Antlers Take Home Title With Win Over Elkhorn South
CLICK HERE FOR MATCH HIGHLIGHTS & PLAYER/COACH INTERVIEWS
LINCOLN – Elkhorn took home the Lincoln Pius X Invitational championship on Saturday, and the Antlers managed to make a mess of the Class B rankings in the process.
Elkhorn, ranked #7 in Class B, went a perfect 4-0 on the day, including a gutsy 25-20, 17-25, 28-26 win over Class B #1 Elkhorn South in the championship. The tournament also featured #3 Norris (which finished third) and #5 Lincoln Pius X (which finished fifth).
ADVERTISEMENT
The Antlers (13-4) reached the championship by defeating Blair, Omaha Duchesne and Omaha Mercy in pool play while Elkhorn South (10-5) defeated Norris and Pius X in pool play to reach the final.
Elkhorn came out on fire in the championship match, racing out to a 9-2 lead on a kill by freshman outside hitter Lauren Edet. The Storm, which defeated Elkhorn 3-1 just 11 days ago, slowly chipped away at the lead and fought off four set-points before the Antlers took the opening game 25-20.
The second set was all Elkhorn South as the Storm scored the first seven points of the game. Elkhorn did get back within 10-9 after four straight service aces from sophomore Claire Mountjoy, but the Storm went on a 7-1 run to pull ahead and led comfortably the rest of the way.
Neither team was able to go on much of a run in the third set as the two teams went back-and-forth most of the way. Elkhorn South was able to get out to a 22-19 lead on a Sophie Auch Moedy kill, but Elkhorn responded with a 5-1 run to get to match point following an ace serve from Abby Sufficool.
A kill by Leslie Booth tied it at 24-24 for Elkhorn South and a kill by Kelsey Green gave the Storm a match point of its own at 25-24. Allie Hotovy responded with a kill to tie the match for Elkhorn and Ashlyn Dau’s ace serve gave the Antlers another match point at 26-25.
Kelsey Green again kept Elkhorn South alive with a kill to tie it at 26-26, but Elkhorn’s Mountjoy and junior outside hitter Nicole Skovsende’s back-to-back kills gave the match to the Antlers.
Mountjoy led a balanced offensive attack for Elkhorn with eight kills while Skovsende added seven. Green led the Storm with 13 kills and Sarah Swanson had four blocks as she played for the first time this season on Saturday after missing the first three-plus weeks with a back injury.
In the third-place match, Norris struggled putting Omaha Duchesne away in the first set but prevailed for a 25-22, 25-14 victory. Just an hour before the match, the Titans had their 17-match winning streak halted by Elkhorn South in pool play, and Duchesne looked like they could replicated the Storm’s accomplishment early on.
An ace block by Duchesne’s Madison Briggs got the Cardinals within 22-21 of the defending Class B champions in the first set, but kills by Kylie Hohlen and Maddy Bruder helped Norris to a 25-22 win in the opening game.
The second set was tied at 4-4 on an ace block by Duchesne’s Sam Draper, but Norris rattled off 11 straight points, with Furman recruit Hohlen having four kills in that stretch, to take control of the match.
Hohlen had 14 kills to lead Norris while Briggs had a team-high six for Duchesne.
#20 Elkhorn def. #9 Elkhorn South 25-20, 17-25, 28-26.
Elkhorn (kills-ace serves-blocks)
Claire Mountjoy 8-4-0, Dani Carlson 3-0-2, Abby Sufficool 0-6-0, Allie Hotovy 1-0-3, Lauren Edet 2-0-0, Nicole Skovsende 7-0-1, Ashlyn Dau 2-3-0, Maggie Lamski 1-0-0.
Elkhorn South (kills-ace serves-blocks)
Ali Clark 9-0-1, Ashley Knight 1-2-1, Leslie Booth 4-0-1, Kelsey Green 13-0-1, Sophie Auch Moedy 8-1-0, Riley Newton 0-3-0, Sarah Swanson 5-0-4.
Assists: Elkhorn 20 (Carlson 19, Skovsende 1). Elkhorn South 37 (Knight 35, Green 1, Jaden Thiem 1).
#12 Norris def. Omaha Duchesne 25-22, 25-14.
Norris (kills-ace serves-blocks)
Payton Ruhl 2-3-1, Hannah Bellinghausen 4-0-0, Maddy Bruder 5-0-1, Kylie Hohlen 14-0-0, Allysa Catt 1-0-1, Reagan TeKolste 1-0-1, Jordyn Clauss 0-1-0.
Omaha Duchesne (kills-ace serves-blocks)
Madison Briggs 6-0-1, Sam Draper 1-0-2, Julianna Kalil 5-0-0, Alissa Milota 0-0-1.
Assists: Norris 23 (Ruhl 23). Omaha Duchesne 11 (Kelly Worthington 7, Caitlin Kelley 3, Emily Foje 1).