Logan View sweeps Madison; loses to BRLD

The Logan View Volleyball Team swept Madison 3-0 at home last Thursday night, and then lost 3-0 at home to BRLD Tuesday night.

The Raiders downed the Dragons 25-13 in set one, 25-19 in set two, and 28-26 in set three.

The Wolverines topped Logan View 25-4 in the opening set, 25-16 in the middle set, and 25-20 in the last set.

The Raiders did a great job against Madison, and got stronger as the match went on against BRLD.

Logan View (5-16) hosts Fremont Bergan (15-2) and Oakland-Craig (3-19) in a Triangular Tuesday night.

Bergan won the Big Cat Tournament at Fort Calhoun on Saturday, knocking off the host Pioneers, Lincoln Christian, and Sterling 2-0.

Oakland-Craig lost 2-0 to West Point-Beemer and DC West at their own Triangular Tuesday night.

I think the Raiders have a good chance to beat Oakland-Craig and compete and hang with Fremont Bergan.

This team showed me a lot by making the last two sets against BRLD as close as they did.

Logan View showed me they aren't going to quit, and fight until the very end.

Those are good characteristics all great teams have, and the Raiders are certainly headed in the right direction.

Logan View has to keep pressing forward and improving, but the progress the Raiders have already made this season is great.

Logan View is already on the right track, and has to keep it up.

The Raiders will have had an entire week to prepare for both teams so I look for Logan View to come out and play well.

The Raiders have to come out and play loose and have fun.

Logan View has to let it rip and just enjoy themselves.

The Raiders have to take pride in their work and play and be proud of what they are doing.

Logan View is changing the culture around and the perception of their program, in my opinion, and it's really nice to see the Raiders doing better than they have in the past.

There's certainly a lot of work left to be done for Logan View, but the Raiders are making good progress and representing themselves very well this season I would say.

Logan View has to keep it up because they are definitely on the right track.

Oakland-Craig 1-5 in last 6 matches

The Oakland-Craig Volleyball team lost 3-0 at Howells-Dodge Thursday night, went 1-2 at the Clarkson/Leigh Tournament on Saturday, beating BRLD 2-0, but losing 2-0 to the host Patriots and Cross County, and lost 2-0 to West Point-Beemer and DC West at their home Triangular Tuesday night.

The Jaguars won set one 25-19, set two 25-20, and set three 25-23.

Natalia McNeill led the way with a team-high 10 kills.

Head Coach Chelsey Quigley says she's proud of the way her young team fought given all the injuries they've had this season. "We've had our hardships with some pretty significant injuries. And we are very young. 5 of the girls out there...this is their first year of any Varsity Volleyball. So tonight I'm feeling pretty good. These girls came out and they had the fire that I've been looking for this entire season. And now that they feel it I hope that we just keep trekkin along and I hope that we can get some wins down the road because they can feel it now, and they have the fire."

The Knights topped the Wolverines 25-23 in the first set, and 25-18 in the second set.

The Patriots defeated the Knights 25-10 in set one, and 25-12 in set two.

The Cougars downed Oakland-Craig 25-22 in the first set, and 25-21 in the second set.

The Cadets beat the Knights 25-17 in set one, and 25-13 in set two.

The Falcons upended Oakland-Craig 25-11 in the opening set, and 25-19 in the final set.

I thought the Knights did a great job competing against Howells-Dodge, BRLD, and Cross County.

Oakland-Craig (3-19) hosts Pender (4-15) Thursday night in a match that can be heard on 107.9 the Bull.

The Pendragons lost 3-0 at Tekamah-Herman Tuesday night.

Pender beat the Knights 2-1 at the Northeast Nebraska Tournament on September 2nd.

This is a match of something's got to give.

Both teams have struggled and are still trying to find their way, and this should be a great, close, and compelling match.

I look for the match to go five sets with Oakland-Craig perhaps winning this time around.

The Knights are at home and the bigger school, but the Pendragons did win the first time around.

If Oakland-Craig has some girls back they should stand a good chance to win this time around.

Even if the Knights have the same lineup they had against the Jaguars they should still have a chance at a victory.

Oakland-Craig has to bring their best though. The Knights have to play the way they did against the Wolverines, Cougars, and Jaguars.

If Oakland-Craig plays the way they did against Clarkson/Leigh, West Point-Beemer, and DC West though it's going to be tough for the Knights to win, in my opinion.

Oakland-Craig needs to be at their best to come away with a victory in this one I would say.

Only the Knights' best effort will yield them a victory I think.

Oakland-Craig can't afford to have any bad sets. There's really not a lot of margin for error in this match given how even it is.

The Knights just have to go out there and have fun and enjoy themselves.

These are two young teams that have brighter days ahead so Oakland-Craig just has to go out there and compete, and give things their best shot.

