State Champs Quarterfinals Recap: Class B

<p>The opening day of state championship volleyball is in full swing, and we’ll have all the highlights and instant analysis here. Let’s start you off with the first group to see the court for quarterfinal action: Class B!</p> <p>Here’s a quick recap of the highlights and big winners from opening day.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>(1) Norris</strong> vs. <strong>(8) Adams Central</strong></p> <p>Class B’s top seed came out of the gates hot and served their way to a big early lead. The Titans got a ton of blocking production in the first set from pin hitters like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37542" first="Ella" last="Waters"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="105000" first="Celia" last="Spilker"]</strong>. Senior setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37546" first="Maisie" last="Boesiger"]</strong> distributed the ball well on the offensive end, and she frequently scored on dumps whether she was in the front row or back row. Norris asserted themselves en route to a 25-5 win in the first.</p> <p>Adams Central steadied out in the next set and went toe-to-toe with the Titans early. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="103077" first="Rachel" last="Goodon"]</strong> made her presence felt in the middle for the Patriots, and sophomore <strong>Megyn Scott</strong> took some assertive swings on the left pin. Norris pulled away late with some tough serving runs, though, and triumphed 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead.</p> <p>From there, the top seed looked keen on finishing things off. Norris wielded more relentless serving to constantly put themselves in prime position on every point. The block was stifling again. The Titans proved their championship readiness with a 25-8 win in the third set to secure the sweep.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>(2) Omaha Skutt Catholic</strong> vs. <strong>(7) Omaha Duchesne</strong></p> <p>It wasn’t long ago that these two programs met to decide a Class B title, but now fate would decree that this was a quarterfinal matchup in 2021.</p> [caption id="attachment_164201" align="alignright" width="393"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/IMG_2827-crop-5482x3600-1635954505.jpg"><img class="wp-image-164201 " src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/IMG_2827-crop-5482x3600-1635954505-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="393" height="258" /></a> Burke skies on the SkyHawk side.[/caption] <p>Things were tight early in the match, with Skutt maintaining a slim advantage. Eventually, though, the six-time defending champs began to pull away behind the stellar play of veterans like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="59194" first="Morgan" last="Burke"]</strong> and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="37531" first="Abby" last="Schomers"]</strong>. The SkyHawk offense connects so well when they’re in rhythm, and that helped lift the two seed to a 25-12 victory in the first set.</p> <p>Omaha Duchesne fought back with some big plays early in the next set. <strong>Lily Marie Snodgrass</strong> put up some big roofs for the Cardinals, and she delivered on offense, too. 2025 outside hitter <strong>Elizabeth Layson</strong>’s block-shredding kills were accompanied by chants of, "she’s a freshman." Skutt showed some championship resiliency, however, and surged ahead behind their serving and claimed a 25-19 win in the second.</p> <p>From there, it was all SkyHawks. All of Skutt’s hitters really started to get going in the third set. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="104586" first="Ivy" last="Leuck"]</strong> had some big floor denters from the opposite pin and helped lock up a 25-9 win and a semifinal berth.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>(3) Waverly</strong> vs. <strong>(6) Grand Island Northwest</strong></p> <p>In the battle of the Vikings, it was GI Northwest that jumped out to an early lead. A lot of cohesive ball control on the Northwest side helped keep the six seed rolling. <strong>Kinzi Havranek</strong> and <strong>Macie Middleton</strong> were particularly efficient as the two setters in this offense.</p> <p>Waverly managed to surge ahead, though, and the big right arm of [player_tooltip player_id="37528" first="Bekka" last="Allick"] had a lot to do with it. The Husker-bound senior connects so well with her twin sister Hannah, who runs the show at the setter spot. Class B’s three seed took the opener 25-20.</p> <p>The Waverly offense was really humming in the second set. Kara Kassebaum got involved on the right pin, as did [player_tooltip player_id="123534" first="Mady" last="Banitt"] in the middle. A 25-18 triumph gave Waverly a 2-0 lead.</p> <p>Like the opening stanza, the third set was hotly contested. Northwest got some good six-rotation production from <strong>Whitney Loman</strong>, who can absolutely unload on a ball when she’s in rhythm. Waverly had plenty of counterpunches, however, and a 25-20 third set gave the (Waverly) Vikings the victory.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>(4) York</strong> vs. <strong>(5) Elkhorn North</strong></p> <p>There were a lot of eyes on this one, and the energy was unmatched. This felt like postseason volleyball.</p> <p>York made a ton of great plays early to keep Elkhorn North off balance. The bulk of the Dukes’ offense went through [player_tooltip player_id="58791" first="Masa" last="Scheierman"], as has been the case for a few years now. Fellow senior Melanie Driewer also made some nice contributions on the outside, and junior <strong>Rylyn Cast</strong> was a blocking anchor in the middle.</p> <p>Elkhorn North responded. [player_tooltip player_id="152096" first="Hannah" last="Nadgwick"] stepped up in clutch situations to provide some scoring from the left side. Of course, [player_tooltip player_id="59201" first="Grace" last="Heaney"] got her share of kills. The Purdue-bound opposite always does.</p> <p>After a 25-16 win for Elkhorn North in the first set, the following set went down to the wire. York fought off a couple set points to bring up the first deuce contest of the morning. An electrifying swing from Heaney gave the Wolves a 26-24 win and a 2-0 advantage.</p> <p>From there, Elkhorn North took over. Several huge serving runs gave the Wolves an insurmountable lead and they held firm to a 25-12 win and a 3-0 sweep. This tricky five seed has a chance to find glory in the semifinals.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://x.com/elknorth_vb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elknorth_vb</a> wins a wild second set, 26-24!<br /> <br /> [player_tooltip player_id="152096" first="Hannah" last="Nadgwick"] put down a big one to give the Wolves set point, and then [player_tooltip player_id="59201" first="Grace" last="Heaney"] CRUSHES this one. North up 2-0! <a href="https://t.co/b8MSLhbnrb">pic.x.com/b8MSLhbnrb</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1455941096102584328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Up Next:</strong></span></p> <p><strong>(1) Norris</strong> vs. <strong>(5) Elkhorn North</strong></p> <p><strong>(2) Omaha Skutt Catholic</strong> vs. <strong>(3) Waverly</strong></p>