Emerson-Hubbard 1-6 in last seven matches

The Emerson-Hubbard Pirates are 1-6 in their last 7 matches, beating Allen 2-0, and losing 2-0 to Wynot and Ponca at the Ponca Invite last Tuesday before falling 2-0 and 2-1 to Pender and Neligh-Oakdale, respectively, at their home triangular on Thursday. Emerson-Hubbard fell 2-0 to Walthill and Wynot at the Walthill Triangular this past Tuesday.

The Indians defeated the Pirates 25-10 in set one, and 25-9 in set two.

The Blue Devils downed Emerson-Hubbard 25-11 in the first set, and 25-16 in the second set the first time around.

The Pirates beat the Eagles 25-12 in set one, and 25-20 in set two.

The Pendragons knocked off Emerson-Hubbard 25-18 in the first set, and 25-9 in the second set.

The Pirates won set one over the Warriors, 25-21, before Neligh-Oakdale took set two 25-7 and set three 25-23.

The Blujays topped Emerson-Hubbard 25-17 in sets one and two.

Wynot beat the Pirates 25-13 in the first set, and 25-20 in the second set the second time around.

Emerson-Hubbard has played respectable volleyball at times, but the Pirates have been too inconsistent to win more matches.

Emerson-Hubbard (2-16) travels to Homer (8-12) Thursday night to take on the Knights.

Homer lost 3-0 at home to Dakota Valley, SD Tuesday night.

The Knights beat the Pirates 2-0 at the Emerson-Hubbard Triangular on September 1st.

I don't know if Emerson-Hubbard can beat Homer this time around, but I will say I think the Pirates are a little bit better team now than they were then.

Emerson-Hubbard hasn't made drastic strides per se, but they've made strides and improved as the season has gone along.

I just don't know if this team is equipped, ready, and prepared to go on the road and knock off the Knights though.

I certainly think it's possible as anything can happen, but it's going to be difficult.

I think the Pirates could compete in this match, or I could see them losing easily.

It just depends which Emerson-Hubbard team shows up, and how bad the Pirates want it.

This would be Emerson-Hubbard's biggest win of the season without a doubt, and could perhaps be a season changing win if they were to get it.

The Pirates have some winnable and also some challenging matches before the Lewis and Clark Conference Tournament to end the regular season.

It will be interesting to see if Emerson-Hubbard can get this thing turned around.

The Pirates are really struggling with consistency right now, but perhaps Emerson-Hubbard will receive a lift and a spark on Thursday.

Anything can happen in the game of Volleyball, and this team needs to remain positive and have the mindset that they're never out of a match.

The Pirates need to develop some confidence, and that happens by winning sets and matches.

Emerson-Hubbard has been competitive in certain sets and matches this season, they just need to be more competitive on a regular basis.

Winnebago defeats Allen

The Winnebago Indians beat Allen at their home Triangular on Tuesday, winning 2-1.

Winnebago won set one 25-13 and set three 31-29. The Eagles took set two 25-21.

The Indians definitely showed heart and determination in defeating Allen. What a fantastic finish to a great match.

Winnebago is at Omaha Christian Academy (8-7) Thursday night.

The Eagles beat Whiting, IA 2-0, but lost 2-0 to Omaha Brownell-Talbot on Saturday.

I think the Indians have a good chance to win being the larger school.

It's never easy going on the road and winning, but given the way Winnebago has played in the last week or so, I feel they're equipped to get the job done.

The Indians finally won away from home last week when they knocked off Omaha Nation so I certainly think Winnebago can win on the road again Thursday night.

The team has to execute at a high level, and get out of the gates fast and strong.

The Indians have to do their best to get ahead by winning the first set or two. Winnebago doesn't want to fall behind the eight ball.

I really think the Indians have a chance to go on a little run here at the end of the regular season.

Winnebago has matches coming up against teams below .500, and I look for the Indians to perform well in those matches.

I really think this program is headed in the right direction, and is doing some nice things. I think you will see Winnebago continue to have success here at the end of the regular season.

Beating Omaha Christian Academy would be a big deal and another positive step in the right direction.

I feel this team is getting better every week, and has what it takes to do some damage in their final regular season matches.

It will be interesting to see if the Indians can continue to play well and be a factor in the Lewis and Clark Conference Tournament.

