Winnebago beats Madison, falls to Laurel-Concord-Coleridge

The Winnebago Volleyball Team won 3-1 at Madison Tuesday night before falling 3-0 at Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Thursday night.

The Indians defeated the Dragons 25-17 in set one and 25-18 in set two before losing set three 25-22 and winning set four 25-23.

The Bears won set one 25-9, set two 25-13, and set three 25-18.

Good win for Winnebago in beating Madison, but a tough loss to Laurel-Concord-Coleridge.

The Indians (12-11) take part in the Lewis and Clark Conference Tournament on Saturday.

Winnebago will play Creighton (5-16) and Wakefield-Allen (13-11) in Allen.

The Bulldogs lost 3-0 at Bloomfield Thursday night while the Trojans won 3-0 at home over Emerson-Hubbard Thursday night.

I think the Indians have a good chance to beat Creighton, and possibly Wakefield-Allen as well.

The pool winner advances to play Winside at Homer on Monday.

Winnebago has to continue to step things up like they have all season.

The Indians are an improved and improving ball club, and what they have done this year has been impressive.

Winnebago has to try and do everything they can to win this pool.

I think it could very well come down to the Indians and Trojans to decide who moves on to face the Wildcats.

Winnebago has to play better than they did against the Bears if they want to advance though.

The Indians have to step things up if they want to be where they want to be at the end of the day.

The matches will start at 2:00 p.m. and follow a rolling schedule with it being best 2 out of 3 matches.

Winnebago has to come out motivated and determined, and has to really want to be there.

The Indians have to get fired up and take it to both teams throughout both matches.

Winnebago has to come out and do everything in their power to win both matches.

Should the Indians not win their pool they would play in a consolation match at a TBD Site and would either play at 5:00 p.m. or right after that with it being a best three out of five format.

Winnebago hopes they're playing in the winner's bracket though, I mean that's where everyone wants to be.

If not though then I think the Indians have a good shot to go 2-1 in this tournament.

We'll see what happens though, I think Winnebago is capable of making a run in this tournament.

Wisner-Pilger 4-1 in last five matches

The Wisner-Pilger Volleyball Team went 2-1 at their own tournament on Saturday before winning 3-0 at home over Tekamah-Herman Tuesday night and 2-1 over Howells-Dodge in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament at home Thursday night.

The Gators downed DC West 2-0 on Saturday, taking set one 25-18 and set two 25-20.

Karrin Jindra had 7 kills while Aspin Waterman totaled 12 digs and Emily Buhrman 8. Adi Meyer added 12 set assists.

The Gators topped Neligh-Oakdale 25-7 in set one and 25-10 in set two.

Rachel Otten had 8 kills while Waterman notched 7 digs. Meyer dished out 13 set assists.

Wisner-Pilger defeated the Tigers 25-11 in set one, 25-12 in set two, and 25-15 in set three.

Otten had 7 kills while Jindra and Buhrman registered 16 and 13 digs, respectively. Meyer posted 16 set assists.

The Jaguars took set one 26-24 before the Gators won set two 25-19 and set three 25-22.

Otten registered 9 kills while Jindra recorded 8 kills and 14 digs. Buhrman had 13 digs while Waterman chipped in 12. Meyer added 8 digs and 11 set assists.

Really good and impressive stretch of matches for Wisner-Pilger, in my opinion.

The Gators (16-9) battle Stanton (16-11) in the semifinals of the EHC Tournament in Pender on Saturday.

The Mustangs defeated Madison and Clarkson/Leigh 2-0 in the first and second rounds of the tournament at home Thursday night.

Wisner-Pilger defeated Stanton 2-1 at their home triangular on September 24th.

It won't be easy to beat the Mustangs a second time, but it can happen for the Gators.

Wisner-Pilger has to come out and play the way they did in their four wins over their last five matches.

The Howells-Dodge match might have been a little too close for comfort though so the Gators need to raise their level of play and play even better than they did in that match.

I'm thinking Saturday's match will go the distance, but we will see.

I think any of the 4 teams in the Semifinals can win the tournament.

This is Wisner-Pilger's opportunity to win a big tournament.

The Gators have to play the way they are capable of on Saturday.

It won't be easy though as Stanton has played really well so far this week.

These two are rivals too so it should be a great match for sure.

