Oct. 13, 2005

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. - At noon Tuesday, the Northeastern Junior College volleyball team learned it had cracked the national NJCAA top 20. It was the highlight of the day for the No. 18 Plainswomen as they took their ranking to Scottsbluff, Neb. and promptly had their 16-game winning streak demolished by Western Nebraska.

The Cougars had moved up to No. 2 in that very same poll.

Tuesday night, they proved why.

Western Nebraska thrashed Northeastern 30-19, 30-19, 30-18 in a disappointing effort for the Plainswomen, who never got into a rhythm and had too many unforced errors to be competitive.

On the rare occasion that Northeastern was making the right plays, Western Nebraska quickly stymied any momentum, never letting the Plainswomen get more than a three-point lead.

Dan Nied/Journal-Advocate Western Nebraska middle hitter Patty Azevedo hammers this ball past Northeastern setter Stacy Manweiler Tuesday during the Cougar's win. Azevedo led Western Nebraska with 12 kills.

Western Nebraska was the team making pinpoint passes and getting heavy kills, continuously bouncing attacks off the arms of the Plainswomen. Northeastern, however, could not control the ball and found themselves making mental errors they had not seen since the beginning of the season.

"They did what I expected, which was control the ball," said Northeastern coach Marci Henry. "Just about everything they passed was to target."

That meant big nights individually for the Cougars front-row stars. Sophomore All-American Patty Azevedo led Western Nebraska with 12 kills, but was more effective in attacking than the numbers show.

Sophomore Christie Best added 11 kills.

On the other side the Plainswomen weren't as impressive. Middle hitter Ashley Murphey led the team with nine kills and Shelby Heggie added six. Setter Stacy Manweiler had a fraction of her offensive production with 22 assists and.

Jimilia McNeal, however, did get a solid six blocks and Lindsey Wilson had 14 digs.

The main offensive problems for the Plainswomen stemmed from a lack of ball control.

"For our team to be successful, we have to get the ball to our middle hitters," Henry said. "Without a successful pass we can't do that."

The Plainswomen were upset that a day that started with so much promise ended with a near-silent bus ride home and some serious contemplation about what it will take to beat south subregion rival Western Nebraska.

"We came out playing more timid than we usually do," Wilson said. "We kind of let them set the way we were going to play."

The Plainswomen will have to get right back on the horse tonight when they take on Lamar at 7 p.m. at Jackson Edwards Arena.