n Volleyball opens season 6th in polls ......

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.”

WNCC will open with some tough competition and the team knows what they have to improve on after Tuesday’s scrimmages with Eastern Wyoming College and Chadron State College.

This year’s team is young with five sophomores back from a year ago with only one starter.

Still things are looking good as for talent on the team.

“We are looking really good. We are mixing really well as a team on and off the court,” Blackman said. “Everything is going really smoothly and I know coach is really happy of how we are playing. I couldn’t be happy with all the girls because stepped up and are doing what they need to be doing.”

Besides Blackman, the other returners include Shanelle Martinez of San Antonio, Texas; Shae Hardy of Windsor, Colorado, Maya Angelova of Kyustendil, Bulgaria, and Megan Bewley of Scottsbluff.

Martinez said this team has plenty of potential.

“I think we have quite a bit of talent on this team,” sophomore setter Shanelle Martinez, who was a First Team NJCAA All-American a year ago, said. “It is just we are a young team so there is learning that we need to do. But, we have great talent; we just have to mesh together.”

Hardy, also a returning setter, said the three weeks that they will practice before classes begin August 21 will be crucial in building that bond among the team.

“It is so important because this is where we bond and have the chemistry to get out there and play. If we didn’t do this, we wouldn’t get anywhere, honestly,” Hardy said. “There is a lot of learning to do for the freshmen, but I believe in them. We all believe in each other and It think we will do really good this year.”

After the five returners, the Cougar team will be young with freshmen including two from the Panhandle in Gering’s Carleigh Pszanka, a 6-0 outside hitter, and Harrison’s Tamika Eastman, a 5-10 hitter, make up two of the 10 freshmen.

Two of the freshmen are from neighboring states with Taylor Tyser, a 5-4 libero/defensive specialist from Laramie, Wyoming, and 5-8 hitter Jaylen Nachtigall from Hot Springs, South Dakota.

The other freshmen are hitters. They include 5-9 outside hitter Dani Cruz of Guadalajara, Mexico; 5-11 rightside hitter Lilly Zwart of Tasmin, New Zealand; 5-10 hitter Chloe Grady of Kaneohe, Hawaii; 5-6 middle hitter Dessiah Christopher of Naples, Florida; 6-1 middle hitter Finja Schul of Bergisch Gladbach, Germany; and 5-8 hitter/setter Kyana Gabriel of Hilo Hawaii.

Martinez loves the hitters that she gets to set to.

“There are a lot of good hitters that are standing out,” Martinez said. “They play hard, they work hard, and they are very aggressive. I think the thing we need to work on is our passing, but the hitting is there. The hitting talent is there.”

Both setters said the first week of practice has had its ups and downs, but overall everything is going just well.

“I think it has been going great,” Martinez said. “I think we have a lot of potential, but we have a lot of work to do and it seems like a lot of the girls are willing to work hard. I think it will be an easier season if everyone has their mindset.”

Hardy said everyone is working hard to accomplish that goal of getting back to nationals.

“I think it (the preseason workouts) has been going really good,” she said. “We have been putting in a lot of hard work. We have been working really hard and we are getting there.”

Blackman added, “We all have something new and different to bring to the team, so I am excited to see how this plays out. I think we have a really good connection with everyone one.”

— Written by Mark Rein