Nov. 5, 2004

CHEYENNE, WYO. - The Northeastern Junior College (NJC) Plainswomen showed persistence in their volleyball match Tuesday against Laramie, Wyo. County Community College (LCCC). After dropping the first set, 21-30, NJC came back to squeak out the final 3 games, 33-31, 30-25, 30-28, to take the match and improve to 34-6 on the season.

"Laramie County has a good team," said NJC Coach Marci Henry. "They pass the ball well and play good defense. They are good offensively and I expect them to finish high in the regional tournament." The Plainswomen came from behind to win game 2, and after winning the third set by a 5 point margin, they trailed early in the fourth set. LCCC scored the first 5 points and eventually had NJC down, 19-25. But the Plainswomen battled back to take the set, winning the match in 4 games.

"We got aggressive with the ball, especially in the second game," Henry said. "We gave them a few points in the fourth game, but we came back strong and earned our points to get the win." Sophomore Emily Sakis led NJC in kills with 19, freshman Ashley Murphey 15, sophomore Jenni Hirneisen 8 and sophomore Casey Beardsley 6. Beardsley led in assists with 47.

Sophomore Megan Martinez served up 16 points to lead NJC and Beardsley had 13. Each also had 3 aces. Murphey led in blocks with 7 and Hirneisen and Sakis each had 4. Sophomore Breezy Tuck had another outstanding match with 30 digs and Hirneisen and Beardsley each had 12.

The Plainswomen then returned to action against Eastern Wyoming College on Wednesday night and again picked up a victory in 3 games, Northeastern Junior College swept Eastern Wyoming last night 30-23, 30-27, 30-26. Emily Sakis lead the Plainswomen with 23 kills and a .439 hitting percentage. Ashley Murphy had 11 kills. Breezy Tuck had 15 digs and Jenny Hirneisen was 26-of-27 serving with one ace. Tuck was a force in game two, when she led the Plainswomen back from a deficit of 23-14. Hirneisen served for 10 points in the second game and Sakis added 10 kills in the comeback.

Casey Beardsley had 36 assists on the night.

On Friday the Plainswomen played their final home match of the regular season, hosting Western Wyoming. NJC won the match in 3 sets, 30-22, 31-29, 30-27. That win followed a tough loss Thursday at Western Nebraska as the Plainswomen fell in 5 competitive sets, 30-23, 24-30, 23-30, 30-28, 15-17.

"I think we played pretty well against Western Nebraska," Henry said. "We came up a little short because we weren't aggressive in the end. "We missed a serve on match point. We were far enough ahead in the fifth set, but we couldn't put them away." NJC did trail in the fourth game before coming from behind to win and tie the match at 2-2. Henry said she was pleased with that effort by her team.

"That is something we can take going into the Region IX Tournament," she said. "We don't want to come from behind, but knowing you can do it gives you a little confidence." Henry said prior to the Western Nebraska match that her team was improving in blocking and digging, and she saw solid evidence in that on Thursday.

"Breezy (Tuck) had 33 out of our 99 digs in the match, which is a third of them," she said. "She did a fabulous job and she was a key player in that defensive role."

The Plainswomen were able to put that loss behind them on Friday to sweep Western Wyoming in 3 sets. But, Henry pointed out the win didn't come as easy as the outcome indicated.

"I don't think we played as well as we could have," she said, "so I wasn't real happy with our effort. Even though we won in 3 games we could have played much better."

With a week off before the Region IX Tourney, Henry hopes to get her team totally prepared.

"We're going to make sure we're ready to go," she said. "Maybe last year we weren't ready, since we didn't win the tournament. "We don't want to have a repeat of that so we'll work hard physically, emotionally and mentally for the tournament." NJC is ranked 12th in the nation this week.

NJC vs. Western Wyoming:

Points served - Lindsey Wilson, 13; Emily Sakis, 11. Aces - Wilson, 2; Breezy Tuck, 2; Sakis, 1. Kills - Sakis, 25; Ashley Murphey, 11; Jenni Hirneisen, 6. Assists - Casey Beardsley, 43. Digs - Tuck, 18; Hirneisen, 14; Wilson, 7; Megan Martinez, 6; Beardsley, 6; Kristin Anderson, 6. Blocks - Murphey, 4; Sakis, 3; Martinez, 3. NJC vs. Western Nebraska: Kills - Sakis, 16; Murphey, 10; Hirneisen, 10; Wilson, 5; Martinez, 4; Beardsley, 1. Assists - Beardsley, 41; Martinez, 1; Anderson, 1. Aces - Hirneisen, 2; Sakis, 2; Martinez, 2. Blocks - Sakis, 7; Martinez, 4; Wilson, 4; Anderson, 3; Hirneisen, 1; Beardsley, 1; Murphey, 1. Digs - Tuck, 31; Hirneisen, 19; Wilson, 14; Amber Wiedeman, 9; Beardsley, 9; Sakis, 8; Martinez, 5; Anderson, 4.