Guardian Angels Central Catholic begins season 4-2

The Guardian Angels Central Catholic Bluejays are 4-2 so far this season, losing 2-0 to Lutheran High Northeast on Thursday in the Northeast Nebraska Classic, beating Pender 2-0 in the Classic on Friday, knocking off Tekamah-Herman  and Wakefield 2-0, but losing 2-1 to Fremont Bergan in the Classic on Saturday before winning 3-2 over Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family at home on Tuesday.

The Eagles downed the Bluejays 25-17 in set one and 25-18 in set two.

Maddie Knobbe had 7 kills while Ally Plagge totaled 9 digs. Kali Stratman added 14 set assists.

GACC beat the Pendragons 25-23 in set one, and 25-17 in set two.

Plagge totaled 7 digs while Stratman dished out 12 set assists.

The Bluejays downed the Tigers 25-14 in the first set, and 25-23 in the second set.

Stratman had a team-high 7 set assists.

GACC downed the Trojans 25-20 in the opening set, and 25-14 in the second set.

Knobbe registered 12 kills and 7 digs while Stratman recorded 7.5 set assists.

The Bluejays defeated the Knights 25-19 in set one, dropped set two 25-23, but took set three 25-15.

Knobbe finished with 12 kills while Brooklyn Bailey had 9 digs. Stratman added 20 set assists.

The Bulldogs took set one from GACC, 25-18, before the Bluejays responded by winning set two 25-22. Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family won set three 25-18 before GACC won sets four and five 25-13 and 15-7.

Knobbe had a team-high 18 kills, 8 blocks, and 7 digs while Tessa Simonsen chipped in 13 kills. Plagge totaled 23 digs while Stratman posted 11. Lisa Gatzmeyer notched 8 digs and 32 set assists.

The Bluejays may not be as dominant as they have been in the past, at least based on how they're doing in the early season, but this is still a really good team. GACC lost to a couple of quality opponents in Lutheran High Northeast and Bergan.

The Bluejays (4-2) are at Boone Central/Newman Grove (1-0) Thursday night.

The Cardinals won 3-1 at O'Neill on opening night.

GACC is coming off a match that went the distance and could easily have them a little worn out heading into Thursday's match.

The Cardinals could definitely be the fresher team, but I think it's better to have played more matches in the Bluejays' case than to have had time off in the Cardinals' case.

I think GACC will be the more game ready team come Thursday night.

The match being on the Cardinals' home floor could definitely give Boone Central/Newman Grove the advantage, but the Bluejays are no stranger to the place I'm sure, and have won tough road matches in the past.

This is a big match for GACC in terms of power points. The Cardinals are a C-1 team so the Bluejays could earn extra power points by knocking off Boone Central/Newman Grove.

This is GACC's final match of the week so the Bluejays have to play well prior to Tuesday's match at Wayne.

GACC can rest after Thursday's match, but right now the Bluejays have to be focused and ready to take care of business Thursday night.

GACC has to play with intensity, pride, passion, toughness, tenacity, fire, and grit.

The Bluejays have to give the Cardinals everything they have, and do everything in their power to pick up a win.

I look for GACC to move to 5-2 with a win on Thursday. I think the match could go four or five sets, but I look for the Bluejays to prevail.

Emerson-Hubbard 0-4 to start year

The Emerson-Hubbard Pirates are 0-4 to start the season as they lost 2-0 to Ponca and Homer at their own triangular on Thursday before falling 2-0 to North Bend Central and Pender at the North Bend Central Triangular on Tuesday.

The Pirates fell 25-20 in set one to the Knights, and dropped set two 25-18.

The Indians beat Emerson-Hubbard 25-20 in set one and 25-10 in set two.

The Tigers downed the Pirates 25-10 in the first set and 25-9 in the second and decisive set.

The Pendragons beat Emerson-Hubbard 25-21 in set one and 25-15 in set two.

As you can see, the Pirates have been competitive in at least one set in three out of their four matches so far. Emerson-Hubbard just hasn't been able to sustain the same level of play throughout an entire match is what it looks like to me though.

The Pirates (0-4) take on Randolph (1-4) and Osmond (1-2) in the Osmond Triangular on Thursday.

The Cardinals lost 3-0 at home to Ponca on Tuesday while the Tigers won 3-0 at Bloomfield on Tuesday.

I view both teams as being beatable.

