Class A State Tournament Preview

<p>We made it!  Volleyball has made it to the State Championships during this 2020 pandemic.  Let’s take a look at the first-round matchups!</p> <p><strong>Elkhorn South (27-1) v. North Platte 21-11</strong><br /> Elkhorn South has only been beaten by Pius X thus far.  Elk South’s offense is run by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58781" first="Madi" last="Woodin"]</strong>, (South Dakota, 12.9 assists per set) who is such an elite setter!  She has several hitters to go to including <strong>Rylie Gray</strong> (Nebraska commit, 4.7 kills per set--1326 career kills) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58786" first="Kylie" last="Weeks"]</strong> (Arkansas commit, 5.0 kills per set--1009 career kills).  Running the back row is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58775" first="Estella" last="Zatechka"]</strong> (Missouri commit, 507 digs--leading Class A).  This team looks strong enough to make a run to the championship. </p> <p>North Platte (wild card) is led by sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="59207" first="Carly" last="Purdy"] in the front row along with [player_tooltip player_id="82704" first="Mckenna" last="Little"]. </p> <hr /> <p><strong>Papillion LaVista South (27-5) v. Bellevue West (19-12)</strong><br /> These 2 teams have played twice in 2020 with Papillion LaVista South coming up with the win both times (2-1 and 3-0) but Bell West is playing strong going into state. Papio South is led by <strong>Laura Medeck</strong> (a strong freshman, 3.1 kills per set) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="59192" first="Stella" last="Adeyemi"]</strong> (2023, 3.1 kills per set) in the front row.    They are one of the best ball-control teams in the state behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82578" first="Delanie" last="Vallinch"]</strong> (4.9 digs per set),<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="37529" first="Ava" last="LeGrand"]</strong> (3.7 dps), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82600" first="Andjelija" last="Petrovic"]</strong> (3.0 digs per set) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82412" first="Harlei" last="Cole"]</strong> (2.4 dps), with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37529" first="Ava" last="LeGrand"]</strong> (2019 Super State Setter) running the offense, look for them to make a deep run at State. </p> <p>Bellevue West is led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="59208" first="Destiny" last="Ndam-Simpson"]</strong> (2023 OH) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58785" first="Kealy" last="Kiviniemi"]</strong> (2022).  Bellevue West has shown they can play with the best.  They run a 6-2 with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="88309" first="Jayna" last="Hope"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109587" first="Kyla" last="Dyrstad"]</strong> (a 2024 Freshman!) running the offense.  </p> <hr /> <p><strong>Papillion-LaVista (21-9) v. Lincoln Southwest (21-9)</strong><br /> Papio and LSW have played twice this season during tournaments.  They are 1-1 against each other (4 sets won each).  Their overall records are also the same.  Papio is led by Creighton commit, <strong>Norah Sis</strong>.  She’s an AVCA All-American and a force all over the court.  She leads Class A in kills at 478 kills (5.4 kills per set) and 10th in digs for Class A (478).  The offense is ran by freshman, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109586" first="Reagan" last="Hickey"]</strong> with 11 assists per set.  <strong>Sam Riggs</strong>, <strong>Lily Ziebarth</strong> and <strong>Norah</strong> take care of the back row! <br /> <br /> LSW hasn’t been to the state tournament in the last 2 years.  Setters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82642" first="Lauren" last="Dirks"]</strong> (Hastings College) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58801" first="Karli" last="Symonsbergen"]</strong> have a lot of firing power to set to.  They are led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58782" first="Shaylee" last="Myers"]</strong> (Fresno State) and <strong>Liz Tomlin </strong>(Chattanooga) , outside hitters in the front row, with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58805" first="Courtney" last="Holsteen"],</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58801" first="Karli" last="Symonsbergen"]</strong> at rightside.  [player_tooltip player_id="82695" first="Carly" last="Coen"] and [player_tooltip player_id="59196" first="Brinly" last="Christensen"] are strong in the middle.  <strong>Teghan Sullivan</strong>, Liz and Shay anchor the back row.  Southwest is playing well and gave Skutt Catholic (Class B perennial powerhouse) their only loss this season (through districts).  This should be a good match with either team able to get the W. </p> <hr /> <p>Lincoln Pius X (23-4)  v. Millard West (22-8)<br /> Lincoln Pius has been beaten by Papio South (twice) and Elkhorn during regular season play.  They are led by Nebraska basketball commit, <strong>Alexis Markowski</strong> and South Dakota commit, <strong>Kylen Sealock</strong>.  <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="82577" first="Miriam" last="Miller"]</strong> runs the back row and keeps the girls in system.  With 2023 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="59205" first="Adison" last="Markowski"]</strong> running the offense, watch for Pius to dominate at the net.  With 11 seniors on this team, I’m sure they are looking to go out on top!<br /> <br /> Millard West’s well-rounded offense is ran by <strong>Bridget Smith</strong> (Morningside).  She has a wealth of hitters in [player_tooltip player_id="37555" first="Maddie" last="MacTaggart"], [player_tooltip player_id="58779" first="Ella" last="Hazen"], <strong>Elise Gilroy</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id="58798" first="Sadie" last="Millard"].  Sadie leads Class A with 157 blocks and Kylah Brewer also has 108 blocks.  This should be a good matchup!  Millard West has made it to state the last 10 years.</p> <p>Keep safe everyone and good luck to all the teams competing at state.</p>