Class C-1 State Tournament Preview, Capsules
Always one of the most competitive brackets at the state tournament, Class C-1 competition gets underway with a match between Bishop Neumann and Chadron at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday at Lincoln North Star High School.
Here is a look at each of the eight teams competing.
The future appears to be now for Bishop Neumann. The Cavaliers come into the state tournament with a roster with just one senior and a load of talent which lost just nine matches despite playing one of the toughest schedules in all of Class C-1. Six of the nine Neumann losses this year came against teams in the state tournament, but at the same time the Cavaliers won three matches against state qualifiers Omaha Gross, Grand Island Central Catholic and Hastings St. Cecilia. Something will have to give when Bishop Neumann takes on Chadron in the first round on Thursday as the Cavaliers have not won a match at state in six previous trips and Chadron has not won a match at state since 1996.
Chadron is making its fourth-straight trip to the state tournament, but the Cardinals have lost in the first round in each of the last three years – getting swept all three times. In the past, the knock on Chadron has been a less-than-impressive schedule, and while the Cardinals’ schedule was stronger this year, Chadron was not able to get a win over a Nebraska team which finished the year as a Tier 1 team by NSAA wildcard point standards (a winning percentage of .750 or greater). However, that does not quite tell the whole story on Chadron – which returns its entire roster from last year’s state-tournament team. Since Sept. 24, Chadron has gone 24-1 with that only loss coming to Ogallala. In the other 23 matches, Chadron dropped just three sets. The Cardinals also swept a red-hot Gothenburg team – which beat Ogallala earlier in the postseason – in the district final. And, in a loss to Kearney Catholic in mid-September, the Cardinals did take a set from the high-powered Stars.
Ord’s first step towards playing for a state title might be its most difficult. In facing #6 seed Grand Island Central Catholic, the Chants have to play the only team to come into Ord and win on their home court this season, which the Crusaders did on Sept. 19. Ord, however, is the only team to have defeated Kearney Catholic this season after the two teams split a pair of matches. The Chants’ only other loss was a 3-1 setback against Class B title contender Grand Island Northwest. In the rally scoring era, Ord has been to state three times, having reached the championship match twice – including the 2007 season when it won the C-1 title.
It seems almost impossible to believe that Grand Island Central Catholic – one of the most successful volleyball programs in the state – is looking for its first win at state since the 2011 season when it finished in third place. This will be the Crusaders’ 29th trip to the state tournament in school history. In going 26-6 on the season, Grand Island Central Catholic went 3-3 in its six matches against other state-tournament teams, including a 2-1 win over Ord on Sept. 19. That win stands out as the signature win for the team this year, but lately the Crusaders have been either hot or cold. In its past 12 matches, the Crusaders have gone 10-2, either winning in straight sets or losing in straight sets.
Kearney Catholic is in the midst of something so special that it could put itself in very rare territory this weekend. The Stars are playing in the state tournament for the 11th straight year – the longest active streak in Nebraska and the eighth-longest streak in state history. If Kearney Catholic can win the Class C-1 state title – which it is favored to do – it would become one of just seven teams to ever win four straight state titles or more in state history. And, the Stars have played in five straight state championship matches. If Kearney Catholic makes it to the finals again this year – for the sixth straight year – it would tie the second-longest such streak in state history.
Ashland-Greenwood has been given the task of trying to unseat the three-time state champions in the first round and the Bluejays will have their hands full with that job. Ashland-Greenwood entered postseason play with a 14-14 record and having gone just 3-5 in its final eight matches of the regular season but was able to put it all together at the right time with wins over Syracuse, Lousiville and Auburn to reach state. Ashland-Greenwood faced just two teams all year that qualified for state, falling on opening night to Bishop Neumann 3-0 and also taking a 2-0 loss to Class B state qualifier Omaha Gross on Oct. 3. The Bluejays went 0-5 on the year against Tier 1 opponents (teams with a .750 winning percentage or higher).
Ogallala seemed to be cruising right along this year until the Indians ran into Gothenburg in the subdistrict finals and dropped a 3-1 decision to the Swedes. The Indians’ only losses in December came to Class B power Grand Island Northwest and Class A #2 North Platte. The good news for Ogallala is that it had a strong enough season against a quality schedule to earn a wildcard berth, but the bad news is that the Indians face fellow traditional power Columbus Scotus in the first round for the right to try and knock off Kearney Catholic in the semifinals. Three of Ogallala’s losses this year came to North Platte, while the Indians lost to Gothenburg twice and to Grand Island Northwest and Kearney Catholic once.
Columbus Scotus might be the best #5 seed in the tournament this year and its first-round match against Ogallala has the potential to be one of the best on Thursday. The Shamrocks opened the season with a loss at home to Omaha Concordia in which the Shamrocks had to play without a large chunk of its regular starters, but Scotus bounced back to win nine straight to get its season off to a fast start. The Shamrocks own four wins this year over teams at the state tournament, while its five losses after the Concordia contest all came against state-tournament teams in Grand Island Northwest, Omaha Skutt (twice), Kearney Catholic and Hastings St. Cecilia. Scotus is making its 30th appearance at the state tournament, which is tied with Omaha Marian and Papillion-LaVista for the most in school history.
