BY Brent Apperson | November 6, 2022 | Sandhills Express (their website is sandhillsexpress.com)

The 2022 Nebraska high school volleyball season came to its conclusion Saturday as six state champions were crowned on Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln. Gothenburg appeared in its first ever state championship match as they met Grand Island Central Catholic for the C1 state title. The Lady Swedes put up a tough fight but fell short falling 3-1. GICC was dominant in set #1 winning 25-12 but Gothenburg came back to tie the match winning set #2 25-23. GICC would win the third 25-17 and close it out in the fourth 25-17. Gothenburg was led by Clara Evert who finished with 12 kills and 15 digs. Lucy Ghiafan of GICC was dominant at the net finishing with 28 kills as the Lady Crusaders claimed their 11th state volleyball title. Gothenburg finishes the season at 33-4. Minden swept North Bend Central in the C1 3rd place consolation match 25-22, 25-19, 25-23.

Championship Saturday started with the D2 championship which turned into a five set thriller. Top seed Howells Dodge outlasted the #2 seed Overton 3-2 (25-16, 24-26, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12).

Cedar Catholic claimed the D1 championship edging top seed Norfolk Catholic in the final 3 sets to 2. The teams went back and forth with Cedar Catholic winning sets 1 and 3 and Norfolk Catholic winning sets 2 and 4 but Cedar Catholic would win the race to 15 in the fifth 15-7.

Linoln Lutheran won its second consecutive state title on Saturday. Lincoln Lutheran won the C1 championship last year and claimed the class C2 title this year with a straight set sweep of Archbishop Bergan in the championship match 25-18, 25-22, 25-15. Lutheran went through the state tournament without dropping a set and finished the season undefeated with a record of 40-0.

Omaha Skutt won its state record 8th consecutive Class B state title. Skutt was down to Elkhorn North 2 sets to 1 but came back to win set #4 25-16 and won the fifth 15-11.

Papillion La Vista South won the Class A championship defeating Omaha Westside 3-1 (25-23, 20-25, 25-15, 25-17)

Lincoln Lutheran tops Waverly in ‘end-of-the-year’ match to extend streak

• NOAH DOUGLAS Lincoln Journal Star
• Aug 24, 2023

WAVERLY — “Slugfest” isn’t necessarily a common term used within the volleyball community. Yet, it helped Waverly head coach Terri Neujahr describe Thursday night perfectly.

“That was an end-of-the-year match to start the year,” the coach said. “That was a slugfest.”

The season opener was definitely not a snoozefest.  Rather, it had every parent and student on the edge of their seats. In the end, it was Lincoln Lutheran stealing a five-set road win in Waverly, 25-23, 22-25, 17-25, 28-26, 16-14.

Lutheran gutted out an extension to its winning streak, which now sits at 47 consecutive matches. It was evident the experience paid dividends.

“I just have so much faith and trust in this group of girls that even in adversity we find a way to work together to come back,” Lutheran coach Sue Ziegler said.

The Warriors trailed the match 2-1 but came roaring back, outlasting a sharp Waverly defense.

Lily and Sophie Wohlgemuth keyed the Warriors’ comeback. The outside hitters were a force to be reckoned with as Lily finished with 20 kills while Sophie tallied 29. Meanwhile, Lily was all over the floor adding 27 digs.

Warriors defensive specialist Keri Leimbach, a Nebraska commit, was tasked with tuning out a rowdy student section during Waverly’s runs.

Ziegler also noted how critical Leimbach is to the Warriors’ defense.

“She’s huge because they can’t put nearly as many balls down as they would like,” Ziegler said. Leimbach finished with 32 digs and several other hustle plays.

Although the Vikings fell short, there is a lot of optimism surrounding the program. A young core played key roles in nearly snapping the Warriors’ streak.

Outside hitters Hallie and Gracie Lauenstein both had left an impact on the match. Hallie finished with 19 kills while Gracie had 13 of her own. While they each flashed offensive dominance, they also showed their high motor in making several key defensive plays too.

Neujahr noted that inexperience may have been a concern, but she thought the freshmen stepped up to the challenge great.

“You never quite know what’s going to happen and how freshmen are going to react to that. But, I thought they did a really great job…I think they are only going to get better and better.”

Lincoln Lutheran (1-0) will host Grand Island Northwest on Friday. Waverly (0-1) will play Ashland-Greenwood on Tuesday.