I don't think I'm at a point where I would say they're going to be a factor, but if Winnebago gets on a roll before that tournament, then they could certainly be a threat to anyone they play.

I don't want to get too ahead of myself though. The Indians have to do their best to take care of business against the Eagles first.

Tekamah-Herman goes 1-2 at Raymond Central Invite; loses at Pender

The Tekamah-Herman Tigers are 1-3 in their last four matches, downing Nebraska City 2-0 at the Raymond Central Invite on Saturday before losing 2-1 to Louisville and 2-0 to Arlington. The Tigers lost 3-2 at Pender Tuesday night.

Tekamah-Herman took set one from the Pioneers, 25-17, and won set two, 27-25.

The Eagles won the first set 25-17, and the second set, 25-19.

The Lions took set one 25-20 before Tekamah-Herman won set two by the same score. The Tigers dropped set three 25-19.

Tekamah-Herman won set one over the Pendragons 25-19. Pender earned a 25-16 win in set two, and won set three 25-19 to go up 2-1. The Tigers won set four 25-22 before the Pendragons prevailed in set five, 15-10.

I think Tekamah-Herman has played some good volleyball lately, they just haven't been able to finish matches.

Tekamah-Herman (8-13 is at home on Thursday against North Bend Central (16-2).

North Bend Central lost 3-1 at undefeated Malcolm last time out.

I fully expect Tekamah-Herman to bring it in this match, compete well, and hold their own.

I don't know if Tekamah-Herman will be strong enough to beat North Bend Central, but I feel like Tekamah-Herman can threaten and put a scare into North Bend Central.

North Bend Central is a tough team, but so is Tekamah-Herman.

I think Tekamah-Herman has done some nice things this season, it's just a matter of becoming more consistent.

The loss to Pender has to hurt knowing Tekamah-Herman was so close to winning.

Only three of Tekamah-Herman's losses are to teams below .500 so the Tigers are certainly playing well against the teams they're supposed to beat for the most part.

I would say North Bend Central is probably the toughest team Tekamah-Herman will have faced all season when the two teams take the court Thursday night.

I feel like North Bend Central is the real deal, and a very serious threat to make the state tournament.

State is a ways off yet, but Tekamah-Herman would definitely love to put a dent into North Bend Central's record, and gain some momentum heading into next week's East Husker Conference Tournament.

The match being in Tekamah gives them a better chance than if the match was in North Bend, but I honestly think North Bend Central is going to be too much for Tekamah-Herman to handle.

Again, I think Tekamah-Herman can compete, I just don't know if they have the horses to knock off a team like North Bend Central.

Win or lose, there will probably be a lot of positives to take away from a match like this. I certainly think Tekamah-Herman can build off of and learn from this match against North Bend Central.

Tekamah-Herman has some challenging matches left on the schedule so it's time for them to rise up and play their best volleyball of the season, beginning Thursday night.

North Bend Central downs Twin River, loses to Malcolm

The North Bend Central Tigers went 1-1 last week, sweeping Twin River 3-0 at home last Tuesday night before falling 3-1 at undefeated Malcolm Thursday night.

North Bend Central downed the Titans 25-21 in set one, 25-17 in set two, and 25-13 in set three.

The Clippers took set one 25-21 before the Tigers earned a 25-20 win in set two. Malcolm won set three 25-19, and set four 25-14.

North Bend Central may not have beaten the Clippers, but the Tigers handed Malcolm their first set loss of the season, so that has to be encouraging for North Bend Central.

North Bend Central (16-2) is at Tekamah-Herman (8-13) Thursday night.

Tekamah-Herman lost 3-2 at Pender Tuesday night.

North Bend Central should have no trouble beating Tekamah-Herman.

North Bend Central is the number one seed in the East Husker Conference Tournament, and needs to gear up for a big run in that tournament.

Other conference challengers include Howells-Dodge and Stanton so the Tigers have to be ready to go should they face either of those two teams in the tournament.

North Bend Central has regular season contests with the Jaguars and Mustangs left so the Tigers need to continue to play well to be able to win those matches as well.

The biggest thing for North Bend Central is to keep getting better and keep playing at a high level.

The last thing North Bend Central can afford is to struggle against Tekamah-Herman or BRLD next week.