Wisner-Pilger has to play hard and smart from the start and execute.

Otten, Jindra, and Meyer need to continue to produce offensively, and Jindra and Buhrman need to continue to perform at a high level defensively.

The Gators need to keep playing their game and do what they have done much of the season.

This match should be very entertaining, compelling, and intense.

I'm sure both teams' fans will get behind their team and cheer them on to what they hope is a victory.

Wisner-Pilger has to find a way to get the job done, and has to have the will and determination to knock off the Mustangs.

North Bend Central beats Tekamah-Herman, loses to and then beats BRLD

The North Bend Central Volleyball Team is 2-1 in their last three matches, winning 3-0 at home over Tekamah-Herman last Thursday before falling 3-2 at BRLD Tuesday night, and then downing the Wolverines 2-0 in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament at home Thursday night.

NBC downed Tekamah-Herman 25-9 in set one, 25-17 in set two, and 25-15 in set three.

In the first meeting, The Wolverines got out to an 11-2 lead in set one and took the set 25-16.

North Bend Central responded in set two, taking a hard fought set 25-23.

The Tigers then went on to win set three 25-16 to go up 2-1.

BRLD refused to quit though as the Wolverines won set four 25-20 to force a decisive fifth set.

The Wolverines went up 14-9 before closing things out 15-13 in set five with an Alyssa Buchholz kill.

North Bend Central was led by Lauren Emanuel, who had 14 kills. Megan Ortmeier added 9.

In Thursday's meeting, the Tigers took set one 25-21 and set two 25-22.

Nice job by NBC to bounce back and beat the Wolverines after losing to them on the Bull on Tuesday.

North Bend Central (16-7) battles Oakland-Craig (20-8) in the Semifinals of the EHC Tournament in Pender on Saturday.

The Knights defeated Twin River and Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family 2-1 in the first and second rounds in Humphrey Thursday night.

The two teams met in Oakland on September 24th with the Tigers winning in five sets, and on September 7th in the Northeast Nebraska Volleyball Classic with NBC winning in three sets.

It's never easy to beat a team three times in a season, but that is exactly what the Tigers will try and do against Oakland-Craig on Saturday.

If North Bend Central plays the way they did on Thursday I think they have a good chance to advance to the championship.

But if the Tigers play the way they did on Tuesday then they could find themselves in a dog fight once again.

North Bend Central has to come out and play with aggression, heart, passion, pride, grit, tenacity, and mental and physical toughness.

The Tigers have to really get after things and get to the tough hit balls and things of that sort.

North Bend Central has to find ways to win long rallies and score critical points.

The Tigers also need to serve and hit well, in addition to continuing to block, pass, and serve receive well.

North Bend Central has to communicate and have good judgement as to who is going to serve receive the ball and if hits and serves are in or out of bounds.

The Tigers have to be efficient and effective at the net, and get it down in the front row with their bigs.

North Bend Central needs someone like Maddy Renner to serve a bunch of points in a row throughout the match.

The Tigers need to go on scoring runs, and capitalize on opportunities.

North Bend Central also has to get their hands up quickly and have quick hands on hits from the likes of Bailey Helzer and Kennedy Benne, especially Helzer.

GACC 2-2 in last four matches

The Guardian Angels Central Catholic Volleyball Team fell 3-0 at Battle Creek last Tuesday night in action aired on 107.9 the Bull before losing 2-1 to Lutheran High Northeast, but beating Wisner-Pilger 2-0 at the Wisner-Pilger Triangular Thursday night, and then winning 3-0 at home over Pierce Tuesday night.

The Bravettes won set one 25-19, set two 25-13, and set three 25-22.

Sophia Hass had 14 kills and 12 digs while Brooklyn Bailey notched 10 digs. Hanna Knobbe added 29 set assists.

The Bluejays downed the Gators 26-24 in set one and 25-21 in set two.

Bailey had 13 kills while Hass totaled 9 kills and 8 digs. Erica Engelmeyer added 10 digs while Megan Plagge registered 8. Knobbe pitched in 24 set assists.

The Eagles won set one 25-12 before GACC took set two 25-23 only to drop set three 25-20.

Hass notched 12 kills and 11 digs while Bailey totaled 8 kills. Knobbe had 13 digs and 28 set assists while Engelmeyer chipped in 11 digs.

