Partly cloudy skies. Low 62F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph..
Partly cloudy skies. Low 62F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Updated: August 27, 2022 @ 4:04 pm
A crowd of several hundred made Storey Gymnasium in downtown Cheyenne a raucous environment that the Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles (2-2) used to help them keep pace with the #18 Western Nebraska Community College Cougars on Friday night.
While the Golden Eagles didn’t come away with the win, falling in straight sets 25-21, 25-16, 25-16, Head Coach Zach Shaver was pleased with the effort put in by his team in their fourth match of the season.
“We definitely played with a lot of heart,” he said. “We struggled at times, but we rebounded from those struggles pretty well and they are arguably the number one team in the country right now. They are just good enough they frustrated us at times.”
The Cougars (6-0) put pressure on the Golden Eagles from the start but set number one proved to be a back-and-forth affair from the start, with LCCC closing the gap from as much as five to 23-21 in the final points before the Cougars closed it out.
The close set got the crowd involved early.
“We had a great home crowd,” Shaver said. “We had a lot of people for the first night here in Storey Gym, so we want to thank everyone for making the trip into the middle of town, and the high schools that were in town that came, so that made it a fun environment.”
Set two followed a similar script, only a little bigger hole for Laramie County to dig out of, falling eventually 25-16 after starting strong to stay close early, keeping the score at 10-8 before the Cougars managed to close out with a 15-8 run.
In set three, the Golden Eagles really showed their resolve, finding themselves down 18-10, they were able to close the match trading points and building momentum back to finish on a positive vibe heading to the locker room.
Shave said the fight back was something he expects from this group of athletes.
“We’re definitely building for the future, but you know we aren’t going to take anything laying down. We want to win each match if we have a shot at it, and if we can hold our own with a team like Western Nebraska, we are going to get our share of wins this season.”
It is a short rest for LCCC, who have a busy schedule in the coming week. It starts with a trip to Sterling, Colorado for a match with tenth ranked Northeastern Junior College.
“We’re on the road at Northeastern on Tuesday who is also a top 20 team and that’s going to be in their home gym, so we’ve got to get ready,” Shaver said. “A short turnaround and a practice on Monday and that’s going to be a big Region IX match on Tuesday.”
The schedule then holds a return to McCook over the weekend for four matches against Lamar Community College, Garden City Community College, Barton Community College, and fifth ranked Butler Community College, with two on Friday and two on Saturday.
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