MCC Volleyball opens season Thursday

The McCook Community College volleyball team opens play Thursday in the North Platte Community College season-opening tournament as the team looks to rebound from a 12-16 season a year ago.

 

For the first time in Coach Hayley Kobza’s 11-year tenure at MCC, the team is coming off a losing season and a core group of six returners and a sophomore newcomer look to vault the squad back towards the top of the Region IX field.

 

“I am excited to see the potential this team has this season,” said MCC Coach Haley Kobza. “We have a great variety of players with strengths in multiple different areas.”

 

MCC missed out on a 10th straight year of playing in the Region IX post-season tournament with a late-season loss to North Platte in the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center. With the top four in the eight-team league qualifying for post-season, MCC finished in a tie for fourth place with Trinidad State (both teams were 8-6 in league play but the Trojans won the tie-breaker) while North Platte (9-5) finished third in the region.

 

THE 2026 LADY INDIANS: Returning players include middle blockers Leila Young and Bobbi Starkebaum, outside hitters Anna Richardson and Shana Mueller, setter Zoe Mulholland and defensive specialist/libero Allie Rohde.

“Our sophomores have been nothing but great leaders so far and continue to lead by example every day,” said Kobza.

 

Young, 5-11 middle blocker from Amarillo, Texas, was named second team All-Region IX South and led the team with 125 blocks on the season including 16 solo blocks and 109 block assists. She played in all 28 matches and also led all Region IX south players with 1.29 blocks per set. Young was third on the team with 135 kills and led MCC with a .301 hitting percentage with 48 digs and 17 service aces. She is expected to take on more of a hitter’s role this year.

 

Starkebaum, 6-0 middle from Haxtun, Colo., also played in every match and was second on the team with 91 blocks with 15 solos and 76 block assists, averaging .98 blocks per set. She was credited with 97 kills in the middle and had 28 digs.

 

Mulholland, 5-11 from Lander, Wyo, is MCC’s top returning setter with 372 in 25 matches played. She tallied 13 service aces and 135 digs – most of any returning player.

 

Rohde, is a 5-4 defensive specialist from Eddyville, Neb. who was limited to just two matches before her season ended with an injury.

 

Mueller, 5-6 right-side from France appeared in 19 matches and finished with 101 kills – second among returners – with 59 digs, 15 service aces and 25 total blocks.

 

Richardson, 5-10 outside from Worland, Wyo., saw playing time in 19 matches and tallied 83 kills in 19 matches with 15 total blocks, 60 digs and 13 service aces.

 

Kamryn Slaugh, 5-5, defensive specialist from Manila High School in Utah, transfers in as a sophomore.

 

INCOMING FRESHMEN INCLUDE:

Outside hitters – Tanna Bailey, 5-10 Prairie High School in Colorado; Maggie Fiene, 5-8, Conestoga High School, Murray, Neb.; Peyton Higgins, 5-7, Rawlins High School, Rawlins, Wyo.; Avery Jensen, 5-8, St. Francis, Kan.; and Amelie Martin, 5-10 outside/pin hitter from Christchurch Girls High School in New Zealand.

Middle hitters – Ryleigh Melvin, 5-10, Hershey, Neb.; Relebohile Phamoste, 6-0, Lesotho, South Africa, and Jadelynn Powell, 5-8, a utility hitter, from Merino High School in Colorado.

 

Setter -- Cheyanne Ortiz, 5-11, Pueblo East High School Colo.

 

Defensive Specialist/libero Lilly Lemesany, 5-4, Haxtun, Colo. looks for time on the defensive side along with Paula Urizar, 5-4 libero, from Guatemala City,

Guatemala who attended North Central Texas Academy.

 

THE LADY INDIANS WILL OPEN the season with four weekend tournaments. Following the opening weekend in North Platte, MCC will play four games in the North Central Texas College Invitational Tournament in Gainesville, Texas on Aug. 28-29, followed by the MCC Labor Day Weekend Tournament Sept. 4-5 and the Amarillo College Tournament in Texas Sept. 11-12.

 

On Thursday, in the opening game in North Platte, MCC will play Seward County Community College (Liberal, Kan.) at 6 p.m. One of the assistant coaches for the Lady Saints is MCC grad and former Lady Indian volleyball player Jessie Jerome. On Friday MCC will play Laramie County Community College at 11 a.m. and Cloud County Community College at 4 p.m. and wrap up play Saturday at 10 a.m. against Colorado Northwest Community College.

 

After the four weekend tournaments to start the season all remaining games are against Region IX opponents with the league slate kicking off with road matches at Trinidad State, Otero College and North Platte before the first region home games Sept. 25 and 26 against Lamar and Southeast Community College.

 

In October the Tribe will play five home matches including an Oct. 2 match with defending Region IX champion Northeastern Junior College. Also on the home slate are Otero College (Thursday, Oct. 15,) Trinidad State on Oct. 17, Western Nebraska Oct. 20 and the final game against North Platte on Oct. 28.

“Now it just comes down to who meshes well together, and what line-up is the strongest together,” said Kobza.