GACC won the first set over Pierce 25-22, took set two 25-21, and won set three 25-20.

Hass recorded 20 kills and 41 digs while Bailey had 12 kills and 16 digs. Engelmeyer finished with 20 digs while Taylor Timmerman notched 18. Plagge added 15 while Knobbe chipped in 37 set assists.

Overall good play for the Bluejays as of late I feel.

GACC (11-9) plays host to Crofton (10-12) in their home finale Thursday night.

The Warriors won 2-0 over Wausa and Creighton at the Knox County Tournament earlier this week.

I would think the Bluejays would be able to win this one in three or four sets.

It would be a big deal for these seniors to win their final match on their home floor too.

GACC has to come out and dominate from start to finish Thursday night.

Hass, Bailey, and Knobbe need to have big matches offensively, and Plagge, Bailey, Hass, and Engelmeyer need to continue to play well defensively.

These girls have put up some impressive numbers and statistics on a consistent basis lately and need to keep it up.

The Bluejays have to keep going and must continue to play at a high level.

Of course this match is leading up to the Mid-State Conference Tournament next week.

That's always a big tournament, and GACC generally does pretty well in it.

The Bluejays have to use this match with Crofton to gear up for that tournament and play well and at a high level.

GACC also has to enjoy and embrace their final home match of the season.

It's a chance for the seniors to reflect and think on the last four years and all the Volleyball they played growing up.

Pretty soon it will be all over and these girls will be moving to a different part and chapter in their lives.

But for now and in this moment the Bluejays have a job to do and a match to win against the Warriors.

GACC has to come out and play well, take care of business, and leave no doubt Thursday night.

It's a great time to be a Bluejay with the softball team on the state run they're currently on so I'm sure lots of people will be listening to us and/or scoreboard watching before Thursday night's match.

You have to figure the crowd might be a little smaller than usual so GACC may not have their usual home advantage, but that remains to be seen.

Tekamah-Herman 0-3 in last three matches

The Tekamah-Herman Volleyball Team fell 3-1 at home to Pender last Tuesday night before losing 3-0 at North Bend Central Thursday night and 3-0 at Wisner-Pilger this past Tuesday night.

The Pendragons won set one 25-19, and took set three 27-25 and set four 26-24 after losing set two 25-19.

North Bend Central took set one 25-9, set two 25-17, and set three 25-15.

The Gators claimed set one 25-11, set two 25-12, and set three 25-15.

I thought Tekamah-Herman competed well against Pender.

The Tigers (2-22) battle Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family (16-7) in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament in Humphrey Thursday night.

The Bulldogs went 3-0 at their own Round Robin on Saturday.

Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family is playing very good Volleyball right now and will be really tough to beat.

If Tekamah-Herman plays the way they can and are capable of though then they can definitely win this one.

The Tigers have to dream big and believe that anything can happen.

Tekamah-Herman may only have 9 girls out for the team, but the Tigers have and play with a lot of heart.

The Tigers need to get ready to come out and play amazing Volleyball on Thursday.

It's Conference Tournament time, and Tekamah-Herman has to rise to the occasion.

The Tigers have to do everything they can to spring the upset and avoid the consolation bracket.

Tekamah-Herman has a very tall task in front of them, but there is never a mountain high enough to stop the Tigers, in my opinion.

Tekamah-Herman has to keep working hard in their relentless pursuit to be successful.

The Tigers have to keep improving and can't get down on themselves even if they get behind early.

If Tekamah-Herman can keep the sets close or even take a set I think they might be able to win the match as well.

The Tigers have their work cut out for them in this one, but Tekamah-Herman has to come into this one expecting to do well.

The winner gets Oakland-Craig or Twin River and the loser the loser of that match so the Tigers need to come out and play exceptional Volleyball in both matches on Thursday.

Tekamah-Herman has to try and pull the biggest upset of the tournament as I feel this would be the biggest upset of the tournament unless like Madison were to beat Stanton or Twin River knocked off Oakland-Craig.

The Tigers and Bulldogs will play after the Knights and Titans go at it at 4:30 p.m.

Oakland-Craig 2-1 in last three matches

The Oakland-Craig Volleyball Team is 2-1 in their last three matches, winning 3-0 at home over Pender Thursday night in action aired on 107.9 the Bull before winning 2-0 over Logan View/Scribner-Snyder and losing 2-1 to Fremont Bergan at their home Triangular Tuesday night.

