Class A State Tournament Preview
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! Elkhorn South (27-1) v. North Platte 21-11 Elkhorn South has only been beaten by Pius X thus…
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Continue ReadingWe made it! Volleyball has made it to the State Championships during this 2020 pandemic. Let’s take a look at the first-round matchups!
Elkhorn South (27-1) v. North Platte 21-11
Elkhorn South has only been beaten by Pius X thus far. Elk South’s offense is run by
Madi Woodin
Madi
Woodin
5'6" | S
Elkhorn South | 2022
State
NE
, (South Dakota, 12.9 assists per set) who is such an elite setter! She has several hitters to go to including Rylie Gray (Nebraska commit, 4.7 kills per set–1326 career kills) and
Kylie Weeks
Kylie
Weeks
5'7" | OH
Elkhorn South | 2022
State
#151
Nation
NE
(Arkansas commit, 5.0 kills per set–1009 career kills). Running the back row is
Estella Zatechka
Estella
Zatechka
5'8" | DS/L
Elkhorn South | 2022
State
#54
Nation
NE
(Missouri commit, 507 digs–leading Class A). This team looks strong enough to make a run to the championship.
North Platte (wild card) is led by sophomore Carly Purdy Carly Purdy 6'0" | OH North Platte | 2023 State NE in the front row along with Mckenna Little Mckenna Little 5'8" | DS/L North Platte | 2021 NE .
Papillion LaVista South (27-5) v. Bellevue West (19-12)
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 Laura Medeck (a strong freshman, 3.1 kills per set) and
Stella Adeyemi
Stella
Adeyemi
5'9" | OH
Papillion-LaVista South | 2023
State
#95
Nation
NE
(2023, 3.1 kills per set) in the front row. They are one of the best ball-control teams in the state behind
Delanie Vallinch
Delanie
Vallinch
5'7" | DS/L
Papillion-LaVista South | 2021
State
NE
(4.9 digs per set),
Ava LeGrand
Ava
LeGrand
5'11" | S
Papillion-LaVista South | 2022
State
#46
Nation
NE
(3.7 dps),
Andjelija Petrovic
Andjelija
Petrovic
5'5" | MB
Papillion-LaVista South | 2021
NE
(3.0 digs per set) and
Harlei Cole
Harlei
Cole
5'6" | DS/L
Papillion-La Vista South | 2022
State
NE
(2.4 dps), with
Ava LeGrand
Ava
LeGrand
5'11" | S
Papillion-LaVista South | 2022
State
#46
Nation
NE
(2019 Super State Setter) running the offense, look for them to make a deep run at State.
Bellevue West is led by Destiny Ndam-Simpson Destiny Ndam-Simpson 6'1" | OH Omaha Westside | 2023 State #37 Nation NE (2023 OH) and Kealy Kiviniemi Kealy Kiviniemi 5'11" | RS Bellevue West | 2022 State NE (2022). Bellevue West has shown they can play with the best. They run a 6-2 with Jayna Hope Jayna Hope 5'6" | S Bellevue West | 2022 State NE and Kyla Dyrstad Kyla Dyrstad 5'6" | S Papillion-La Vista South | 2024 State NE (a 2024 Freshman!) running the offense.
Papillion-LaVista (21-9) v. Lincoln Southwest (21-9)
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, Norah Sis. 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,
Reagan Hickey
Reagan
Hickey
5'8" | S
Papillion-La Vista | 2024
State
NE
with 11 assists per set. Sam Riggs, Lily Ziebarth and Norah take care of the back row!
LSW hasn’t been to the state tournament in the last 2 years. Setters Lauren Dirks Lauren Dirks 5'8" | S Lincoln Southwest | 2021 State NE (Hastings College) and Karli Symonsbergen Karli Symonsbergen 5'7" | S Lincoln Southwest | 2022 State NE have a lot of firing power to set to. They are led by Shaylee Myers Shaylee Myers 6'0" | OH Lincoln Southwest | 2022 State #199 Nation NE (Fresno State) and Liz Tomlin (Chattanooga) , outside hitters in the front row, with Courtney Holsteen Courtney Holsteen 6'0" | RS Lincoln Southwest | 2022 State NE , and Karli Symonsbergen Karli Symonsbergen 5'7" | S Lincoln Southwest | 2022 State NE at rightside. Carly Coen Carly Coen 5'11" | DS/L Lincoln Southwest | 2021 NE and Brinly Christensen Brinly Christensen 5'10" | OH Lincoln Southwest | 2023 State NE are strong in the middle. Teghan Sullivan, 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.
Lincoln Pius X (23-4) v. Millard West (22-8)
Lincoln Pius has been beaten by Papio South (twice) and Elkhorn during regular season play. They are led by Nebraska basketball commit, Alexis Markowski and South Dakota commit, Kylen Sealock.
Miriam Miller
Miriam
Miller
5'6" | DS/L
Lincoln Pius X | 2021
State
NE
runs the back row and keeps the girls in system. With 2023
Adison Markowski
Adison
Markowski
5'7" | S
Lincoln Pius X | 2023
State
NE
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!
Millard West’s well-rounded offense is ran by Bridget Smith (Morningside). She has a wealth of hitters in Maddie MacTaggart Maddie MacTaggart 5'10" | OH Millard South | 2022 State NE , Ella Hazen Ella Hazen 5'8" | DS/L Millard West | 2022 State NE , Elise Gilroy and Sadie Millard Sadie Millard 5'9" | MB Millard West | 2022 State NE . 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.
Keep safe everyone and good luck to all the teams competing at state.