OMAHA – Most teams shy away from talk of an undefeated season, but not the 2014 Papillion-LaVista volleyball team.
The top-ranked Monarchs took a 25-11, 25-12 win over #20 Lincoln Pius X and then defeated #3 Omaha Marian 25-21, 25-15 in a triangular hosted by the Crusaders to improve to 26-0 on the season. In the evening’s other match, Marian defeated Pius X 25-9, 25-20. Marian’s record now stands at 21-5. Pius X falls to 14-15.
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Following the win over Marian, Papillion-LaVista coach Kristen Lebeda-Svehla said her team is open about its aspirations to run the table this year.
“They want to go undefeated. That’s their goal,” Lebeda-Svehla said. “It puts a lot of pressure on them, but that’s what they want.”
It’s one thing to want to go undefeated; it’s a whole other thing to actually accomplish it. In fact, only three teams in the history of Class A volleyball have won the state championship with a undefeated record. Papillion-LaVista South did it in 2010 and 2011 and Omaha Marian did it in 1972.
“These kids aren’t satisfied yet. They are hungry – very, very hungry,” Lebeda-Svehla said. “It can be a challenge to coach them, because they do have a business-like attitude and don’t show a whole lot of emotion. But, I do like that about them.”
The Monarchs took a very business-like approach it its 25-11, 25-12 win over Lincoln Pius X and then carried it over into the match against Marian.
The Crusaders did get out to an early 5-2 lead in the first set on the strength of a pair of Sophia Terwilleger kills. However, a kill by Papillion-LaVista freshman Sydney Fitzgibbons and a block by Katie Stephens put the Monarchs up 7-5. From that point on, the only deficit Papillion-LaVista would have the rest of the night would be 2-1 early in the second set.
Omaha Marian coach Rochelle Rohlfs credited Papillion-LaVista for playing a fairly error-free match. The Crusaders scored just six points off Monarch errors on the night. Conversely, errors by Marian led to 18 points for Papillion-LaVista in the match.
“Of all the teams I’ve seen, they are the lowest error team,” Rohlfs said. “That’s why they are winning games.”
A handful of times in the first set, Marian made pushes to get back into the set, and got as close as 22-19 following a Kate Belford kill and an ace serve from Brittany Witt. A Priscilla O’Dowd block, for Papillion-LaVista, however, stopped the brief rally and helped send the Monarchs on to a 25-21 victory in the first set.
O’Dowd helped the Monarchs get off to a fast start in the second set with three kills and an ace serve to help build a 6-3 lead. The turning point in the set came, though, a little later when Marian’s Kelsey O’Connell appeared to get a kill to pull the Crusaders within 10-8.
After a brief discussion at the scorer’s table, however, Marian was called for a rotation error, which instead gave Papillion-LaVista an 11-7 lead. That started an 8-2 run for the Monarchs, and Papillion-LaVista’s lead stood at 18-9 after an Elena Melendez ace serve.
A rematch between the two teams could take place this weekend at the Omaha Westside Invitational. That tournament, a match at 8-15 Millard North and the Metro Conference Tournament is all that remains on the Monarchs’ scheduled before postseason play begins.
#1 Papillion-LaVista def. #3 Omaha Marian 25-21, 25-15.
Papillion-LaVista (Kills-Ace Serves-Blocks)
Priscilla O’Dowd 7-1-2, Sydney Fitzgibbons 2-0-0, Katie Stephens 6-02, Steph Gaston 2-0-1, Elena Melendez 7-2-1.
Omaha Marian (Kills-Ace Serves-Blocks)
Elise Duryea 2-0-2, Sophia Terwilleger 9-0-1, Hannah Mueller 8-0-0, Kelsey O’Connell 4-0-1, Brittany Witt 0-1-0, Kate Belford 1-0-0, Elizabeth Loschen 1-0-0, Lauren Gamm 1-0-0.
Assists: Papillion-LaVista 22 (Jess Peters 20, Stephens 1, Melendez 1). Omaha Marian 25 (Maren McGuire 18, Lily Heim 5, Witt 2).
