COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL: OC ready for second half of WJCAC play

Now that the Odessa College volleyball team has faced everybody in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference, the Lady Wranglers know how to adjust as they prepare for the second half of conference play.

They’ll begin the second round with a 2 p.m. game against Western Texas College Saturday at the OC Sports Center.

Odessa College finished up the first half of WJCAC play with a five-set victory against rivals Midland College Wednesday at the Chaparral Center in Midland.

The Lady Wranglers currently sit at 18-6 overall, 6-1 in conference and in second place in the WJCAC standings.

Sitting in first by one victory is New Mexico Military Institute at 21-2, 7-0.

The Lady Broncos defeated the Lady Wranglers in five sets back on Sept. 21 in Roswell, N.M.

Odessa College head coach Dayana Acevedo-Rios knows how difficult this conference is and that anything can happen in the final three weeks of the regular season.

“I feel like it’s anyone’s game at any point,” Acevedo-Rios said. “I’ve always said it and I’ll say it again. This conference is very tough. I think in this conference, the coaches do a great job of recruiting great athletes and coaching their teams. It’s one of those things where you have to take it one game at a time and take care of business. You can’t take days off.”

New Mexico Junior College (14-9, 4-3) and Amarillo College (11-12, 4-3) are both tied for third.

The Lady Wranglers may be coming off a solid start to conference play but Acevedo-Rios is well-aware of what happened last year.

In 2023, Odessa College also began WJCAC play with a 6-1 record.

However, things started to fall apart for the Lady Wranglers in the second half as they dropped three of their next seven games.

In the end, Odessa College still managed to qualify for the NJCAA tournament but Acevedo-Rios would rather her team stay in contention for a WJCAC title and make things easier when getting into the national tournament.

“It’s always a thought,” she said about last year’s conference schedule. “I think that’s what’s so tough about volleyball. It’s always a mental game. I think it showed today. With the girls today, we’ve been winning a lot of games in straight sets. But I feel like they’ve been a little too confident. I think that’s the most dangerous part of volleyball in this conference. You can’t get too comfortable with any team. We have to regroup and prepare for the next opponent.”

The Lady Wranglers won in straight sets against Western Texas College in their last meeting.

Western Texas College has struggled this season as the team sits tied for last in the conference with Clarendon College at 9-15, 1-6.

However, Acevedo-Rios knows Western Texas College still has a good defensive team.

“I think they’re pretty good,” Acevedo-Rios said. “They’re pretty solid. They have a great defense. Their coach does a great job of bringing them together. They’re a completely different team. For us, we’re pretty offensive and they’re pretty defensive. I think it’s going to be a good matchup. We’ve all studied each other and it’s going to be a matter of who can adjust to the other team.”