I don't think there's any doubt Emerson-Hubbard can knock off both teams, or at the very least, force a third set in each match.

I look for every set of both matches to be close and competitive.

Three of the Pirates' four opponents so far are C-2 or C-1 teams so it will be interesting to see how Emerson-Hubbard fairs against a pair of one win teams in their own class.

I think the Pirates have a chance to take both matches, and that would be absolutely huge for this team and program.

Just winning a set would be good progress for this team.

Emerson-Hubbard has to take things one set and one match at a time, and focus in and play hard on every serve and every point.

The Pirates can't get down on themselves when they make a mistake, and let it lead to more mistakes.

Emerson-Hubbard has to remain positive at all times and do their best to play at a high level.

The Pirates have to give it their all the entire time and do what they can to make life difficult on their opponents.

Emerson-Hubbard has to continue to fight, scrap, and play hard, and become more consistent.

If the Pirates can do these things, turning their season around is a very real possibility.

Bancroft-Rosalie-Lyons-Decatur begins year 2-4

The Bancroft-Rosalie-Lyons-Decatur Wolverines are off to a 2-4 start, going 2-3 at the Northeast Nebraska Classic last week before losing 3-2 at home to Clarkson/Leigh Tuesday night.

BRLD lost 2-0 to North Bend Central and 2-1 to Wakefield on Thursday before losing 2-1 to Oakland-Craig, beating Pender 2-1, and downing Allen 2-0 on Saturday.

The Wolverines dropped set one 25-16 and set two 25-17 to the Tigers.

BRLD took set one from the Trojans, 25-22, before dropping set two 25-17 and set three 26-24.

The Wolverines won set one against the Knights, 25-10, before losing set two 28-26, and set three 25-13.

The Pendragons beat BRLD 27-25 in set one, but the Wolverines nabbed sets two and three 25-15.

BRLD knocked off the Eagles 25-18 in set one, and 25-8 in set two.

The Patriots won set one over the Wolverines 25-23, and took set two 25-14. BRLD won set three 25-18 and set four 25-21 before Clarkson/Leigh won the fifth set 15-11.

I wouldn't say the Wolverines have played bad so far this season, they've just lost a couple of matches they probably shouldn't of.

BRLD (2-4) takes part in the Wakefield Tournament Thursday-Saturday.

The Wolverines will play Hartington Cedar Catholic (2-4) in their first match.

The Trojans lost 3-2 at home to Crofton on Tuesday.

Hartington Cedar Catholic has lost to some good teams so BRLD has to be ready to play at a high level.

The Wolverines are very capable of beating the Trojans, they just have to put their minds to it.

I know BRLD had a tough five set loss at home to Clarkson/Leigh on Tuesday, but the Wolverines have to put that match behind them and move on.

All BRLD can do now is focus on the future, and the Hartington Cedar Catholic match is in their future.

The Wolverines have to be tough minded, and must be ready to go toe to toe with the Trojans.

BRLD has to execute in all facets of the game, and try and make Hartington Cedar Catholic earn their points. The Wolverines also have to find ways to manufacture easy points.

BRLD has played okay up to this point, they just need to find their groove and rhythm. And once that happens I look for this team to take off.

It hasn't been the easiest start to the season for the Wolverines, but now is not the time to panic as there is plenty of season left.

BRLD has to right the ship and figure out what they've been doing wrong.

The Wolverines have been hit with some tough times and adversity so it will be interesting to see how BRLD handles it.

The Wolverines dealt with adversity well Tuesday night I thought, at least based on the way they came back and forced a fifth set after going down 2-0.

West Point-Beemer drops opener to Wisner-Pilger

The West Point-Beemer Cadets lost 3-0 at home to Wisner-Pilger Tuesday night.

The Cadets fell to the Gators 25-19, 25-21, and 25-20 in a game heard on 107.9 the Bull.

Head Coach Monica Wiehn. "We knew that it was going to be tough, and strong hitters and great at the net, and so we kind of lacklustered at that. We're better than what we showed. We hustled. We just played tentative once they got a few blocks on us, and we had hitting errors, and we just played tentative, so that's something we're going to focus on, and come out on Thursday. We're not scared."

West Point-Beemer (0-1) battles Twin River (5-1) and Schuyler (1-0) at the Twin River Triangular on Thursday.

