With the start of the state tournament just over two weeks away – and postseason play beginning next Monday, here is our “bracketology” for the NSAA girls volleyball championships.
Schools are shown with their projected NSAA seeding – not their actual rank according to NPV. Projections are based on our expected outcomes for the remainder of the season, wild-card point implications and district competitions. We will update our bracketology again next Monday before the start of district play.
Class A
#1 Papillion-LaVista vs. #8 Lincoln Southwest (wild card)
#4 North Platte vs. #5 Millard West
#3 Omaha Marian vs. #6 Papillion-LaVista South
#2 Lincoln Southeast vs. #7 Lincoln North Star
First four out: Lincoln East, Millard South, Grand Island, Fremont.
Notes: Losses to Fremont and Elkhorn last week dealt a big blow to Lincoln East. It took the Spartans from hosting a district to having to go on the road.
Class B
(we are projecting the substate pairings with the winners of each
of these matches advancing to a re-seeded state tournament)
* – indicates a district champion
#16 Waverly* at #1 Omaha Skutt*
#15 Omaha Roncalli* at #2 Aurora*
#14 Hastings* at #3 Grand Island Northwest
#13 Omaha Mercy at #4 Elkhorn South
#12 Platteview at #5 Elkhorn
#11 Gering* at #6 Gretna
#10 Alliance at #7 Norris*
#9 Omaha Gross* at #8 Lincoln Pius X
First four out: Omaha Duchesne, Holdrege, Ralston, Scottsbluff.
Notes: The biggest thing to watch is going to be how things play out between Pius X and Gross for the final home sub state match. Those two teams are pretty much locked in for the #8 vs. #9 match. The Thunderbolts play several Class A teams, so how things play out in the Heartland and Metro Conference tournaments today and tomorrow may impact who hosts that contest. A Pius X win over Grand Island Northwest tonight would go a long ways in the Thunderbolts locking in a home match with just the opposite being true with a loss.
Class C-1
#1 Kearney Catholic vs. #8 Falls City
#4 Chadron (wild card) vs. #5 Stanton
#3 Ogallala vs. #6 North Bend (wild card)
#2 Omaha Concordia vs. #7 Wahoo
First four out: Columbus Scotus, Ord, Chase County, St. Paul.
Notes: If Columbus Scotus can find a way to knock off Omaha Skutt tonight it would put the Shamrocks in a much stronger wild card position. Competition for the Class C1-4 district title will be a blood bath between the likes of Scotus, North Bend, Columbus Lakeview, Pierce and Stanton.
Class C-2
#1 Freeman vs. #8 Southern Valley
#4 Guardian Angels CC vs. #5 Centura (wild card)
#3 Hastings St. Cecilia vs. #6 Elmwood-Murdock (wild card)
#2 Crofton vs. #7 David City Aquinas
First four out: Elgin-Pope John, Nebraska Christian, Superior, Sutton.
Notes: Both Yutan and Elmwood-Murdock have their path to a district championship blocked by Freeman, so tonight’s match between the two of them – with the winner getting a huge 50 point boost – will have huge state tournament implications.
Class D-1
#1 St. Mary’s vs. #8 Maxwell
#4 Axtell vs. #5 Cedar Bluffs
#3 Emerson-Hubbard vs. #6 Diller-Odell
#2 Ansley-Litchfield (wild card) vs. #7 Howells-Dodge (wild card)
First four out: Brady, Friend, Creighton, Nebraska City Lourdes CC.
Notes: Howells-Dodge has put itself in great position for a trip to state with its recent play. The Jaguars are looking at a first-round subdistrict match against Mead and potential subdistrict final against Cedar Bluffs.
Class D-2
#1 Stuart vs. #8 Leyton
#4 Hampton (wild card) vs. #5 Exeter-Milligan
#3 Meridian (wild card) vs. #6 Wauneta-Palisade
#2 Giltner vs. #7 Bertrand
First four out: Johnson-Brock, Crawford, Heartland Lutheran, Wynot.
Notes: Want to know just how strong the Class D2-2 subdistrict is? Consider that Hampton and Exeter-Milligan will likely meet in a first round game in the subdistrict and then, we project, face each other again in the first round of state.
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