Join us for the match on 107.9 the Bull with Sports Director Tom McMahon beginning at 7:30 p.m.

It should be a good, exciting, thrilling, and entertaining match so I hope you will turn on the Bull for all the action.

I truly believe this match is a toss up and will go five sets.

Pender 0-4 in last four matches

The Pender Volleyball Team went 0-3 at the Clarkson/Leigh Tournament on Saturday and lost 3-0 at Tekamah-Herman Tuesday night.

The Pendragons fell 2-0 to BRLD, Cross County, and Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family on Saturday.

The Wolverines defeated Pender 25-19 in set one, and 25-6 in set two.

The Cougars downed the Pendragons 25-21 in the first set, and 25-10 in the second set.

The Bulldogs beat Pender 25-14 in set one, and 25-18 in set two.

The Tigers claimed set one 25-11, set two 25-16, and set three 25-13.

Marin Jetensky led Tekamah-Herman (14-7) with 17 kills while Anna Wakehouse had 7.

Pender was led by Sadie Lamplot and Rylee Lehmkuhl, who had 4 kills each.

I thought the Pendragons did a good job being competitive in a set against all those teams, but ultimately Pender wasn't consistently good enough to pick up a win or even take a set.

The Pendragons (4-15) travel to Oakland to take on Oakland-Craig (3-19) Thursday night.

The Knights lost 2-0 to West Point-Beemer and DC West at their home triangular Tuesday night.

This match is a toss up if you ask me. I feel things could go either way.

It's a match between two teams who are struggling and still trying to find their way.

I look for the match to be close and compelling though. I think Pender will hang right in there with and compete well against Oakland-Craig.

It's a matter of the Pendragons competing well in all sets for them to come out on top though, in my opinion.

In a match like this one bad set could be the difference in the match so Pender has to play well throughout to maximize their potential of picking up a win.

Both teams are young, and fairly evenly matched, in my opinion.

The Pendragons beat the Knights 2-1 at the Northeast Nebraska Tournament on September 2nd, but both of these teams are different now than they were then, in my opinion.

With that said, I like Pender's chances of beating Oakland-Craig again.

The Knights are at home and the bigger school, and that's certainly an advantage for them, but I feel the Pendragons might have a little bit more talent than the Knights.

It really depends on who Oakland-Craig has available and healthy though as they've been battling injuries.

If the Knights have their key players back they're going to be tougher than if those players weren't playing.

If they're back it doesn't mean Pender can't still win though. I feel the Pendragons are capable of winning this match.

I do think the match will go five sets though. I think we're due for a good match on 107.9 the Bull Thursday night.

Speaking of the Bull, that's where you can hear the match beginning at 7:30 p.m. with Sports Director Tom McMahon.

It should be a great, compelling, and entertaining match, and I certainly hope you will join us for all the action.

Clarkson/Leigh goes 2-1 at own tournament; splits Lutheran High Northeast Triangular

The Clarkson/Leigh Volleyball team went 2-1 at their own tournament on Saturday, and split the Lutheran High Northeast Triangular Tuesday night.

On Saturday, the Patriots beat Oakland-Craig and Howells-Dodge 2-0, and lost to David City Aquinas 2-0.

Clarkson/Leigh topped Shelby/Rising City 2-0 Tuesday night, and lost 2-0 to the host Eagles.

The Monarchs downed the Patriots 25-17 in sets one and two.

Beth Wiese led the way with 7 kills while Sara McEvoy had 7 digs. Kaegan Held registered 16 set assists.

Clarkson/Leigh defeated the Jaguars 25-16 in the first set, and 25-21 in the second set.

Sydney Folken totaled 11 kills while Wiese notched 7. Halee Steffensmeier turned in 10 digs while Held dished out 26 set assists.

The Patriots topped the Knights 25-10 in set one, and 25-12 in set two.

Hannah Kasik posted 8 kills while Wiese had 7 kills and 7 digs. Steffensmeier added 10 digs while McEvoy recorded 7 digs and 21 set assists.

Lutheran High Northeast beat Clarkson/Leigh 25-20 in the first set, and 25-21 in the second set.

The Patriots knocked off the Huskies 25-22 in set one, and 25-15 in set two.

Clarkson/Leigh has continued to play good Volleyball. Losing the way they did to a good C-1 team in Aquinas and a good C-2 team in Lutheran High Northeast is certainly nothing to get discouraged or hang your head about.

The Patriots (15-5) take on Humphrey St. Francis (13-4) on the road Thursday night.

The Flyers lost 2-0 to Elgin Public/Pope John, but beat O'Neill St. Mary's 2-0 at the Elgin Public/Pope John Triangular Tuesday night.

This figures to be a very difficult match for Clarkson/Leigh. Humphrey St. Francis might be better than David City Aquinas or Lutheran High Northeast, in my opinion.

I fully expect the Patriots to be competitive and play well in this match though.

