State Tournament Recap: Semifinal Friday

LINCOLN – Half of the classes at the Nebraska state high school volleyball championships will see a battle of the top two seeds for the title while Friday’s semifinals produces a handful of upsets in the other three classes.

Here is a recap of all the action from Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday.

In Class A, defending champion Millard North earned an opportunity to defend its title with a 25-21, 25-20, 25-18 win over Papillion-LaVista. Although the Mustangs came into the tournament as the #7 seed, Millard North has been on fire as of late.

McKenna Ruch led a balanced Millard North attack with 12 kills and two blocks while Eve Fountain and Allie Kerns each had 11 kills. Izzy Lukens finished the match with five kills, seven digs and 44 assists and libero Madi Evans had 20 digs.

For Papillion-LaVista, freshman Norah Sis had 10 kills, two blocks and nine digs while sophomore Chloe Paschal had 10 kills and eight digs. Brooklyn Schram finished with 19 assists.

In the other semifinal, top-seeded Omaha Marian reached the finals with a 25-10, 25-13, 25-15 win over Papillion-LaVista South. Emily Bressman had 10 kills, two blocks and 15 digs for the Crusaders and Maddie Wiedenfeld, Lauren Isenberg and Sarah Wing each had seven kills. Lily Heim had five kills, three blocks, seven digs and 36 assists while Maggie Mullen had 17 digs.

For Papillion-LaVista South, Taliyah Flores capped her stellar high school career with six kills, two blocks and seven digs while Peyton Schendt had five kills and two blocks and Mara LeGrand finished with two ace serves and 13 assists.

In Class B, two-time defending champion Skutt Catholic survived a scare from Elkhorn South, winning 27-25, 29-27, 18-25 and 25-18. Lindsay Krause had 23 kills for the Skyhawks while Megan Skovsende had 19 kills and 14 digs and Lily Heyne had 13 kills and two blocks. Delaney Saucier had 12 digs and 63 assists and Megan Sutera had 20 digs.

Logan Connealy led Elkhorn South with 20 kills and 11 digs while Rylee Gray had 14 kills and 8 blocks and Mackenzie Saitta had 13 kills and three blocks. Emily Bay and Emily Champion combined for 45 assists for the Storm.

Omaha Duchesne won a tight match over Grand Island Northwest 28-26, 26-24, 25-23 in the other semifinal. Julianna Kalil had 19 kills and eight digs for the Cardinals and Mayah Delgado had 12 kills while Caroline Ortman had 11. Emma Worthington had two kills, 18 digs and 46 assists.

The top two seeds in Class C-1 advanced to the title match as Wahoo defeated North Bend Central 25-23, 25-18, 25-22 and Grand Island Central Catholic downed Lincoln Lutheran 17-25, 29-27, 25-20, 25-22.

Elly Larson led Wahoo with 17 kills and 12 digs while Elle Glock had 11 kills and 16 digs and Madilyn Larson had six kills and 12 digs and Kyla Swanson added nine kills and three blocks. Morgan Marotz had 17 digs for the Warriors and Kinsley Tingelhoff had a kill, six digs and 42 assists. For North Bend Central, Kristin Lux had 13 kills three blocks, three ace serves and seven digs while Brooke Frederickson had 11 kills and 11 digs and Kaitlynn Bjorklund had two kills, 13 digs and 26 assists.

For Grand Island Central Catholic, Megan Woods had 22 kills and 18 digs and Kamryn Willman had 11 kills and a block. Allison Kalvada had eight kills and Averey Kalvada had seven while Jenna Lowry had 17 digs and Katie Maser had two kills, 18 digs and 43 assists. For Lincoln Lutheran, Marriah Buss had 34 kills, three blocks and eight digs while Kayla Ernsburger had five kills and six blocks. Hope Leimbach had two kills, four blocks, 10 digs and 44 assists and Erin Williams had 28 digs.

In one of the big surprises of the day, sixth-seeded Superior knocked off previously undefeated and #2 seed Nebraska Christian 25-9, 25-18, 25-22 in Class C-2 while Hartington Cedar Catholic defeated Stanton 25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18 in the other semifinal.

Husker recruit Kalynn Meyer had 18 kills, three blocks, three ace serves and 14 digs for Superior while Megan Miller had six kills, two blocks, two aces, eight digs and 15 assists. Nicki Kirchhoff had six kills, two blocks and 14 assists and Trisha Hayes had 21 digs. Claire Ostrand led Nebraska Christian with nine kills and 15 digs while Katelynn Halstead and seven kills, two blocks and 11 digs and Carsyn Ostrand had seven kills, 13 digs and 23 assists.

In Hartington Cedar Catholic’s win, Brianna Miller led the Trojans with 10 kills and four bocks while Anna Reifenrath had nine kills and Jada Cattau had eight kills, three blocks and 12 digs. Madalyn Arens had 17 digs and Maddie Wieseler had four kills, three blocks, 13 digs and 21 assists. Stanton was led by 21 kills and 18 digs from Jessie Brandl while Bree Burtwistle had 17 kills, 16 digs and 22 assists and Jaiden Hartl had 23 digs.

In Class D-1, Merdian held off Blue Hill 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-11 behind 28 kills and two aces from Halle Pribyl and 22 kills from Rylee Pieper. Hailey Schafer had seven kills and two blocks and Erin Johnson had 55 assists for the Mustangs. Kacey Allen led Blue Hill with 25 kills and 24 digs while Rylee Kohlmetscher had 17 kills. Jamie Bonifas had 50 assists and Brianna Danehey had 32 digs.

Two-time defending champions Johnson-Brock defeated BDS 25-16, 24-26, 25-11, 25-18 in the other D-1 semifinal. Fallon Stutheit had 25 kills, five aces and seven digs for the Eagles while Kaitlynn Simon had 15 kills and nine digs. Brynn Westenburg had six kills and 52 assists and Hailey Sandfort had 18 digs.

In Class D-2, Ewing defeated Humphrey St. Francis 25-23, 29-31, 25-14, 25-20. Bailey Schindler had 23 kills, seven blocks, three aces and three digs for the Tigers while Ashley Koenig had 17 kills and 16 digs. Miranda Summers added three kills, two blocks, 15 digs and 47 assists and Tiana Thramer had 13 kills and three blocks. Logan Wemhoff led Humphrey St. Francis with 19 kills and 23 digs and Caitlin Jarosz had 13 kills and eight digs. Bridget McPhillips had eight kills, three blocks, 13 digs and 39 assists and Alissa Kosch had 22 digs.

In the other semifinal, Exeter-Milligan defeated Hyannis 19-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-15. Katherine White led Exeter-Milligan with 14 kills and 18 digs while Hannah Beethe had 15 kills and nine digs and Kate Jansky had 10 kills. Tara Mueller added eight kills, three blocks, four ace serves, 10 digs and six assists while Daisy Knode and Anna Sluka combined for 36 assists and 15 digs. Jackie Schwanebeck led Hyannis with 12 kills and 15 digs while Mackenzie Anderson had 10 kills and 33 digs. Carrah Daugherty had 39 digs and Sarah Monahan had 10 digs and 27 assists.