I don't think North Bend Central will struggle against either team though. I think they have a good chance of taking both matches in straight sets.

I look for North Bend Central to be anxious to get back on the court and get back to their winning ways Thursday night.

I think North Bend Central will roll to a big win, and get back on track in a big way.

This is a match North Bend Central needs to win, and win easily, and I think they will be just fine Thursday night.

Tekamah-Herman is definitely capable of competing with North Bend Central, I just don't know if they will have enough to win a set, let alone win the match.

And that's not saying anything bad about Tekamah-Herman, it's just based on how good and dominant North Bend Central has been this season.

North Bend Central has some work to do yet this season as there's still a lot to be accomplished, and perhaps North Bend Central will get off to a fresh start on Thursday.

Clarkson/Leigh goes 1-2 at own tournament

The Clarkson/Leigh Patriots went 1-2 at their own tournament on Saturday, beating Pender 2-1 before losing 2-1 to Cross County and 2-0 to BRLD.

The Wolverines downed the Patriots 25-23 in the first set, and 28-26 in the second set.

Shelby Paprocki notched 9 digs while Halee Steffensmeier registered 8. Kaegan Held added 14 set assists.

Clarkson/Leigh dropped sets one and three to the Cougars, 27-25 and 25-22, but won set two 25-20.

Hannah Kasik put down 13 kills while Paprocki recorded 9 kills and 17 digs. Beth Wiese added 7 kills while Steffensmeier posted 14 digs. Held totaled 13 digs and 28 set assists.

The Patriots took set one from the Pendragons, 25-13, before winning set three 25-23. Pender took set two, 25-23.

Kasik tallied 12 kills while Steffensmeier contributed 13 digs. Held chipped in 20 set assists.

I thought Clarkson/Leigh was very competitive this past weekend. The Patriots may not have gotten the results they would of liked in terms of wins and losses, but there are a lot of positives to take away from this tournament.

Clarkson/Leigh (9-8) hosts Lutheran High Northeast (12-8) and Shelby/Rising City (10-7) in their home triangular Tuesday night.

The Eagles won 3-0 at home over O'Neill St. Mary's on Thursday while the Huskies beat Palmer 3-2 at home, also on Thursday.

Both these matches figure to be challenging for the Patriots without a doubt.

I'm sure Clarkson/Leigh will welcome both challenges though.

To be the best you have to beat the best, and the Patriots have an excellent opportunity in front of them, in my opinion.

When you talk about building a program, and becoming a great team, these are the types of matches you typically want to win, or at least compete well in.

Clarkson/Leigh is a work in progress in my mind as the team is relatively young, but at some point the team has to get over the hump and become a team to be reckoned with.

This team has already taken a lot of steps into making this program a contender now and in the future, now it's just a matter of continuing to build on that and improving.

I look for the Patriots to compete well against both teams on Tuesday.

Clarkson/Leigh may come up short in both matches, or they may win one, but either way I look for the sets to be close, and the Patriots to win a set in each match at the very least, kind of like Saturday.

I think this team is still a year or two away from winning these types of triangulars, but anything is possible with this team.

There's a lot of talent and promise across the board, and I think the future is bright for Clarkson/Leigh, regardless of how they do on Tuesday.

I look for the Patriots to make some more headway on Tuesday, and take more positive steps in the right direction.

Clarkson/Leigh has a week full of difficult matches so it's important for the Patriots to play well and start off on the right foot on Tuesday.

Clarkson/Leigh is at home against Humphrey St. Francis on Thursday and has the Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family Tournament on Saturday.

Logan View falls to Clarkson/Leigh and Madison

The Logan View Raiders lost 3-0 at home to Clarkson/Leigh Tuesday night and fell 3-0 at Madison Thursday night.

In the Clarkson/Leigh match, the Patriots won the first set 27-25, the second set 25-15, and the third set 25-17.

Ashley Uhing paced the Raiders with 6 kills.

Assistant Coach Brad Schlegel says his girls started out well....but lost 27 to 25 in the first set. "It was pretty frustrating for our girls. They really letdown that they let that first one get away. When we had that lead going in, and we had that good chance to capitalize when I think we were up 25-24. And it just takes it out of them, sucks it out of them, and then they struggled to kind of regroup, but then we came back and fought hard in the third, it was good to see."

