teamers.

                "I am so happy for Lara, too," Briceno said. "I think this year both of us and all my teammates worked so hard. We worked so hard and we wanted it so bad to win a championship. It is an honor to have two from this school to be all-American."

                While it was a surprise for Picht, she said her teammate definitely deserved to be an All-American.

                "I am really happy for Barbara," Picht said. "She really deserves to be on the first team."

                Briceno finished the season leading the nation in career kills with 639. Briceno averaged 4.15 kills a set. The outside hitter also had 441 digs, 61 blocks, 51 ace serves, and 33 set assists.

                Briceno said she has improved a lot from her freshman year.

                "Coach told me what I need to be doing even though I wasn't used to it. I did figure out that he was right," she said. "I tried to work harder during the summers back home. I worked on my conditioning and I feel like I came back here ready for practice."

                Picht really improved this season. Last year, she only played the front row but this season, she was a six-rotation player.

                "I think I had a great improvement because last year I didn't pass, I just played front row," she said. "This year I played all the way around in six rotations. I think the position as a captain and everything, it really helped my self-confidence and my confidence with my playing."

                Picht finished this season with 529 kills including a hitting percentage of .273. She also had 293 digs, 29 blocks, and 28 ace serves.

                What makes Picht even happier is that she not only is an all-American, she was also recognized at the national tournament by earning a place on the all-tournament.

                "It is a great feeling to get recognition for it. First it was the all-tournament team a nationals and now the second team all-American. It is a big honor and really happy about it," she said.