Energy Carries Elkhorn Past Storm on Emotional Night

OMAHA - On a night when Elkhorn honored a teacher who passed away in May after a battle with cancer, it seemed almost fitting that the Antlers would fight, scratch and claw their way to a 3-1 victory over cross-town rival Elkhorn South on Tuesday night.

A tribute was paid to former Elkhorn elementary school teacher Gina Cyza before the match and it was a "Purple Out" with fans wearing the favorite color of the teacher's two children. Both of Cyza's young children - Claire and Quinn - were honorary captains for the Antlers Tuesday night and were introduced to the crowd and watched Elkhorn take an emotional 26-24, 25-22, 25-27, 25-19 win.

After a sloppy start to the match by both teams, Elkhorn was the one that seemed to find energy and the Antlers, 9-2 and ranked #6 in Class B, needed it at the end of the first set. Elkhorn South, 4-2 and ranked #4 in Class B, was able to pull away late in the first set on four straight Elkhorn errors and a kill from Sarah Swanson to go ahead 24-21.

Elkhorn, however, made a furious comeback, which started with an Elkhorn South service error. A Whitney Wieseler block and Nicole Skovsende kill tied it at 24-24 and Anna Gottsch gave the Antlers set point with an ace serve. Elkhorn took the first set on a Elkhorn South hitting error.

In the second set, it was Elkhorn again that made the plays when it mattered most. Leading 19-18, Skovsende had a pair of kills for the Antlers and Wieseler added one to go with a Elkhorn South rotation error to up the Elkhorn lead to 23-19. A Dani Carlson kill and a service error on the Storm gave Elkhorn the set and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Elkhorn South never really seemed to get on track in the match and made a lot of mistakes early on. The Storm was called for four rotation errors in the first two sets and in the second set alone, 15 of the Antlers' 25 points came from unforced errors by Elkhorn South.

It looked like Elkhorn was going to close out the third set the same way it hard the first two as well. Trailing 21-17, the Antlers came charging back to within 23-21 thanks to a pair of kills by Dani Carlson and one from Skovsende. A hitting error by Elkhorn, however, got the Storm up 24-21, but two more Elkhorn South errors helped the Antlers tie the score at 24-24.

A back-row kill from Kelsey Green put Elkhorn South up 25-24, but Lauren Edet answered for the Antlers to tie it at 25-25. An Elkhorn hitting error and kill by Sarah Swanson, however, gave Elkhorn South a 26-24 win and the potential to get back into the match.

Elkhorn, however, would have none of that as the Antlers took away any momentum Elkhorn South seemed to have by jumping out to an 8-1 lead in the fourth set. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Storm came back and tied it quickly at 10-10 and even held the lead at 17-15 before Elkhorn - again - took over down the stretch of a set.

A pair of kills from Carlson tied it at 17-17 and an ace serve a little later from Carlson put the Antlers up 21-18. Another back-row kill from Green got Elkhorn South within 21-19, but Elkhorn scored the final four points to take the fourth set and the match.

Carlson finished with a team-high 15 kills for the Antlers and Skovsende had 10. Kelsey Green led Elkhorn South with a match-high 18 kills while Sarah Swanson finished with 17.

Elkhorn def. Elkhorn South 26-24, 25-22, 25-27, 25-19 

Elkhorn South (4-2) Ranked #4 in Class B

Jaden Thiem - 0 kills, 2 aces, 0 blocks, 28 digs, 3 assists.
Sarah Swanson - 17 kills, 1 ace, 1 1/2 blocks, 9 digs, 0 assists.
Gabrielle Peterson - 8 kills, 0 aces, 1/2 block, 4 digs, 0 assists.
Riley Newton - 0 kills,  0 aces, 0 blocks, 8 digs, 1 assist.
Logan Connealy - 1 kill, 0 aces, 1/2 block, 0 digs, 0 assists.
Kelsey Green - 18 kills, 1 ace, 0 blocks, 16 digs, 0 assists.
Sophie Auch Moedy - 9 kills, 2 aces, 1/2 block, 6 digs, 0 assists.
Amber Argo - 0 kills, 1 ace, 0 blocks, 2 digs, 0 assists.
Josie Givens - 0 kills, 0 aces, 1 block, 11 digs, 45 assists.

Team Totals – 53 kills, 7 aces, 4 blocks, 84 digs, 49 assists.

Elkhorn (9-2) Ranked #6 in Class B

Grace Nelson - 2 kills, 2 aces, 0 blocks, 0 assists.
Dani Carlson - 15 kills, 2 aces, 0 blocks, 0 14 assists.
Nicole Skovsende - 10 kills, 4 aces, 1 block, 1 assist.
Anna Gottsch - 0 kills, 2 aces, 0 blocks, 21 assists.
Claire Mountjoy - 1 kill, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 0 assists.
Whitney Wieseler - 2 kills, 0 aces, 4 blocks, 0 assists.
Lauren Edet - 7 kills, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 0 assists.
Ashlyn Dau - 2 kills, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 0 assists.
Maggie Lamski - 2 kills, 0 aces, 0 blocks, 1 assist.

Team Totals – 41 kills, 10 aces, 5 blocks, 37 assists.