COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA – The 8th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team received double-doubles from Ale Meoni, Erica Fava, and Jenna Curtis as the Cougars toppled No. 4 Utah State Eastern in the second day of the Reiver Invite.
Fava led the way with 23 kills, 18 digs, and nine service points to lead the Cougars to a 20-25, 25-21, 26-24, 18-25, 15-6 win over Utah State-Eastern in five sets to open the second day of the tourney.
WNCC, however, couldn't get the sweep on the day as Indian Hills Community College swept the Cougars 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 in the second match of the day.
WNCC finished the 2-day Reiver Invite with a 2-2 record to open the season.
WNCC played well with three players with double-doubles and another two had double-figure digs.
Fava led the way with 23 kills, followed by Curtis with 15 kills, 15 points, six digs, and four aces. Meoni also had a double-double with 11 kills, 15 digs, and eight digs. She also had six points.
Julia Moccellin tallied 20 digs in the win to lead the team while Fava was next with 18, and Anakaren Chavez had nine.
WNCC dropped the first set 25-20 after coming back to lead 19-17 on a Curtis kill. The set was tied at 20-20 before Utah State-Eastern scored the next five points for the win.
The second set saw Curtis serve five straight points for a 6-1 lead. The Cougars went on to plead 19-13 before Utah Stae Eastern tied the set at 21-21. Fava came back with a kill and then served the final two points for the 25-21 win.
The third set between the two Top 10-ranked teams was back and forth. Utah State Eastern led 18-15 and 23-20 when Macey Boggs got a setter kill and then Hyleigh Fornstrom followed with a kill and Meoni had two service points to tie the set at 23-23. WNCC came back to get the final three points and the 26-24 win.
Utah State-Eastern force a fifth set with their dominating play in the fourth set, leading 19-10 and going on to win 25-18.
The fifth set was reversed as Curtis got the Cougars off to a strong start with five straight service points. WNCC led 12-3 and 12-6 before Holleigh Jaime served the final two points for the match win.
Other top performers for the Cougars included Boggs with eight digs, nine points, and 44 set assists; Fornstrom with four kills; Angel Nahinu with five assist blocks; Moccellin with 20 digs, six points and four set assists; and Chavez with nine kills.
WNCC played strong in the match against Indian Hills, but never could put any service runs together. The Cougars led 3-1 after two Curtis points in the opening set and led 15-13 after three more Curtis points. The Cougars led 20-19 on a Fava point, but Indian Hills came back to lead 22-20 and won 25-22.
The second set was close, too, with WNCC lead 5-3 early and had the set tied at 8-8 on a Boggs service point. Indian Hills came back to lead 15-11 and ran out to a 23-16 lead before winning 25-19.
The third set was much like the first set. WNCC went up 9-3 behind Moccellin's serving of six points and Fronstrom getting a couple big kills. WNCC led 11-5 before Indian Hills came back to trail 12-11.
The third set saw plenty of ties from this point on. WNCC led 21-19 on an ace service and led 22-21 on a Fava kill. Indian Hills changed things as they got the next four points for the 25-22 win.
Fava led the way with 12 points, nine digs, and four points. Meoni followed with 11 kills and seven digs.
Also for the Cougars, Oliveira had two kills and three digs; Boggs finished with nine digs, three points, and 29 set assists; Curtis had four kills and five points; Fornstrom had two kills and five assisted blocks; Moccellin had 16 digs and five points; and Jaime had two digs.
WNCC, 2-2, will be back in action next week when they travel to Riverton, Wyoming, for a 3-day tournament Thursday through Saturday. The Cougars open Thursday against College of Southern Idaho.