SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team put together two top-notch performances in capturing a pair of wins in the first day of the Crystal INN-vitational in Salt Lake City, Utah, Friday.

                The Cougars started the day with three Cougars recording double figure kills led by Jenna Curtis with 15 to sweep past Arizona Western College 25-21, 25-13, 25-21.

                WNCC followed that up with a four-set win over No. 9 New Mexico Military behind a triple-double from Erica Fava of 12 kills, 14 digs, and 13 points in earning the 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22 win.

                WNCC, 6-5 on the season, will wrap up the Crystal INN-vitational on Saturday with two matches, facing the College of Southern Idaho at 11 a.m. and No. 14 Salt Lake Community College at 3 p.m.

                WNCC sophomore Mariah Fukumoto said the team played well on the day.

                "The team played really good," she said. "This was probably the best games we have played so far. All around we connected as a team and everyone knew what their job was on the court."

                Fukumoto said the key to the wins was just having fun and that is what they did.

                "The key was just to have fun and stay together as a team," she said. "We fought hard throughout both games and we were there for each other to back each other up."

                Against Arizona Western, WNCC trailed early at 6-4, but then two points from Mariah Fukumoto and three from Macey Boggs gave the Cougars an 11-7 lead. Arizona Western cut the lead to one late, but Ale Meoni finished off the first set with two service points and the 25-21 win.

                The second set was WNCC from start to finish as the Cougars never trailed and had a 14-5 lead after four points from Anakaren Chavez. WNCC led 17-8 and then went up 21-10 on three Erica Fava points before winning 25-13 on a Fava kill.

                The third set was close with the teams tied at 15, 16, and 17 late. WNCC pushed the lead to 20-18 and led 23-19 before winning the match 25-21 on a Meoni kill.

                Meoni and Fava had double-doubles in the match. Meoni had 12 kills, 10 digs, and nine points, while Fava had 12 kills, 10 digs, and six points. Curtis led the way with 15 kills, three digs, and three points.

                Also for WNCC, Boggs had 14 digs, 41 set assists, and six points; Fukumoto had 19 digs and three points; Chavez had eight points and four digs; Hyleigh Fornstrom had four kills; and Angel Nahinu had two kills.

                The Arizona Western was a big win in snapping a 3-game losing streak, but the win over No. 9 New Mexico Military was even bigger.

                WNCC took control in the first set leading 18-12 on two Fava points. NMMI came back to trail 20-19, but WNCC went in front 22-19 and won 25-22.

                The second set saw the Cougars start strong as Fukumoto had five points for a 10-2 lead. WNCC led 18-7 late only to watch NMMI came back to cut the lead to 22-19. Fava got a kill to stop a run and then Fornstrom served up an ace for a 24-19 win. WNCC won the second on a Juliana Oliveira kill.

                The third set was very competitive as NMMI led 5-3 and pushed the lead to 15-11. WNCC came back to tie the set at 17 and 18 before falling back behind 21-18. The Cougars kept battling as they came withing 24-23 before NMMI got the last point.

                Fava started the fourth set off with four service points and a 5-1 WNCC lead. The Cougars later went up 18-13 on two Julie Moccellin points. NMMI cut the Cougar lead to two on several occasions, but WNCC won the match on a Moccellin service point and Curtis kill.

                Fava had a triple-double in the win with 12 kills, 14 digs, 13 points, and four aces. Meoni finished with 15 kills, while Curtis had a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs with six points.

                Boggs finished the NMMI match with 30 set assists, eight digs, six points, and two aces; Fukumoto had a double-double of 25 digs and 10 points; Nahinu had four kills, Oliveira had eight kills; Fronstrom had two kills and two points; and Moccellin had 20 set assists, four digs, five points, and three aces.

                These two wins were critical to give the team some confidence and they showed they can play with anyone.

                "It was extremely important because it gave us the confidence that we needed," Fukumoto said. "It showed us that we were capable of doing what we needed to do."

                WNCC will be looking to add two more wins on Saturday and with that confidence they gained on Friday, Fukumoto said they have to keep up the fight.

                "We need to start strong and have the same energy that we started with today," she said. "It we have high intensity than we can beat any team that we want. We just have to stay focused and continue to do our own part on and off the court."