The Knights took set one from the Pendragons 25-15, set two 25-13, and set three 25-15.

Bailey Helzer had 16 kills and 16 digs while Kennedy Benne registered 12 kills and 23 digs. Ashten Rennerfeldt added 29 digs while Mya Guzinski and Josie Richards posted 21 and 13 set assists, respectively.

Oakland-Craig took set one from the Raiders 25-20, and won set two 25-23.

Bergan won set one 25-20, and took set three 25-22 after losing set two 25-20.

Great effort and play by O-C on Thursday and Tuesday.

The Knights (18-8) battle Twin River (7-17) in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament at Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family on Thursday.

The Titans lost 3-0 at home to Stanton Tuesday night.

Twin River is kind of having an off year this year as they've dropped down to D-1 and haven't had as much success as they've had in the past.

I think Oakland-Craig can beat the Titans and knock off the Bulldogs if they play them.

It wouldn't be easy with H/LHF being on their home floor in Humphrey, but I kind of feel like the Knights are a darkhorse in this Conference Tournament.

Oakland-Craig has played good Volleyball all year, but did lose 3-1 at home to the Bulldogs on September 17th.

I feel like the Knights are playing better ball now than they were then though and have picked things up for sure.

The same could be said for Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family so we'll see what happens if the two play.

First things first though, Oakland-Craig has to beat Twin River and the Bulldogs have to knock off Tekamah-Herman.

I look for Helzer and Benne to have big matches once again for the Knights Thursday night.

I think they along with Rennerfeldt, Guzinski, and Richards will help carry this team to an elite and great level.

The Knights have to come out ready to smash and take ownership of both matches on Thursday.

Oakland-Craig has to play to win, and must go out there and play well and be great.

The Knights have to expect to do well and must expect a lot out of themselves.

Oakland-Craig has to expect to win and advance to the winner's bracket on Saturday.

I feel the Knights have the team to do something in this tournament so we'll see if Oakland-Craig can go out there and make it happen.

The Twin River match is scheduled to get underway at 4:30 p.m. in Humphrey.

Stanton loses at Pierce, downs Twin River

The Stanton Volleyball Team lost 3-1 at Pierce Thursday night before winning 3-0 at Twin River Tuesday night.

The Bluejays won set one 25-15 and took set three 25-13 and set four 25-8 after the Mustangs took set two 25-22.

Olivia Cunningham had 13 kills while Ellie Locke posted 10 kills and 8 digs. Jasmine Kment totaled 29 digs while Marissa Remm notched 10. Morgan Remm had 19 set assists while Emily Colwell put down 18.

Stanton downed the Titans 25-16 in sets one and three, and 25-23 in set two.

Surprising loss for the Mustangs on Thursday, but a nice bounce back win Tuesday night.

Stanton (14-11) takes on Madison (2-21) at home in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament Thursday night.

The Dragons fell 3-1 at home to Winnebago Tuesday night.

The Mustangs should win this match, but then again not many probably thought they'd lose to Pierce.

The point is Stanton has to be ready to roll each and every time out, and can't take anyone lightly or for granted.

Not that the Mustangs have done that, but Stanton struggled against the Bluejays for whatever reason.

I fully expect the Mustangs to come out and take this match in two sets.

I would think it would be Stanton against Clarkson/Leigh in the winner's bracket match Thursday night, but you never know.

This could be an interesting and intriguing EHC Tournament that's for sure.

I feel the Mustangs have what it takes to make a run too.

I look for Stanton to at least get to Saturday unbeaten.

The Patriots would be a tough second match on Thursday, but the Mustangs have Clarkson/Leigh's number.

Both of those teams are even record wise though so who knows what would happen in that match.

I think being at home is an advantage for Stanton.

The Mustangs can just relax and play their game in front of their home crowd.

I feel playing at home probably takes some of the pressure off and makes things easier for sure.

Stanton has to come out and play lights out and a great match on Thursday.

The Mustangs have to set the tone for the night by sweeping Madison.

Stanton will know who they will face if they win or lose prior to taking the floor on Thursday.

I look for it to be a successful night of Volleyball for the Mustangs.

We'll find out what Stanton can do in this tournament and what they are made of.