Howells-Dodge ends year with sub-state loss

The Howells-Dodge Jaguars saw their season come to an end on Saturday as they lost 3-1 to Hastings St. Cecilia in the C2-5 District Final at Centennial.

The Hawkettes won set one 25-18 before the Jaguars took set two 25-18. St. Cecilia took sets three and four 25-20.

Kalli Brester had 22 kills and 11 digs while Sam Brester notched 13 kills and 7 digs. Macey Kulhanek finished with 19 digs while Emily Ritzdorf and Hailey Coufal totaled 15 and 8, respectively. Tessa Brester registered 40 set assists.

It was a valiant effort on Howells-Dodge's part, but the Hawkettes are just really good.

The Jaguars conclude the year at 25-7.

It was certainly a memorable season for Howells-Dodge, and I would say this year's team was better than last year's team that qualified for state in D-1.

I don't think there's any doubt the Jaguars would be at state if they were in Class D-1 this year.

Howells-Dodge had some big wins this year with victories coming against Winside, Cedar Bluffs, Hartington-Newcastle, Lutheran High Northeast, Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, Clarkson/Leigh, Twin River, Stanton, West Point-Beemer, and Wisner-Pilger.

The Jaguars had a marvelous season, and shouldn't soon forget all their accomplishments and achievements.

Kalli Brester led the way in kills with 362 while Sam Brester had 242. Kalli Brester also led the way in digs with 294. Tessa Brester finished with 789 set assists.

Howells-Dodge graduates Tessa Brester, Elisia Vogel, Ritzdorf, Coufal, Haley Eikmeier, Kalli Brester, and Sam Brester.

All of these girls will no doubt be missed, and did great things for Jaguar Volleyball.

Howells-Dodge brings back the likes of Kulhanek, Erin Prusa, Jessi Brester, and Taya VanLengen.

The Jaguars will be pretty young next year from the looks of it.

I don't know if Howells-Dodge will be as good next year as they were next year, but I still expect the Jaguars to compete well and put a quality team on the floor.

It will be interesting to see if the Jaguars will still be in C-2 next year or if they drop back down to D-1.

I feel like the argument could be made for Howells-Dodge being one of the best 8 teams in C-2 this year, but next year it might be tough for the Jaguars to make a District Final/Sub-State match if they're still in C-2.

Under the old format, Howells-Dodge would have made it to Lincoln with a wildcard this year, but under this new format, the Jaguars had to play a really tough opponent, a perennial power, and powerhouse to get to state.

I'm not saying Howells-Dodge can't make state in C-2 next year, but it's going to be more difficult than if the Jaguars are in D-1. In this year's case, St. Cecilia is a big C-2 school while Howells-Dodge is a small C-2.