State Tournament Recap: Championship Saturday

LINCOLN – Wahoo and Superior each won state volleyball championships for the first time in school history while Skutt Catholic and Johnson-Brock won their third straight titles and traditional powers Omaha Marian and Exeter-Milligan brought home another title for their schools on Saturday.

In Class A, Emily Bressman had a career night for Marian, drilling 29 kills while hitting .400 and added 16 digs as the Crusaders won their fourth Class A title in five years with a 24-26, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 victory over Millard North. Hailey Zuroske added 11 kills on .429 hitting while Lily Heim had two kills, 51 assists and nine digs for the Crusaders and Maggie Mullen had 13 digs.

For Millard North, McKenna Ruch hit .500 and finished with 15 kills, followed by Eve Fountain with 13 kills and eight digs. Paige Holdsworth added 11 kills for the Mustangs and Izzy Lukens had three kills, 48 assists and nine digs.

Lindsay Krause had 18 kills on .483 hitting to lead Skutt Catholic to its third straight Class B title with a 25-22, 25-15, 20-25, 25-19 win over Omaha Duchesne. Megan Skovsende had 13 kills and 10 digs while Lily Heyne had 14 kills. Delaney Saucier finished the match with 50 assists and 13 digs.

Julianna Kalil had 13 kills and 20 digs for the Cardinals while Caroline Ortman had 11 kills and 13 blocks and Emma Worthington had nine kills, 27 assists as 12 digs. Elle Lammers aided Duchesne with 12 digs.

Wahoo won its first volleyball state title with a 28-26, 25-23, 25-15 win over Grand Island Central Catholic. Elly Larson had 18 kills and nine digs for the Warriors while Kyla Swanson finished with 15 kills and two blocks. Madilyn Larson had 10 kills and 13 digs and Kinsley Tingelhoff had 48 assists and seven digs.

For Grand Island Central Catholic, Megan Woods had 17 kills and eight digs and Averey Kalvoda had nine kills. Kamryn Willman finished with five kills and four blocks and Katie Maser had 34 assists and six digs.

Superior also won its first state volleyball title as Nebraska recruit Kalynn Meyer led the Bulldogs with 27 kills, 12 digs and four blocks in a 15-25, 25-21, 12-25, 25-14, 15-10 win over previously undefeated Hartington Cedar Catholic. Nicki Kirchhoff added 11 kills and 10 digs for the Bulldogs while Megan Miller had four kills, 31 assists and 10 digs and Trisha Hayes had 20 digs. For Hartington Cedar Catholic, Maddie Wieseler had 14 kills, 22 assists and seven digs while Jada Cattau had 12 kills and 19 digs. Ashley Hamilton had 27 assists and 14 digs and Madalyn Arens had 23 digs.

In the Class D-1 championship, Johnson-Brock won its third-straight state title with a 25-22, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23 win over Meridian. Fallon Stutheit had 19 kills and 16 digs and Kaitlynn Simon had 18 kills and 22 digs for the Eagles. Brynn Westenburg had three kills and 46 assists and Mattie Nichols had 10 kills and 13 digs.  For Meridian, Halle Pribyl had 21 kills and 13 digs while Rylee Pieper had 15 kills and 14 digs and Erin Johnson had 39 assists and 21 digs.

Exeter-Milligan defeated Ewing 25-19, 25-20, 28-26 in the Class D-2 championship. Katherine White had 18 kills, 10 digs and six aces for the Timberwolves and Ewing was led by Ashley Koenig’s nine kills and nine digs.