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At The Pinnacle: Wednesday State Volleyball Recap

Tony ChapmanBy
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PINNACLE BANK ARENA — The new look NSAA state volleyball tournament got off to a good start on Wednesday with the state’s three largest classes playing opening round, quarterfinal games that will lead to Friday’s semifinals in all six classes.

Class C-2, D-1 and D-2 will play their opening games on Thursday — also at Pinnacle Bank Arena — before all six classes get together on Friday and Saturday for the semifinals and finals.

The “wall-to-wall” action felt good, writes the Lincoln Journal-Star’s Clark Grell. We agree. Here is the all-class bracket.

STORM SURGE: Elkhorn South’s Annie Millard (4) sends over an attack in the top-ranked Storm’s sweep of North Platte in the Class A quarterfinals. (nebpreps photo / Taylor Siebert)

Class A

Favorites: Last year Papillion-LaVista South upset Elkhorn South in the first round en route to a state championship as the 7-seed. This year, they both have the targets on their jersey’s as the top-two seeds in the tournament. On Wednesday, they wasted little time in three-set sweeps over North Platte and Bellevue West.

Survivors: In the other semifinals, Papillion-LaVista swept Lincoln Southwest and Millard West advanced with a 3-2 comeback win over Pius. (It was the only five set match of the day.)  The Elkhorn South, Papio match will feature the Storm’s Nebraska commit Rylee Gray against Papio’s Creighton commit Norah Sis.

She Said It: How about an interview with Elkhorn South’s Gray?

CHASING HISTORY: Omaha Skutt’s Ava Heyne attacks past Northwest’s Ellie Apfel on Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Skutt — chasing their sixth straight title — swept the Vikings. (nebpreps photo / Dante Boelhower)

Class B

Chasing History: Omaha Skutt got off to a rip-roaring start in their quest for a record-tying sixth consecutive championship in Class B. A state title would tie Bellevue West and Shickley on the all-time list for consecutive titles. Skutt scored the first 10 points of the match in a three-set win over Grand Island Northwest.

A Little Upset: Ashland-Greenwood blocked their way to a minor upset of Waverly and gets the task of playing Skutt on Friday night. Norris (over Aurora) and Elkhorn (over York) also advanced and will meet in the other semifinal on Friday.

She Said It: “I think this team is on a mission. History is hard, and we know nothing is going to come easy.” — Omaha Skutt coach Renee Saunders

The Bracket:

The Gram:

VIKING ATTACK: Columbus Lakeview’s Elizabeth Rowe tries to get an attack past Syracuse defender Ellyson Luchsinger in the Class C-1 quarterfinals on Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. (nebpreps photo / Dante Boelhower)

Class C-1

Perfect Collision: St. Paul and Wahoo both advanced to 33-0 on Wednesday and both did it in a sweep. And, man, does this look like a fun, potential final if it were to happen. In between, Wahoo gets Columbus Lakeview (at state for the first time since 1981!!!) and St. Paul has a 2019 state finals rematch with Lincoln Lutheran.

Remember Us: Lincoln Lutheran is back in the semifinals for the fourth straight year and they have been a little more under the radar this year — a definite underdog on Friday against St. Paul. It’s likely they won’t be too imitiated.

She Said It: “It gets kind of shaky playing in here just because it’s so bright but it’s great to get those starts right away. And we’re used to playing in here so that helped. I think we just went out and had fun. That’s what helped us in the end.” — St. Paul senior, Josie Jakubowski

The Bracket:

The Gram:

Hook ‘Em: Burwell blasts past H-D

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