2020 Tournament Teams Poised for a Title in 2021 – Class D2

Austin Kingsley August 9, 2021 @ 09:30 AM

Today, our tour of last year’s tournament teams around the Cornhusker State concludes with Class D2. Hopefully, this series has shed some new light on a few of the state’s top programs, as well as brought back some old memories of last season’s championships. This fall should bring a lot of parity and excitement. That’s nothing new, though. Let’s introduce a few teams from Class D2 that are a threat to hoist the trophy.   Sacred Heart In 2020, it was a large junior class that did much of the heavy lifting during Sacred Heart’s journey to the postseason. With that contingent of players coming back for one more year, it only makes sense to have the Irish on this feature. Fall City Sacred Heart was given the fourth-overall seed in Lincoln last year after a 25-6 regular season. The Irish triumphed over Humphrey St. Francis in the opening round before falling to eventual champions Diller-Odell in the semifinals. Let’s talk about those rising seniors who will be looking for redemption. Erison Vonderschmidt will be leading the way as Sacred Heart’s go-to attacker. This talented outside hitter amassed five kills per set on .420 hitting last year, and it’s scary to think that she might have another level to her game. [player_tooltip player_id="58809" first="Rachel" last="Magdanz"] and Lainey Ebel are two more seniors that will spearhead the Irish attack, with Magdanz bringing an aggressive mentality to the setter position. In the backcourt, fellow senior Lauren Malone should continue to pile up the stats after a strong performance last fall. With a wealth of team chemistry and skill, the Irish are a good bet to be firmly in the title hunt.   Maywood/Hayes Center Maywood-HC was another relatively young team that burst onto the scene in 2020. After last year’s trip to Lincoln, this upstart squad is looking for more. The Wolves couldn’t have had a better regular-season record: 28-0! After earning the three seed for postseason play, Maywood-HC defeated Mullen in the opening round to move on to the semifinals. Though their first loss of the year came against CWC, this Maywood-HC team has a good shot at a comeback campaign. Of course, replacing [player_tooltip player_id="82626" first="Jaycee" last="Widener"] will not be an easy task. The Wolves have a strong corps of returning players that can help fill the void, though. Alexis Wood and Olivia Hansen are rising juniors that made big contributions in 2020, as did setters Ashlin Broz and Kiley Hejtmanek. This large 2023 class for Maywood-HC is joined by seniors Karlie Erickson and Stevie Handsaker. Another championship run might be in store for this young group.   Nebraska Christian Call this a dark horse pick if you’d like, but the returning production for this Nebraska Christian team is exciting. An 18-8 record yielded an eighth-overall seed for the Eagles in last year’s tournament. Drawing the eventual champs in the opening round was tough for Nebraska Christian, but this team surely has a chance at redemption this fall. The youth of this team in 2020 was something to behold. Nebraska Christian had just one senior on the roster! Now, though, the Eagles have a handful of rising seniors with plenty of big-match experience. [player_tooltip player_id="78642" first="Molly" last="Griess"] will lead the team offensively, with fellow seniors Tabitha Seip, Sidney McHargue, and Shelby McHargue doing plenty of work, too. Reghan Flynn is a junior whose role will continue to expand within this team. This squad from Central City will have a lot to prove heading into the fall. A breakout season may be in the works.