The Titans downed Logan View and Tekamah-Herman 2-0 at their home triangular on Tuesday. The Warriors swept Cornerstone Christian 3-0 at home on Thursday.

Both teams are certainly going to provide stingy challenges for the Cadets.

West Point-Beemer is going to need to play well against both to beat both.

I thought the Cadets did some good things against a solid Wisner-Pilger club on Tuesday. The Gators just ultimately proved to be the stronger team.

I think West Point-Beemer can at least get a split out of Thursday's triangular. Winning both would be nice, and the Cadets certainly have the potential to beat both teams, but if West Point-Beemer at least wins one of the matches that should serve as a momentum booster for matches down the line.

These are the only two matches left for the Cadets this week so West Point-Beemer needs to make the most of them heading into Tuesday's match at Tekamah-Herman.

I look for the Cadets to have a strong showing on Thursday. I think you will see West Point-Beemer come out and play hard, and give the Titans and Warriors all they can handle.

The Cadets just have to work on closing out matches. West Point-Beemer was right there in each set against Wisner-Pilger, the Gators just got the best of the Cadets at the end of every set.

There's no doubt West Point-Beemer is capable of getting that script flipped on Thursday. I believe the Cadets have what it takes to beat Schuyler, and at the very least, push Twin River.

A win or two would be good for West Point-Beemer. I'm sure the Cadets would like to taste victory Thursday night.

North Bend Central starts season 7-0

The North Bend Central Tigers are off to a 7-0 start, defeating BRLD and Wakefield 2-0 on Thursday at the Northeast Nebraska Classic before downing Wisner-Pilger and Lutheran High Northeast 2-0, and Wayne 2-1 at the Classic on Saturday.

North Bend Central swept Pender and Emerson-Hubbard 2-0 in their home triangular on Tuesday.

The Tigers downed the Wolverines 25-16 in set one and 25-17 in set two.

North Bend Central beat Wakefield 25-10 in the first set and 25-16 in the second.

The Blue Devils took set one from the Tigers, 25-21, before North Bend Central took set two 25-16, and set three 25-17.

North Bend Central beat Lutheran High Northeast 25-14 in set one, and 25-17 in set two.

The Tigers downed the Gators 26-24 in the opening set, and 25-19 in the second and decisive set.

North Bend Central defeated Emerson-Hubbard 25-10 in set one and 25-9 in set two.

The Tigers downed the Pendragons 25-9 in set one and 25-22 in set two.

North Bend Central has been very dominant so far. The Tigers seem to be on a mission to handle anyone they play, and so far they have done just that.

North Bend Central (7-0) is at Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family (0-1) on Thursday.

The Bulldogs lost 3-2 at Guardian Angels Central Catholic on Tuesday.

Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family is a quality ball club that could give the Tigers a match if they play well, especially with the match being at home for them,

With that said, North Bend Central should prevail.

The Tigers appear to be bound and determined to knock off anyone they play this year, and it has been so far so good for North Bend Central.

I look at this match against Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family as another bump in the road for North Bend Central.

This is just one more match on the way to great things for the Tigers.

North Bend Central has Raymond Central and Columbus Scotus in a home triangular on Saturday so the Tigers need to play well against the Bulldogs in order to be on top of their game on Saturday.

The last thing North Bend Central can afford is to play sluggish and sloppy.

The Tigers need to turn in a good performance to keep the ball rolling.

This season already has special written all over it for North Bend Central, and the Tigers simply need to keep doing what they have been doing at the start of this season.

North Bend Central has to excel in all areas of the game, and continue to make life difficult on their opponents.

The Tigers need to make it hard for their opponents to score points and must find ways to manufacture easy points, if they haven't done so already.

It has been a really good start to the season for North Bend Central, it's simply a matter of keeping it up.

Winnebago starts season 0-3

The Winnebago Indians are off to an 0-3 start, falling 2-0 to Mead and Cedar Bluffs at the Cedar Bluffs Triangular on Thursday before losing 2-1 to Logan View at the Fort Calhoun Invite on Saturday.

The Indians lost set one 25-3 and set two 25-12 to the Wildcats.

Winnebago dropped set one 25-18, and set two 25-12 to Mead.

The Indians lost set one 25-18 and set three 25-11 to Logan View, but won set two 25-21.

Winnebago is off to a difficult start, but I think the set the Indians won against the Raiders can be used as a motivational tool for success down the line.

