ROCK SPRINGS, WY – In an important Region IX North match, the Laramie County Community College volleyball team made a statement in a 3-0 sweep of Western Wyoming on Saturday afternoon, taking down the Mustangs 26-24, 25-23, 25-15 to break a three-way tie for second in the standings going into the second half of the season.
"We had a discussion this morning at the hotel about changing our mindset, about having fun playing the game that we love rather than being concerned about winning or losing," Head Coach Zach Shaver said. "That mental shift was the difference. Even when it was tight in the first two sets and the pressure was on, we played better than usual because we were more relaxed."
The pressure was on early in the first set when LCCC found themselves down 12-8 through the first 20 points. The Golden Eagles reeled off three straight points to draw within one and the two teams traded serves until LCCC finished the rally to tie the set at 17 all.
They took the lead at 19-18 but the Mustangs moved back in front at 21-20 and had the game to set point at 24-22. A Lea Susoy kill kept LCCC alive and won them the serve which they used to roll off the next three points to take the opening set and the momentum with the 26-24 win.
LCCC flipped the script early in the second set and took control from Western Wyoming, forcing the Mustangs to take a timeout down 10-6 to the visiting Golden Eagles.
WWCC won five of the next seven points to draw within one, but the Golden Eagles surged back in front with a 6-2 run of their own to go up 18-13.
The see-saw match continued when the Mustangs seemed to wrestle control back with an 8-2 push, tying the set at 19 and again at 21 and 22 before taking a 23-22 lead. LCCC showed their resolve again through the critical moments and won the final three points to take the set 25-23 and put themselves on the verge of their first sweep in conference play.
There were several long rallies and Western Wyoming multiple times was close to getting the ball down on tips at the net, but LCCC's defense was ready.
"Jazmine did a great job of providing us with a lot of information about them and how their setter likes to dump in there and how they like to tip in there short, but they did a good job of taking that scouting report and doing a good job of executing it."
In the third, the Golden Eagles were able to chase away the demons that had haunted them when it came to finishing sweeps.
Despite the set starting out close, the LCCC attack didn't give the Mustangs any hope from the outset, claiming a 10-4 lead and growing the advantage to nine when they went ahead 15-6 for their biggest lead of the match by either team. From there it became a game of mathematics and LCCC had the factors on their side as they cruised the rest of the way to the 25-15 win.
Elysiana Fonseca was strong throughout the match as the sophomore finished with 13 kills while hitting .500 and led the team in blocks with three. Adriana Deming continued her strong play with nine kills and seven Golden Eagles recorded a kill in the three-set match.
LCCC's offense had one of their best matches of the year, hitting above .200 in every set.
"That is a big key," Shaver said. "Our players, because they were more relaxed, began making some attacks that we've been asking them to make but haven't been able to do yet. This time we were able to adjust differently rather than just keeping on doing the same thing."
Addison Schreurs moved past 700 assists on the year with another 38 in the match and finished with four aces to boot, completing a double-double with 12 digs as well which was second on the team. Schreurs is currently eighth in the nation in assists and third in the region.
Savannah Cummings added 20 more digs to lead the lineup and surpassed the 400 mark on the weekend to move into eleventh in the nation and second in the region.
The Golden Eagles are back in action on Tuesday evening as they get set for the second round of Region IX North action when the Eastern Wyoming Lancers make their way to the Blue FCU RAC. The two sides played a five-set thriller in Torrington last time that went the way of EWC. Opening serve is set for 6:00 pm, and more information can be found at www.golccc.com.