The No. 1-ranked Salt Lake Community College Bruins suffered a heartbreaking semifinal loss to the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars 19-30, 31-29, 21-30, 30-24 and 15-12 at the NJCAA National Volleyball Tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Friday. The Bruins have only endured two losses all year, and both came at the hands of the Cougars.

In the first game, the Bruins were up 15-12 before going on a 9-2 run to blow the game wide open. It was the opposite story in the second game, however, when SLCC blew an 18-10 lead en route to the 29-31 loss.

"We just destroyed them in the first game. We looked so fantastic and they didn't know what hit them," SLCC coach Shay Goulding said. "At the end of the second, we got tight and started only playing defense."

SLCC bounced right back in the third game, though, coasting to the nine-point win, but once again it was the reverse story in the very next game where the Cougars jumped out to an 11-4 lead and the Bruins could never get close enough to make much of a game out of it.

In the match-clinching fifth game, the teams were tied at 6-6 when the Cougars went on a 3-0 run from which the Bruins could never recover.

"We stopped swinging," Goulding said. "We were playing not to lose and they were playing to win. It was all momentum and mind games between these two teams because we're so well-matched."

Four Bruins had double-figure kills in the match, and as a team SLCC outscored WNCC in most of the major statistical categories, including 74 kills to 63 and 15 blocks to 10. In the most evenly matched category, WNCC had 90 digs to SLCC's 89.

"It was a battle. The unbelievable number of digs are a sign of how amazing the rallies were," Goulding said. "I'm extremely proud. I've never been more proud of a team. It's just unfortunate it was a loss."

Cinthia Silva led the Bruins with 24 kills and 15 digs. Samantha Richard added 12 kills and 19 digs, Talita Santos had 16 kills and five blocks, Tela Burnett added 10 kills, and Megan Metcalf tallied nine kills. Libero Morgan Lloyd had 25 digs, while setter Misa Hanakova controlled the tempo with 59 assists and also accrued 10 digs.

The Bruins (43-2) meet Frank Phillips College (42-2) tonight in the third-place match at 5 p.m. The Plainsmen were swept by their semifinal opponent, the Miami Dade Community College Sharks, 30-18, 30-22, 30-27.

"We've seen them a little bit. They're a great team and it's going to be a competitive game," Goulding said. "We want to make a last statement, though. We want to end on a winning note."

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