Winnebago (0-3) hosts Walthill (0-0) Thursday night.

The Blujays have yet to play a match this season, and the match against the Indians will be their first of the season.

I think Winnebago has the advantage since they've already played and are the larger school.

That doesn't mean everything though. This is a rivalry, and anything can happen.

The Indians have to raise their level of play and play at a high level.

Winnebago has to play their tails off, and give it everything they've got.

I don't expect things to be easy for the Indians, but if Winnebago plays at the top of their game, I think they have a good chance to win.

The Indians have to play well though. They can't afford to play sluggish, and come out slow.

Winnebago has to start fast, and finish even stronger.

The Indians have to play with pride, passion, toughness, tenacity, fire, and grit.

Winnebago has to execute in all facets of the game, and cannot afford to beat themselves.

It has been a difficult start to the season for the Indians, there's no doubt about that, but I think Winnebago has what it takes to get back on track with a win over Walthill.

The Indians just have to do their best and play with a winning mindset.

Stanton off to 4-1 start

The Stanton Mustangs went 4-1 to start the season last week, taking out Madison and Clarkson/Leigh 2-0 at the Clarkson/Leigh Triangular on Thursday before downing Twin River and Pierce 2-1 at the Scotus Invitational on Saturday. Stanton's lone loss came to Bishop Neumann, who downed the Mustangs 2-0, also at the Scotus Invitational.

Stanton defeated Madison 25-11 in sets one and two.

Hannah Hepper led the team with 7 kills while Bree Burtwhistle and Lizzy Kremlacek had 14 and 8 set assists, respectively.

The Mustangs beat the Patriots 25-11 in set one, and took set two 25-16.

Jessie Brandl totaled 7 kills and 7 digs while MacKenzie Brandl added 9 digs. Burtwhistle chipped in 13 set assists.

Stanton knocked off Twin River 25-18 in set one. The Titans won set two 25-22, but the Mustangs took the third and decisive set 25-21.

Jessie Brandl contributed 11 kills and 11 digs while MacKenzie Brandl registered 14 digs. Burtwhistle recorded 10 digs and 15 set assists while Katie Brandl and Kremlacek posted 9 digs and 8 set assists, respectively.

The Cavaliers downed the Mustangs 28-26 in set one and proved to be too much in set two, winning 25-20.

Jessie Brandl paced Stanton with 7 kills and 12 digs while MacKenzie Brandl and Burwhistle notched 8 digs and 14 set assists, respectively.

The Mustangs downed the Bluejays 25-12 in sets one and three. Pierce won the middle set 26-24.

Burtwhistle had a team-high 13 kills to go along with 10 digs and 18 set assists. Jessie and MacKenzie Brandl totaled 14 and 12 digs, respectively while Kremlacek dished out 13 set assists.

I thought Stanton played pretty good volleyball to open up the season. The Mustangs took Bishop Neumann to the brink in set one, and took care of business against everyone else.

I think Stanton probably could of swept Pierce, but credit the Bluejays for playing well in the second set.

The Mustangs (4-1) take on Laurel-Concord-Coleridge (0-1) in the Wakefield Tournament later this week.

The Bears lost their opener to Randolph on Thursday, 3-2.

Stanton should be able to win this match with relative ease. I don't see Laurel-Concord-Coleridge challenging the Mustangs at all.

With that said, Stanton has to come to play. The Mustangs can't afford to have a letdown, and need to be on top of their game.

This is a big tournament and a big deal for Stanton Volleyball. This tournament is all the Mustangs have this week so they need to make the most of their opportunities.

Stanton has to be thrilled and excited to play the game of Volleyball, and get after things.

The Mustangs need to be sharp all three days of the tournament. The ultimate goal has to be to win the whole thing.

Stanton is in the business of winning championships, and a Wakefield Tournament Championship would serve as a good kick start to winning other tournaments this season, in my opinion.

There's probably a fairly decent chance the Mustangs will get challenged and face some adversity in this tournament, but it isn't anything Stanton shouldn't be able to overcome.

I fully expect the Mustangs to compete for the tournament championship, and be in the running to win the whole thing.

I wouldn't say it would be a disappointment if Stanton didn't win the tournament and came up short, but I'm sure the Mustangs would really like to win this tournament.

Stanton just has to give it their best shot and hope for the best.