Monarchs Retain Allison Weston Championship

PAPILLION - A strong case can be made that Allison Weston is the greatest female high school athlete the state of Nebraska has ever seen. In the championship match of the invitational which bares her name on Saturday, Papillion-LaVista and Papillion-LaVista South put on a show worthy of the Weston name.

Papillion-LaVista retained the championship for the 2015 season with a 26-28, 25-14, 25-22 win over its cross-town rivals in a match that had a postseason atmosphere to it. Papillion-LaVista, 16-4 and ranked #3 in Class A, reached the championship with a 2-0 win over Millard West in the semifinals. Papillion-LaVista South, 18-3 and #4 in Class A, beat Lincoln Southwest 2-0 in its semifinal match.

Both teams battled evenly in the first set of the championship match, but the Monarchs broke a 20-20 tie with a pair of kills by Wayne State recruit Katie Stephens and two Titan errors to take a 24-20 lead. Papillion-LaVista South, however, was able to fight off four set points thanks to two kills from USC recruit Raegan LeGrand and two Monarch errors to even the score at 24-24.

Another kill from LeGrand gave the Titans a set point at 25-24, but Stephens answered with a kill and ace serve putting the Monarchs back on top 26-25 and giving them their fifth set point. A LeGrand kill sandwiched between a Monarch serving and hitting error, however, ended the first set in favor of the Titans at 28-26.

Instead of letting the disappointment carry over to the next set, Papillion-LaVista dominated play from start to finish in the second set and won 25-14 to force the decisive third set.

The third set was played evenly throughout with neither team taking a lead larger than three point until the Monarchs broke the 11th tie of the set by going on a 4-0 run to take a 22-18. Stephens had two kills during that run. A back-row kill from LeGrand and another kill from Taliyah Flores got the Titans within 22-20, but a kill from Sydney Fitzgibbons and a Titan error got the Monarchs to championship point at 24-20. Papillion-LaVista South was able to fight off a pair of those championship points, but the Monarchs took the third set 25-22 and retained the tournament title for another year.

Stephens finished the match with 13 kills to lead the Monarchs while Creighton recruit Steph Gaston and Fitzgibbons each had nine. Gaston also had 3 1/2 blocks and sophomore Ally Glaser finished with six blocks. Bailey Thompson had a team-high 20 digs and Dani Prusha finished with 38 assists.

For the Titans, LeGrand had a match-high 18 kills and Flores added 14 and 21 digs. Taylor Crandall finished the match with 37 assists.

In the third-place match, Millard West swept Lincoln Southwest 2-0.

Papillion-LaVista def. Papillion-LaVista South 26-28, 25-14, 25-22

Papillion-LaVista South (18-3) Ranked #4 in Class A

Jessica Hendrix - 2 kills, 1 ace, 1/2 block, 0 digs, 0 assists.
Mara LeGrand - 2 kills, 2 aces, 1/2 block, 8 digs, 0 assists.
Sidney Pecha - 0 kills, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 0 digs, 1 assist.
Raegan LeGrand - 18 kills, 0 aces, 1/2 block, 15 digs, 0 assists.
Michaela McClellen - 0 kills, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 2 digs, 0 assists.
Cassidy Renander - 1 kill, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 0 digs, 0 assists.
Taliyah Flores - 14 kills, 0 aces, 1 block, 21 digs, 0 assists.
Taylor Crandall - 0 kills, 0 aces, 1 1/2 blocks, 4 digs, 37 assists.
Leah Palenski - 0 kills, 1 ace, 0 blocks, 7 digs, 0 assists.
Sydney Morehouse - 1 kill, 0 aces, 1 block, 0 digs, 0 assists.

Team Totals - 38 kills, 4 aces, 5 blocks, 57 digs, 38 assists.

Papillion-LaVista (16-4) Ranked #3 in Class A

Steph Gaston - 9 kills, 0 aces, 3 1/2 blocks, 1 dig, 0 assists.
Autumn Wood - 4 kills, 2 aces, 1 block, 14 digs, 0 assists.
Katie Stephens - 13 kills, 1 ace, 1 block, 17 digs, 2 assists.
Ally Glasser - 6 kills, 0 aces, 6 blocks, 0 digs, 0 assists.
Bailey Thompson - 0 kills, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 20 digs, 0 assists.
Kenzie Michalek - 0 kills, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 12 digs, 0 assists.
Dani Prusha - 0 kills, 0 aces, 1 block, 9 digs, 38 assists.
Maddie Krajewski - 0 kills, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 13 digs, 0 assists.
Sydney Fitzgibbons - 9 kills, 0 aces, 1 1/2 blocks, 0 digs, 0 assists.

Team Totals - 41 kills, 3 aces, 14 blocks, 86 digs, 40 assists.