I feel Clarkson/Leigh has the potential to win this match, and can at least push the match to 4 or 5 sets.

The Patriots are beyond moral victories at this point though. Anything less than a win figures to be somewhat disappointing for Clarkson/Leigh.

A loss to the Flyers isn't devastating and heartbreaking by any means given how good they are, but I'm sure it would be really nice for the Patriots to win.

Wins always feel better than losses, and the Patriots have to get back to playing the type of Volleyball they did in the Hampton Tournament.

Clarkson/Leigh played so well that day, and I'm not saying the Patriots are playing any worse now than they were then, but based on the results of those matches, it could be argued that Clarkson/Leigh was playing better at that time.

The Patriots are obviously a quality team, and should go into Humphrey and represent themselves well Thursday night.

I would say this is the type of match Clarkson/Leigh has to find a way to win should they hope to see success in the East Husker Conference Tournament and State Tournament should they make it that far.

The Patriots already knocked off Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family earlier this season so I don't see a reason why Clarkson/Leigh can't beat the other Humphrey school this year too.

The Patriots just have to go out there and play their game, and let their play speak for itself.

Clarkson/Leigh has the Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family Tournament coming up on Saturday and the East Husker Conference Tournament starting next week so this is a critical juncture in the season for the Patriots.

Clarkson/Leigh has to step up and play well, and play their best Volleyball of the season.

The Patriots have to be on top of their game, and I know they can be.

North Bend Central sweeps Malcolm

The North Bend Central Volleyball Team swept Malcolm at home Thursday night, winning sets one and two 25-17, and set three 25-23.

Head Coach Amy Sterup says her team wasn't too psyched up, something she was concerned about coming in. "We were very excited for the chance to play a ranked and battle-tested opponent at home. I was worried about us being too excited and that maybe we would try too hard, taking us out of our game. But I thought the girls handled the opponent and the atmosphere about as well as they could have. They played very well and made very few mistakes, which is the key to beating very good teams like Malcolm."

North Bend Central (18-0) hosts Tekamah-Herman (14-7) Thursday night.

Tekamah-Herman is coming off a 3-0 home sweep of Pender Tuesday night.

Sterup says Tekamah-Herman presents a number of different challenges. "They have some size, certainly. They have beaten some good teams during the season, so we know that they are going to be a challenge. They have some good athletes all over the court, so we will have to be on our game once again."

Tekamah-Herman is led by Marin Jetensky, who had 17 kills in the win over the Pendragons.

Sterup says there's no special plan in place to try and slow her down. "We don’t usually try to do anything special for any one player. We know she is a good player, but we will likely rely on our size and quickness in the back as we always do. Luckily, having such size in the front makes it tough for anyone we play."

North Bend Central has earned the No. 1 seed in the East Husker Conference Tournament. Sterup says her team has a lot left to accomplish yet this season. "We have some very important games coming up. Obviously, you want to keep any momentum you have. We have not achieved the goals that we have set for ourselves yet, so even though we have done well, all of that doesn’t mean much if we don’t finish strong. We are focused on winning the next game, and if we do that, we will have a chance to do more good things."

I would say there's a good chance for North Bend Central to continue to play well and dominate as they've only lost three sets all year.

Sterup says talent and experience has led to her team's success this year. "Obviously, we have a lot of really good players that have a lot of playing experience. Both of those things are a recipe for success. I think we have been able to have steady performances all year. Not too many ups and downs, which is also a key to a good team and a sign of our experience and leadership. Consistency is key in such a long season."

North Bend Central's ability to stay focused night in and night out is a great testament to the players and coaches, in my opinion.

North Bend Central needs to continue to bring the same kind of effort, enthusiasm, and energy that they have all season for the rest of the season though.

As good as North Bend Central has been this year, there are still a lot of tough matches left.

Teams like Stanton, Howells-Dodge, Tekamah-Herman, Clarkson/Leigh, and others could all challenge North Bend Central before season's end.

And that's not even getting into the postseason, which could be a different challenge in itself for North Bend Central.

With that said, I feel North Bend Central is equipped to continue to dominate through the state tournament in Lincoln, should they get there.

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

The Tekamah-Herman Volleyball team went 2-1 at the Raymond Central Invite on Saturday, downing the host Mustangs and York 2-0, but losing 2-0 to Arlington. The Tigers then turned around and swept Pender 3-0 at home Tuesday night.

Tekamah-Herman topped Raymond Central 25-21 in set one, and 25-11 in set two.

Arlington defeated the Tigers 25-15 in the first set, and 25-16 in the second set.

Tekamah-Herman downed the Dukes 25-20 in set one, and 25-18 in set two.

Against the Pendragons, the Tigers claimed set one 25-11, set two 25-16, and set three 25-13.

Marin Jetensky led Tekamah-Herman with 17 kills while Anna Wakehouse had 7.

