Class B State Tournament Preview, Capsules
You can pretty much sum up the feelings enter the Class B state tournament with a five-word question. Can anyone beat Omaha Skutt?
It’s a fair question considering the way the Skyhawks have played in 2015. The only Class B team to hang a loss on the 37-2 Skyhawks was Gretna on Oct. 3 in a match where Skutt was without it’s all-state setter Alli Schomers. Otherwise, only Class A #1 Omaha Marian has been able to walk away a winner against Skutt.
Of course, we were pretty much asking the same question in Class B last year as the Skyhawks came into the state tournament on an absolute tear and without a loss to a single Class B foe before Norris upset Skutt in the state finals. That loss has clearly served as motivation all year. Whether or not it sees the Skyhawks all the way through the season will be determined this weekend.
The Class B state tournament gets underway with a 1:30 p.m. match on Thursday between Grand Island Northwest and Omaha Gross at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Here is a look at the eight teams battling for the title.
Last year was the first year since 2006 that Grand Island Northwest was not playing on the final day of the season after the Vikings were upset in a five-set thriller against Elkhorn in the quarterfinals. Much like Omaha Skutt, the Lady Vikings have played all year like a team motivated by how last season ended. Northwest has not lost a match since a 2-1 defeat against Skutt on Sept. 26. The Lady Vikings’ only other loss came two weeks earlier at Class A #2 North Platte. Northwest enters the state tournament on a 21-match winning streak, dropping just three sets in those matches.
Perhaps no team in the state was happier to turn the calendar from October to November than Omaha Gross. The Courgars went 12-8 in October and seemed to bottom out in the River Cities Conference tournament with a 2-0 loss to 9-22 Omaha Mercy on Oct. 31. The new month, however, breathed new life into Gross, which has not won a match at state since winning the Class B state title in 2010. For the Courgars to snap that streak against Grand Island Northwest, they will need to improve on their 1-5 record this year against teams in the Class B tournament field.
Elkhorn enters the state tournament looking to find a consistent level of play that it hasn’t seemed to be able to get since the end of September. The Antlers also will need to try and find it without the services of its most athletic and explosive outside hitter Lauren Edet in the state tournament. The Antlers started the year 14-3 with wins over Omaha Gross, Elkhorn South and Omaha Duchesne, but have gone just 10-6 since and have not been able to win three consecutive matches in that stretch. After scoring those three big wins early in the year, the Antlers are now 3-6 against other Class B tournament teams, including a 3-1 loss to Gretna on Oct. 26.
After winning its first 26 matches of the year, Gretna was defeated in five sets by Elkhorn South in the Eastern Midland Conference championship. That, along with a 3-0 loss to Omaha Skutt in the district finals on Nov. 3, are the only blemishes on Gretna’s resume this year. Gretna is the only Class B team to beat Skutt this year and is one of the few teams that has the firepower to match Skutt. In its 33 victories this year the Dragons surrendered a set just four times and have posted a 5-2 record against the other Class B contenders.
Trying to summarize the kind of season Skutt has had in just one paragraph won’t be easy but we’ll give it a shot anyways. The Skyhawks lost Schomers with an ankle injury during the Skyhawk Invitational and she was not available in the championship match, which was a 2-0 loss to Gretna on Oct. 3. Since then, Skutt has gone 13-0 and dropped just one set. Those 13 wins didn’t come against low-level competition, either, as the Skyhawks went 7-0 in matches against fellow Class B state tournament teams and also included a sweep of Class C-1 state tournament team Columbus Scotus. For the season, Skutt went 8-1 against Class B state tournament teams, 3-1 against Class A state tournament teams and 2-0 against Class C-1 state tournament teams.
Omaha Duchesne had a little bit of a shaky start to the season going 6-6, but have gone 17-5 the rest of the way and reached the state tournament for the second time in school history with a 3-2 win over Platteview. The signature wins for the Cardinals came in late September when they got a 2-1 win over two-time defending Class B champions Norris in the Lincoln Pius X Invitational and then when they beat Omaha Gross 2-0 in a triangular match three days later. The Cardinals have lost just three matches since Sept. 26, going 13-3 in that stretch with the only losses coming to Omaha Skutt – twice – and Omaha Concordia.
If there is a team that can prevent Omaha Skutt from getting to the championship on Saturday, it’s probably Elkhorn South. The Storm feature a roster with three Division I recruits and have six players at 5-foot-10 or taller to try and control the net. Don’t let the 10 losses fool you for Elkhorn South as the Storm faced the most difficult schedule among all Class B teams and had to play without all-state middle Kelsey Green for an extended time with an ankle injury. Elkhorn South played a staggering 17 matches against teams that will be playing at state, going 7-10 in those contests. Elkhorn South has made the state tournament in each of the last four years, and the Storm have played on Saturday in the odd numbered years and lost in the first round in the even numbered years.
Aurora has to be happy its not playing Grand Island Northwest in the first round because the Lady Vikings have handed Aurora four of its six losses on the year. It seems almost impossible but Elkhorn South and Aurora never met during the season. The Huskies have been knocked out of the state tournament in the first round by identical 3-1 scores in each of the last two years and is looking for its first win at state since 2008. Aurora is 3-5 against the other Class B teams in the state tournament. The Huskies come into the state tournament having won 18 of their last 21 matches.