Ogallala Indians
Record: 25-7
Strength of Schedule in C-1: 9th out of 55 schools
Head Coach: Steve Morgan
Seed: 4
NPV Ranking: 3
Conference: Southwest
Trips to State: Making 29th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 3
Record at State: 30-26
Team Kill Leader: Kacey Jaeger, 5-foot-10, jr., MH – 304
Team Block Leader: Kaitlin Cipperley, 6-foot-3, jr., MH – 68
Team Dig Leader: Katie Ellard, 5-foot-6, jr., libero – 355
Team Assist Leader: Alexandria Simmerman, 5-foot-5, sr., setter – 435
Grand Island Central Catholic Crusaders
Record: 26-6
Strength of Schedule in C-1: 8th out of 55 schools
Head Coach: Sharon Zavala
Seed: 6
NPV Ranking: 5
Conference: Centennial
Trips to State: Making 29th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 9
Record at State: 51-19
Team Kill Leader: Megan Woods, 5-foot-10, fresh., OH – 293
Team Block Leader: Emily Herbek, 5-foot-8, sr., MH – 35
Team Dig Leader: Sara Goering, 5-foot-7, sr., OH – 395
Team Assist Leader: Laura Lowry, 5-foot-9, sr., setter – 793
Bishop Neumann Cavaliers
Record: 20-9
Strength of Schedule in C-1: 4th out of 55 schools
Head Coach: Michelle Moser
Seed: 7
NPV Ranking: 10
Conference: Centennial
Trips to State: Making 7th appearance
Last Time at State: 2007
State Titles: 0
Record at State: 0-6
Team Kill Leader: Kelsie Cada, 6-foot-1, fresh., OH – 273
Team Block Leader: Caitlin Makovicka, 5-foot-10, jr., MH – 119
Team Dig Leader: Aspen Jansa, 5-foot-7, soph., MH – 324
Team Assist Leader: Jessina Rada, 5-foot-8, soph., setter/RS – 447
Ord Chanticleers
Record: 29-3
Strength of Schedule in C-1: 10th out of 55 schools
Head Coach: Wendy Alexander
Seed: 3
NPV Ranking: 2
Conference: LouPlatte
Trips to State: Making 9th appearance
Last Time at State: 2013
State Titles: 1
Record at State: 7-7
Team Kill Leader: Andrea Carson, 5-foot-8, jr., RS – 289
Team Block Leader: Cora Svoboda, 6-foot, jr., MB – 39
Team Dig Leader: Jordan Kuck, 5-foot-4, sr., libero – 389
Team Assist Leader: Morgan Alexander, 5-foot-6, sr., setter – 943
Kearney Catholic Stars
Record: 31-2
Strength of Schedule in C-1: 1st out of 55 schools
Head Coach: Kris Conner
Seed: 1
NPV Ranking: 1
Conference: LouPlatte
Trips to State: Making 17th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 3
Record at State: 21-13
Team Kill Leader: Anna Squires, 5-foot-11, jr., MH/setter – 250
Team Block Leader: Squires – 95
Team Dig Leader: Michelle Messbarger, 5-foot-5, sr., libero – 559
Team Assist Leader: Madison Squires, 5-foot-8, sr., setter/RS – 426
Ashland-Greenwood Bluejays
Record: 17-14
Strength of Schedule in C-1: 32nd out of 55 schools
Head Coach: Megan Rossell
Seed: 8
NPV Ranking: Not ranked
Conference: Capitol
Trips to State: Making 5th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 0
Record at State: 0-4
Team Kill Leader: Jessica Klaudt, 5-foot-11, sr., MH – 161
Team Block Leader: Klaudt – 37
Team Dig Leader: Madeleine Washburn, 5-foot-1, jr., libero – 326
Team Assist Leader: Kelsey marr, 5-foot-3, jr., setter – 391
Chadron Cardinals
Record: 32-4
Strength of Schedule in C-1: 22nd out of 55 schools
Head Coach: Don Matt
Seed: 2
NPV Ranking: 7
Conference: Western
Trips to State: Making 7th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 0
Record at State: 1-6
Team Kill Leader: Jadyn McCartney, 6-foot, jr., OH – 456
Team Block Leader: Chandler Hageman, 5-foot-9, sr., MH – 96
Team Dig Leader: Alexandria Nobiling, 5-foot-9, jr., OH – 355
Team Assist Leader: Jayden Garrett, 5-foot-6, sr., setter – 638
Columbus Scotus Shamrocks
Record: 24-6
Strength of Schedule in C-1: 3rd out of 55 schools
Head Coach: Joe Held
Seed: 5
NPV Ranking: 4
Conference: Centennial
Trips to State: Making 30th appearance
Last Time at State: 2014
State Titles: 15
Record at State: 65-15
Team Kill Leader: Maeghan Pieper, 5-foot-11, sr., MH – 308
Team Block Leader: Jessica Buhman, 6-foot, jr., MH – 39
Team Dig Leader: Courtney Labenz, 5-foot-4, sr., libero – 420
Team Assist Leader: Morgan Thorson, 5-foot-6, sr., setter – 792