Head Coach Becky Rennerfeldt's squad had 8 aces in the match. "We do have tough servers on our team. 8 aces is pretty good. And we typically have something around that each night. That is something that we work on, and we have some tough servers. So that's good too. Like I said, I'm just proud of our defense and maintaining our level of play throughout the night."

Tekamah-Herman (14-7) travels to North Bend Central (18-0) on Thursday."Obviously we're a pretty big underdog against North Bend. Them being undefeated and they just got the No. 1 seed for the Conference Tournament. But I'm hoping that our girls can just show up and compete, and we have nothing to lose, so I just hope we give them our all. And we just want to compete so that's what we're going there to do," Rennerfeldt said.

North Bend Central swept Malcolm 3-0 at home Thursday night.

Beating North Bend Central figures to be very tough, but this Tekamah-Herman team is having a really nice season.

Tekamah-Herman has been consistently good throughout the course of the season, and should be able to at least make a set or two close in the North Bend Central match.

Perhaps Tekamah-Herman can take a set too, but North Bend Central just doesn't drop many sets, and has yet to drop a match this season.

Tekamah-Herman has to head into that match expecting to do well and win though.

Giants can be slayed, and there's no reason why Tekamah-Herman can't be the first team to knock off North Bend Central this season.

Upsets happen in Volleyball all the time, and this Thursday's match could certainly be one.

North Bend Central could also cruise to an easy 3-0 win, but you would like to see Tekamah-Herman at least compete and challenge North Bend Central.

Tekamah-Herman has to go in there and play fearless and relentless.

Tekamah-Herman has to come out with a deep burning fire and passion that comes from within, and rise from the ashes and play well so to speak.

Tekamah-Herman is a good team, and has to play with confidence Thursday night.

Tekamah-Herman has to give North Bend Central their best shot, and play and fight their hardest.

North Bend Central undoubtedly is the better team on paper and has more talent I would say, but last time I checked games are not played on paper.

There's a reason games are played on the court, and so Tekamah-Herman has to simply play optimistic and believe that they can be the first team to knock off mighty North Bend Central this year.

Someone has to beat North Bend Central at some point this season or after this year, so Tekamah-Herman has to be telling themselves why not us on Thursday?

BRLD finishes 1-2 at Clarkson/Leigh Tournament

The BRLD Volleyball team went 1-2 at the Clarkson/Leigh Tournament on Saturday, beating Pender 2-0, but losing 2-0 to Oakland-Craig and David City Aquinas.

The Knights won set one 25-23, and set two 25-18.

Vicki Gatzemeyer led the way with 8 kills and 13 digs while Morgan Bonneau had 7 blocks. Kelcee Bacon added 8 digs while Tiahna Bonneau posted 10 set assists.

The Wolverines earned a 25-19 set one win over the Pendragons, and took set two 25-6.

Bacon notched 15 digs while Gatzemeyer and Brandi Simonsen totaled 11 and 10, respectively.

The Monarchs topped BRLD 25-11 in the first set, and 27-25 in the second set.

Bacon registered 13 digs while Tiahna Bonneau recorded 7 set assists.

A loss to David City Aquinas is understandable, but losing to Oakland-Craig is just head scratching.

The Wolverines (12-12) travel to Logan View (5-15) to take on the Raiders Tuesday night.

Logan View swept Madison 3-0 at home Thursday night.

The Raiders are an improved team, and if BRLD isn't careful, they could lose.

The Wolverines need to get back to getting the type of production they got during their hot streak.

Gatzemeyer can't do it all by herself offensively. Other girls need to step up and hit and pass well like before.

BRLD also needs increased productivity when it comes to digs.

I thought the Wolverines had turned the corner, but I feel like BRLD took a couple of steps back on Saturday.

That's not to say the Wolverines can't regain their recent form, because they definitely can, but this match with Logan View is a must win.

As much improved as the Raiders are, Logan View is still a team BRLD should beat.

The Wolverines have to come out and play with authority Tuesday night.

BRLD has to take the fight to the Raiders, and force Logan View to play from behind.

The Wolverines must play with a sense of purpose and urgency, and also need to play with energy.

BRLD has to take pride in their play, and be committed to playing the type of ball they were in the matches leading up to the Clarkson/Leigh Tournament.

Teams aren't going to be on fire and at their best every week, but how they respond defines what kind of team they are, in my opinion.

The great teams respond quickly from losses, and I think the Wolverines have a chance to respond well Tuesday night.

BRLD must have a quick memory, and must put Saturday's Tournament in the rearview mirror.

The Wolverines played well at times in that tournament, but not well enough throughout to have the kind of success they wanted I would say.

All can be forgotten with a win over the Raiders though. This is one BRLD really needs though with North Bend Central and the East Husker Conference Tournament coming up next week.

This is a must win for the Wolverines.