Elkhorn Antlers
Record: 21-7
Strength of Schedule in B: 3rd out of 32 schools
Head Coach: Suzie Antoniak
Seed: 6
NPV Ranking: 7
Conference: Eastern Midlands
Trips to State: Making 20th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 2
Record at State: 18-17
Team Kill Leader: Danielle Carlson, 6-foot, sr., MH/setter – 157
Team Block Leader: Carlson – 37
Team Dig Leader: Grace Nelson, 5-foot-8, jr., libero – 196
Team Assist Leader: Anna Gottsch, 5-foot-9, sr., setter – 337
Omaha Duchesne Academy Cardinals
Record: 23-11
Strength of Schedule in B: 17th out of 32 schools
Head Coach: Andrew Wehrli
Seed: 8
NPV Ranking: 8
Conference: River Cities
Trips to State: Making 2nd appearance
Last Time at State: 2009
State Titles: 0
Record at State: 0-1
Team Kill Leader: Julianna Kalil, 5-foot-9, soph., OH – 402
Team Block Leader: Alissa Milota, 5-foot-10, jr., MB & Jackie Petersen, 6-foot-1, sr., MB – 77
Team Dig Leader: Ellie Lammers, 5-foot-7, soph., DS – 378
Team Assist Leader: Caitlin Kelley, 5-foot-6, sr., setter – 579
Omaha Gross Cougars
Record: 26-12
Strength of Schedule in B: 7th out of 32 schools
Head Coach: Yvonne Carson
Seed: 7
NPV Ranking: Not ranked
Conference: River Cities
Trips to State: Making 26th appearance
Last Time at State: 2012
State Titles: 4
Record at State: 25-21
Team Kill Leader: Kelsey Beaudin, 5-foot-8, sr., OH – 399
Team Block Leader: Brittney Vomacka, 5-foot-11, sr., MH – 99
Team Dig Leader: Madison Cunningham, 5-foot-4, sr., DS – 499
Team Assist Leader: Brittany Fleming, 5-foot-10, sr., MH/setter – 574
Grand Island Northwest
Record: 32-2
Strength of Schedule in B: 8th out of 32 schools
Head Coach: Diane Rouzee
Seed: 2
NPV Ranking: 3
Conference: Eastern Central West
Trips to State: Making 24th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 3
Record at State: 26-21
Team Kill Leader: Kylie Broich, 5-foot-6, jr., setter/RS – 209
Team Block Leader: Kelsey Placke, 5-foot-11, jr., MH – 73
Team Dig Leader: Kayla Bachle, 5-foot-6, sr., libero – 474
Team Assist Leader: Bailey Parr, 5-foot-5, sr., setter – 373
Gretna Dragons
Record: 33-2
Strength of Schedule in B: 14th out of 32 schools
Head Coach: Mike Brandon
Seed: 3
NPV Ranking: 1
Conference: Eastern Midlands
Trips to State: Making 9th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 0
Record at State: 3-8
Team Kill Leader: Halie McArdle, 5-foot-9, sr., OH – 432
Team Block Leader: Jaiden Sila, 6-foot, jr., MH – 31
Team Dig Leader: Amanda Young, 5-foot-8, sr., libero – 565
Team Assist Leader: Cameron Scott, 5-foot-5, jr., setter – 1,090
Elkhorn South Storm
Record: 25-10
Strength of Schedule in B: 1st out of 32 schools
Head Coach: Briana Ritter
Seed: 5
NPV Ranking: 4
Conference: Eastern Midlands
Trips to State: Making 5th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 0
Record at State: 3-5
Team Kill Leader: Sarah Swanson, 6-foot-1, jr., MH – 474
Team Block Leader: Swanson – 42
Team Dig Leader: Jaden Thiem, 5-foot-5, sr., libero – 598
Team Assist Leader: Josie Givens, 5-foot-4, sr., setter – 1,050
Aurora Huskies
Record: 29-6
Strength of Schedule in B: 6th out of 32 schools
Head Coach: Lois Hixson
Seed: 4
NPV Ranking: 5
Conference: Central West
Trips to State: Making 16th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 1
Record at State: 13-15
Team Kill Leader: Kiley Hixson, 6-foot, sr., OH – 447
Team Block Leader: Jasa Scheierman, 6-foot, jr., MH – 69
Team Dig Leader: Adyson Narber, 5-foot-4, jr., libero – 505
Team Assist Leader: Keri Oswald, 5-foot-8, jr., setter – 888
Omaha Skutt Skyhawks
Record: 37-2
Strength of Schedule in B: 2nd out of 32 schools
Head Coach: Renee Saunders
Seed: 1
NPV Ranking: 2
Conference: River Cities
Trips to State: Making 10th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 0
Record at State: 6-10
Team Kill Leader: Brooke Heyne, 5-foot-10, jr., OH – 347
Team Block Leader: McKenna Kirkpatrick, 6-foot-1, jr., MH – 68
Team Dig Leader: Brooke Swain, 5-foot-8, sr., libero – 518
Team Assist Leader: Alli Schomers, 5-foot-10, jr., setter – 1,014