Schlegel says he's a little shorthanded. "Yeah we're kind of playing with kind of a rag tag bunch. We started the year with 20 girls, and we had a couple decide to go get jobs instead of play so we're down about 2 or 3 players that would have been active on our varsity team that would of been in the rotation on our varsity team. And then Shaylin (Daugherty) goes down as well on our first game of the year."

The Dragons defeated Logan View 25-13 in set one, 25-18 in set two, and 25-23 in set three.

It appears the Raiders' confidence is shot. Logan View definitely needs to rediscover and find themselves quickly.

The Raiders (2-17) are at Bancroft-Rosalie-Lyons-Decatur (12-12) Tuesday night.

The Wolverines went 1-2 at the Clarkson/Leigh Tournament on Saturday, beating Clarkson/Leigh 2-0, but falling 2-0 to Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family and David City Aquinas.

BRLD has been up and down this season, but has done some nice things.

Logan View is in a tough spot, but the positive thing is the Wolverines are coming off a couple of losses.

The Raiders have to put last week behind them and forget about what happened.

Logan View has to refocus themselves on BRLD, and have a good showing.

The Raiders need to come out inspired and ready to play. Logan View can't afford to come out flat and uninspired.

The Raiders played well in the third set against Madison, and got better as the match went on, but Logan View has to start better against the Wolverines if they hope to win the match.

The Raiders have to play the way they did in set one against Clarkson/Leigh for the most part except they need to finish this time around.

Logan View has to keep their heads up and remain positive throughout the entire match.

The Raiders are in a difficult spot in that they lost a couple of tough matches last week, and need to somehow snap out of this funk they are in and play better.

There are a lot of challenging matches left on the schedule for Logan View so the Raiders need to get things turned around quickly if they want to compete and have success at the end of this season.

Logan View has a choice...they can either get this ship righted or pack it in for the rest of the season.

The Raiders have to be better from here on out if they are to build some momentum for the postseason and next season.

Logan View had no business getting swept by the Dragons, and needs to play at a higher level.

We will see what the Raiders can do Tuesday night.

First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. on 107.9 the Bull.

BRLD goes 1-2 at Clarkson/Leigh Tournament

The Bancroft-Rosalie-Lyons-Decatur Wolverines went 1-2 at the Clarkson/Leigh Tournament on Saturday, losing 2-0 to David City Aquinas and Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, but knocking off the host Patriots 2-0.

The Wolverines took set one from Clarkson/Leigh, 25-23, and won set two 28-26.

The Monarchs beat BRLD 25-14 in the first set, and 25-17 in the second set.

The Bulldogs earned 25-18 wins in both sets to knock off the Wolverines.

BRLD appeared to have played well against the Patriots, but struggled in their other two matches it looks like.

The Wolverines (12-12) host Logan View (2-17) Tuesday night.

The Raiders lost 3-0 at Madison last time out.

Logan View has had a difficult season, and has lost some girls either to injury or quitting.

Logan View is C-1, but has been swept by all the D-1 schools they've faced.

BRLD still has to come to play, but as long as the Wolverines are ready to go, they should have no trouble knocking off the Raiders.

It would really surprise me if this match isn't a sweep.

I think BRLD is a quality team that has been up and down, and is still trying to become consistent, and perhaps can gain some more confidence and momentum with a win over Logan View.

The Wolverines only have this match this week so it's important for BRLD to take care of business heading into next Tuesday's match at North Bend Central.

The match with the Tigers will be huge for the Wolverines, but BRLD can't overlook or underestimate the Raiders.

BRLD has to come out and do their job Tuesday night, and then get ready for North Bend Central.

The Wolverines will be well rested for that match with the Tigers, and perhaps can give North Bend Central a match, but first things first, BRLD has to get the job done against Logan View.

The Wolverines have to be focused and ready to go. I'm sure BRLD would like to come out of the gates fast, and damper the Raiders' spirits.

If the Wolverines can get up a set or two they should be in good shape.

I'm sure BRLD doesn't want to lose a set or two though, and give Logan View confidence.

The last thing the Wolverines want to do is give the Raiders hope and belief that they can get the job done and win.

First serve between BRLD and Logan View is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard on 107.9 the Bull.