You could tell it on our faces and in our warmups that we knew what we were there to do. We got the job done and it was awesome.”

Saile Unufe

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The Lady Lancers compete at the NJCAA national tournament in Clarksville, Tennessee from November 19-23.

TORRINGTON – Fans packed the gym at Laramie County Community College (LCCC) for the NJCAA Region IX title game between the Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) Lady Lancers and the LCCC Lady Eagles on November 8.

“It was very loud in there,” EWC middle blocker and sophomore Siale Unufe said. “You could barely hear yourself. I can always hear myself, but I couldn’t.”

The Lady Lancers channeled the negative noise from the large opposing crowd into positive energy.

“That feeds us as a team,” sophomore libero Neeley Rutledge said.

The first set between EWC and LCCC came down to the wire with the Lady Lancers winning, 25-23.

“In that first set, it was a battle,” libero and sophomore Boden Liljedahl said. “LCCC really came to play and it kind of caught me by surprise. We pulled it out at the end of that set and we really took it to them.”

Defeating LCCC in the first set boosted EWC’s confidence “a hundred percent,” Unufe noted.

“I remember even before the game, Boden said winning that first set is going to be really big for us,” Unufe added. “I think that’s why our second set was so successful.”

EWC routed LCCC in the second set, 25-10.

“We took it to (LCCC) even harder,” Liljedahl said. “That’s when I knew we were taking this in three sets and we’re done. It’s really hard for volleyball teams to come back after a set like that.”

The third set turned into a point-for-point battle. At one point, EWC found themselves down by five.

“I remember looking at the team in the huddle after we’d lose a point and saying, ‘No – it’s okay,’” Unufe said. “We knew that if we kept playing hard, everything was going to work out.”

The Lady Lancers ultimately won the third set, 25-22, triumphing over LCCC in a clean sweep and capturing the Region IX title for the first time in three decades, along with a berth at the NJCAA national tournament in Tennessee.

“We swept every team that we played (at regionals) and we kept building off of the fire from the previous games,” Liljedahl said. “It was just amazing. It was so surreal.”

The Lady Lancers set the bar high for themselves at the beginning of the season to secure the Region IX North title (completed by going undefeated in conference play) and the regional title.

“At the beginning of the season, we set goals to be conference champs and region champs,” Unufe noted. “To get both of them is a huge accomplishment. Before we played (at regionals), we all had the same goal in mind. You could tell it on our faces and in our warmups that we knew what we were there to do. We got the job done and it was awesome.”

Rutledge credited the especially tight bonds between players.

“We are big on being a family-oriented team,” Rutledge remarked. “I think that was the biggest accomplishment (at regionals) is that we played as a family. It made us closer as a team, too. Our energy was amazing throughout the whole weekend.”

Knocking out McCook and CWC

The regional tournament opened with EWC sweeping McCook Community College.

“Our strategy for that game was to not overlook (McCook),” Unufe said. “There had been a lot of upsets at the tournament.”

The victory against McCook propelled EWC to the semifinal game against the Central Wyoming College (CWC) Rustlers. The Lady Lancers knocked out the Rustlers in three, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-18.

“(CWC) was a tougher team than McCook, but we knew a lot about them and knew how we could play to our full potential,” Rutledge said. “That’s what helped us sweep them instead of going into four of five sets – focusing on their stronger hitters defense wise and seeing the court offensively. Everyone did a really good job at playing their role.”

Part of the team’s success lay in maintaining a positive, strong mentality throughout the weekend, Liljedahl said.

“There were times that we were down, but we faced that adversity and just kept going and going, point after point,” Liljedahl added. “You never could tell when our team was down a couple of points because we always had that energy.”

In addition to “letting go of mistakes,” the Lady Lancers focused on the fundamentals, Unufe said.

“Our serve receive was very consistent throughout the whole tournament,” Unufe noted. “That is the key to offense. You need that first good pass. If felt like the whole tournament it was just dime after dime.”

Liljedahl praised EWC’s defense.

“Blocking was quicker,” Liljedahl added. “We knew who the hitters were going to be. I think we had a really nice setup on that block and it helped our defense get set up. Our defense at the net and behind was amazing this weekend.”

EWC also excelled at the service line.

“There were a lot of aces in each game,” Rutledge said.

Beating LCCC

The Lady Lancers prepared for the championship game by cranking up the music in the locker room.

“We kind of let loose before games,” Liljedahl said. “We don’t stress on anything. Neeley brings the biggest speaker ever.”

Pumped up by the pulsing beat, the Lady Lancers eventually turned the music down and looked inward.

“We say a prayer before every game,” Rutledge said. “That helped us to focus mentally and realize our worth and how good we can be.”

During warmups, Liljedahl observed her opponents before clearing her mind of clutter.

“I’m always watching where people are hitting for defensive aspects,” Liljedahl said. “Other than that, nothing really goes through my mind. Things just happen when they happen. Volleyball is something new every single possession.”

While the first set between the Lady Lancers and the Lady Eagles proved close, EWC more than doubled LCCC in scoring in the second set and the Lady Eagles’ defenses began to crumble.

“(LCCC) gets really down on themselves, as you can see from the first set going into the second set,” Liljedahl said. “They struggle more mentally than we do.”

A hush fell over LCCC’s rowdy fans as the Lady Lancers slammed one point over the net after the other.

“In the previous games, LCCC’s student section was going crazy,” Liljedahl said. “We were able to shut them up right away.”

LCCC rallied in the third set but proved no match for the Lady Lancers.

“We were playing so clean,” Unufe said. “Very few errors.”

Liljedahl often looks up to her father in the stands to get a “thumbs up or a wink” to reassure her if the Lady Lancers are down. In the third set against LCCC, the situation was reversed.

“I didn’t look up to my dad until that third set and I smiled,” Liljedahl added. “My dad said, ‘That’s when I knew you guys had it, when you gave me that smile.’”

The Lady Lancers look forward to traveling to Clarksville, Tennessee for the national tournament from November 19-23.

“It’s going to be a wonderful experience,” Liljedahl said. “I’m super excited to see how we do against top teams.”

Unufe agreed, “It’s such a great opportunity for our team. This is the last time we’re going to play together as a team. I think we just need to go in (to nationals) how we went into regionals – playing together as a family, letting go of mistakes and playing hard.”

“No matter the outcome, we’ve made it this far and I’m proud,” Rutledge added.