SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. – The Laramie County Community College volleyball team split on Saturday at the WyoBraska Shootout.
LCCC came up short in the first match, falling in three sets, 21-25, 21-25 and 20-25 to the McCook Indians. They bounced back in the second match and swept Trinidad State Junior College for the second time this season 25-18, 25-14 and 25-9.
"We didn't get off the bus for our first match this morning and we ran into a solid McCook team that outworked and outplayed us in every facet of the game," Golden Eagle coach Austin Albers said. "It was disappointing that we didn't value our preparation to the level of our expectations and we paid the price."
Defensively against the Indians, the Golden Eagles (12-7 overall) were led by Alessia Venturelli (Modena, Italy) led with 11 digs.
Avery Nelson (Colorado Springs, Colorado) led the way with a match-high 14 kills for Laramie County, while also adding three blocks. Jazzy Espinoza (Cheyenne, Wyoming) added five kills and Kasandra Sturges (Parker, Colorado) had 15 assists and six digs. Gwen Sheldon (Loveland, Colorado) had 13 assists and recorded five digs for the Golden Eagles.
In the second match against the Trojans, the Golden Eagles were led by Kyle Meltzer (Fort Collins, Colorado) defensively with 11 digs in their victory.
Nelson led the way in the attack with 10 kills and two serving aces for LCCC, while adding four blocks. Payton Stack (Casper, Wyoming) added seven kills with .500 hitting percentage and three blocks. Sturges had 15 assists and six digs. Sheldon had 12 assists and nine digs.
"Our second match of the day was a good win for us against a much improved Trinidad squad. We did a better job with our execution and attacking from the serve line," said Albers. "The trick for us remains consistency. If we want our play to be consistent we need to value consistency in houw we approach and prepare for each match."