The North Bend Central Tigers won the East Husker Conference Tournament and swept Howells-Dodge to make it 4-0 in their last four matches.
North Bend Central swept Clarkson/Leigh 2-0 in the EHC Tournament at home last Thursday night, and Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family on Saturday in Wisner before downing Stanton 3-1 for the championship, also on Saturday.
The Tigers downed the Jaguars 3-0 at home Tuesday night.
North Bend Central defeated the Patriots 25-17 in set one, and 25-19 in set two.
The Tigers beat the Bulldogs 25-15 in the opening set, and 25-12 in the closing set.
The Tigers won set one 25-21 before Stanton took set two 25-23. North Bend Central won sets three and four 25-19.
Fresh off their East Husker Conference Tournament Championship, North Bend Central beat Howells-Dodge in straight sets at home Tuesday night, winning set one 25-20, set two 25-21, and set three 25-14.
Head Coach Amy Sterup says her team showed no ill effects from Saturday's Championship.
"We did alright. Coming off of the Conference Tournament they were tired in practice so I was a little worried, but they came out and played their game and they did alright."
Kristin Lux paced the Tigers (22-2) with 18 kills. Brooke Fredrickson added 15 while Jacki Minarick totaled 9.
Sterup says her team was on top of their game in the conference tournament. "The girls played well in the conference tournament. They knew it was going to take determination and playing at the top of their game. The played as a team and didn’t play on a rollercoaster. The team had talked before the finals to make sure they stayed focused and not let errors get the best of them."
North Bend Central is off until Tuesday when they host Stanton (23-5) and Logan View (3-25) in a Triangular.
The Mustangs swept Lutheran High Northeast 3-0 on the road Tuesday night while the Raiders fell 2-0 to Wisner-Pilger and Scribner-Snyder at their home Triangular on Thursday.
Sterup says it's going to take a repeat effort to beat Stanton again. Playing a game like we did with them in the conference finals. Staying focused and working as a team."
The Tigers shouldn't have much trouble beating Logan View, but the Stanton match figures to be very challenging.
The Mustangs have Jessie Brandl back, and are hoping to be at full strength.
Stanton at full strength is better than what the Mustangs showed and brought on Saturday.
I fully expect Stanton to challenge and push North Bend Central, and I would be very surprised if this match didn't go 3 sets, but I do expect the Tigers to win.
I think North Bend Central has proven they are a step or two above the rest of the conference.
North Bend Central has their sights set on big things in the postseason no doubt, and I think this match with the Mustangs will help prepare the Tigers for the type of competition they are going to see in sub districts, districts, and state if North Bend Central makes it that far.
I don't think there's any doubt the Tigers are a better team this year than they were last year.
That's a testament to how hard these girls have worked and how dedicated they are to the sport.
Challenges, including this match with Stanton, lie ahead, but the more tough tests North Bend Central passes, the better chance they will have to make and do some damage at state.
Right now it's not looking like the Tigers will get a berth into the state tournament with a wildcard so it could be a case where North Bend Central has to win a district final to reach state.
Sterup says her team has done a good job of staying tuned in and being focused. "The season has been about making sure we control our game on our side and not let minor errors get them down on the court. And no matter what stick together as a team and don’t let outside stuff mess with their team when they walk into the gym."
There's still some time before it comes down to that for the Tigers as North Bend Central has plenty of work to do before then so the biggest thing for the Tigers is continuing to improve and grow as a team and unit.
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