Week 6 Recap: Mid-Week Battles and Five-Set Thrillers

<p>It was another wild week of high school volleyball across the Cornhusker State. What’s new?</p> <p>I had mentioned in our Week 6 previews that we had a pivotal slate of matches coming up, and those matches surely lived up to the hype. You can see the heightened intensity on the court as teams strive to reach their peak heading into the postseason. Top-tier squads faced some worthy tests this week, and we’ve got a summary of all the action here!</p> <p>Let’s get into some of the highlights.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Still Unbeaten!</strong></p> <p>Time to check in on those teams that just keep winning.</p> <p>Perhaps the biggest statement of the week was made by <strong>Grand Island Central Catholic</strong>. The Crusaders met up with fellow Class C1 giant <strong>Kearney Catholic</strong>, and what ensued was arguably the match of the year. Despite squandering a 2-0 lead and watching Stars senior [player_tooltip player_id="37577" first="Ashley" last="Keck"] drop a whopping 35 kills, GICC held on in the fifth set to remain perfect on the year.</p> <p><strong>Papillion-La Vista South</strong> preserved its unblemished record with a sweep of Bellevue West on Tuesday. More big tests await the Titans early next week.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Tight Battles and Wild Comebacks</strong></p> <p>Of course, the "Never Give Up Award" (I made it myself!) has to go to <strong>Millard West</strong>.</p> <p><strong>Lincoln Southwest </strong>had firm early command of their match with the Wildcats. The home-standing Silver Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind some very convincing set victories. Then, the visitors made their move. Millard West stormed back to score a reverse sweep on the road behind some steady senior performances from [player_tooltip player_id="58798" first="Sadie" last="Millard"] and [player_tooltip player_id="37555" first="Maddie" last="MacTaggart"].</p> <p>These two squads both sit in the top three in Class A, and Thursday’s thriller proved that they’re each worthy of that distinction.</p> <p>Elsewhere, <strong>Mead </strong>won a back-and-forth five-set affair against Yutan. <strong>Johnson-Brock</strong> survived a tiebreaker gauntlet with fellow volleyball powerhouse Diller-Odell, and <strong>Lexington</strong> went the distance with Aurora before the Minutemen eventually prevailed.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Other Quick Hitters</strong></p> <p>Let’s take a quick tour around the state and check out some other teams that had a big week.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Superior</strong> picked up a trio of solid Tuesday wins over Cross County, Lawrence-Nelson, and Wood River. <strong>Hastings St. Cecilia</strong> then emerged victorious in a three-set battle against the Wildcats on Thursday. Both teams continue to scrap for wildcard positions in Class C2.</li> <li><strong>Omaha Westside</strong> had a couple of very strong showings. The Warriors looked dominant in sweeps over Papillion-La Vista and Lincoln North Star. This team has many more opportunities to gain some momentum in the coming weeks.</li> <li><strong>St. Mary’s</strong> is slowly ascending the Class D2 leaderboard after wins against CWC, Elkhorn Valley, and Neligh-Oakdale. The contest for supremacy in this class is still wide open.</li> </ul>