ROCK SPRINGS — Fredann Soto, the head coach of Western Wyoming Community College volleyball, won her 100th game in Mustang red last week against the Southwest Bobcats.
Soto is in her eighth year of coaching at Western, and the Mustangs have won 20 or more games in two straight years. This year hasn’t quite matched the success of the previous two, but it’s still early in the season.
The Mustangs opened the season with a 5-3 victory in scrimmage play in Sterling, Colorado. Since then, they’ve gone 1-13, with Soto’s only win securing his 100th.
However, the season was not set in their favor. Western has yet to play a match at home, and the constant travel has undoubtedly taken its toll on the student-athletes.
That is not to say that the Mustangs have not had some success. Freshman Olivia Ena was named to the Region IX Challenge All-Tournament team a few weeks ago after an outstanding performance as the opposite hitter. Ena is currently ranked 18th in the conference in total blocks with 25 after 14 matches.
Akanesi Pututau, another freshman, is just ahead of her with 27 total blocks, placing 16th in Region 9. She also cracks the top 20 in the region in terms of assists, with 67 in total and 1.72 per set, ranking 13th.
Reagan Davis, a sophomore setter, leads the Western roster in assists and ranks eighth in the conference. She has 212 total assists and an average of 5.05 per set so far.
Hanna Longhurst, the Mustangs’ conference leader, is ranked 10th in Region 9 with 2.43 kills per set. The freshman outside hitter has 107 total kills this season.
In September, the Mustangs will finally play some home matches. Eastern Wyoming College and Laramie County Community College will participate in their home opener weekend. The match against Eastern will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 26, and the match against Laramie County will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 27.
