State Tournament Predictions: Class D1

The state tournament field for class D1 might get a little interesting this year. The crazy thing about class D1 this year is the top 3 teams in the state right now are all in the same district. Johnson-Brock, Meridian and BDS are all in the same district due to predetermined subdistrict pairings. Johnson-Brock is for sure the favorite to win it all again and win their 3rd consecutive class D1 state title. Here’s a predictions of the 8 possible teams who could potentially be battling for the state title in November. This is NOT the official list of teams going to state, this is just a prediction of the teams who could potentially make it based on how they’re playing so far this season.   Johnson-Brock The two-time defending state champions have hopes for a 3rd consecutive state title this year. With their junior Husker commit Fallon Stutheit leading the charge, you have to believe the Eagles have what it takes to make it 3 straight. This veteran team of mainly upperclassman has been dominating all season. The Eagles only loss came from Lincoln Christian in class C1. Despite that loss they have been steamrolling through every other opponent this year.   Meridian The Mustangs made things interesting at districts last year. They upset Johnson-Brock in the district championship match, but Johnson-Brock came back strong and beat Meridian for the class D1 state championship after getting the wild card. Meridian’s only loss so far this season came from Johnson-Brock. Meridian might be the only team in class D1 that could stop Johnson-Brock from winning a 3rd straight state title. The two teams are in the same district so look for them to go head to head in the district final if Meridian can make it past BDS in subdistrict play.   Bruning-Davenport/Shickley BDS is another team that could potentially make it to state in class D1 this year. They’re unfortunately in the same sub district as Meridian, which means they would have to beat Meridian to win their sub district, then either upset Johnson-Brock or get a wild card to go to state. BDS has already lost to Meridian twice this year, but they have a chance to redeem themselves during subdistricts.   Blue Hill The Blue Hill Bobcats are trying to make it back-to-back state trips this year. Last year Blue Hill made it to state, but fell in 4 sets to Johnson-Brock in the first round of the state tournament. The Bobcats have what it takes to make it past the first round this season.   Clarkson/Leigh The Clarkson/Leigh volleyball team is 21-9 and are hoping for a berth in the class D1 state volleyball tournament this year. The Patriots moved into the top 5 of the ratings last week, and they’re hoping to continue their success on the court. This team should be the favorite to win their district this season and earn a spot in the class D1 state tournament.   Nebraska Lutheran The Nebraska Lutheran volleyball team is 18-7 and want to make the trip to Lincoln this year. The Knights haven’t played as many of the top ranked teams in D1 but they have what it takes to win a district title. They have Heartland in their sub district and Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family in the other sub district so their district as a whole should be fun to watch.   Elgin/Pope John This Wolfpack volleyball team wants to make back-to-back trips to Lincoln for state this year. They are 21-4 and hope to continue their success into the state tournament. Their first test to get their will come in sub district play. They have North Central in their sub district, so if they can beat them they have a high chance of winning the whole district. Last year this Wolfpack team fell to Meridian in 5 sets in the semifinals of the state tournament so they would love to make it back to state and redeem their loss from last season. Ansley-Litchfield Last year Ansley-Litchfield fell in 4 sets to Elgin/Pope John in the first round of the state tournament. The Spartans are 22-5 and want to make it back to state this year. Ansley-Litchfield has one of the hardest districts, and they might have to make it past Blue Hill to get to state this year. Last year both Ansley-Litchfield and Blue Hill made it to state, but this year that might be different. If both teams end up playing each other in the district final that might be one of the best district matches to watch.   Like I said before, this is NOT the official list of teams making it to state in November. This is just a list of teams who could potentially make it based on how they’ve been playing this season. The top 3 teams in the state are all in the same district, so we could potentially see both wild cards for D1 come out of that district. With that being said, we could see some surprise teams making it to state this year.