Volleyball roundup, 9/7: Pius rallies to win Beatrice title
Class B No. 3 Lincoln Pius X scored 13 of the last 14 points to win the second set and claim a 25-21, 25-22 volleyball victory against top-ranked Northwest in the championship match of the 12-team Beatrice Invitational Saturday.
The two-time defending state champion Thunderbolts (6-0) were down 21-12 in the second when they charged back to win the rematch of last year’s state tournament final in straight sets. Pius X reached Saturday’s final by beating Scottsbluff 25-12, 25-12 in the first round and No. 6 Omaha Skutt 25-14, 25-17 in the semifinals.
“I’m very happy we were able to pull that off,’’ said Pius X coach Jake Moore, whose team graduated four starters from last year. Northwest, on the other hand, has five starters back from its 2007 team.
“With the competition in this tournament, I would’ve been happy with 4-2 this weekend, so to go 6-0 exceeded my expectations. Serving is the big key for us right now (11 ace serves vs. Skutt). We got a lot of free balls and out-of-system balls off our serve, and that made it easier on us.’’
UCLA recruit and Super-State setter Lauren Cook had 68 assists, and Pius X teammate Natalie Braun pounded 41 kills in Saturday’s three matches. Cook had 29 assists, eight digs and two kills against Northwest, while Braun had 14 kills and five digs. Junior middle blocker Allie Falter had eight kills and an ace block in the finals for the Bolts.
Senior outside hitter Kayla Gaden loomed large in the semifinals, pounding six kills and serving aces against Skutt.
“Obviously Lauren is moving the ball around a lot and getting everyone involved offensively,” Moore said. “Natalie got a lot of heat on the ball and hit some that were impossible to dig. She had a great day.”
Silver Star Invitational: Class A No. 2 Lincoln Southwest went 3-0 Saturday to win the Silver Star Invitational. The Silver Hawks (4-0) defeated Lincoln High and North Platte, and then beat Millard West 27-25, 25-19 in the final.
Against Millard West, Ashley Leitner led a balanced Southwest attack with seven kills. Whitney Mason added six kills, while Stacie Hansen and Sarah Faubel both cranked five kills. Kaleigh Anderson’s 12 digs and Stephanie Daffer’s 22 assists ignited the offense.
“We cleaned up our passing errors from Thursday night (against North Star) and gave our offense a lot more opportunities,” Southwest coach Mary Schropfer said.
North Star finished third, defeating North Platte in the consolation match.
Freeman Invitational: Freeman bounced back from a three-set loss to Deshler in pool play to sweep Johnson-Brock 25-23, 25-20 in the finals of the Freeman Invitational.
Kelsey Schuster had 14 kills to pace the Falcons in the championship match.
— Ron Powell
The two-time defending state champion Thunderbolts (6-0) were down 21-12 in the second when they charged back to win the rematch of last year’s state tournament final in straight sets. Pius X reached Saturday’s final by beating Scottsbluff 25-12, 25-12 in the first round and No. 6 Omaha Skutt 25-14, 25-17 in the semifinals.
“I’m very happy we were able to pull that off,’’ said Pius X coach Jake Moore, whose team graduated four starters from last year. Northwest, on the other hand, has five starters back from its 2007 team.
“With the competition in this tournament, I would’ve been happy with 4-2 this weekend, so to go 6-0 exceeded my expectations. Serving is the big key for us right now (11 ace serves vs. Skutt). We got a lot of free balls and out-of-system balls off our serve, and that made it easier on us.’’
UCLA recruit and Super-State setter Lauren Cook had 68 assists, and Pius X teammate Natalie Braun pounded 41 kills in Saturday’s three matches. Cook had 29 assists, eight digs and two kills against Northwest, while Braun had 14 kills and five digs. Junior middle blocker Allie Falter had eight kills and an ace block in the finals for the Bolts.
Senior outside hitter Kayla Gaden loomed large in the semifinals, pounding six kills and serving aces against Skutt.
“Obviously Lauren is moving the ball around a lot and getting everyone involved offensively,” Moore said. “Natalie got a lot of heat on the ball and hit some that were impossible to dig. She had a great day.”
Silver Star Invitational: Class A No. 2 Lincoln Southwest went 3-0 Saturday to win the Silver Star Invitational. The Silver Hawks (4-0) defeated Lincoln High and North Platte, and then beat Millard West 27-25, 25-19 in the final.
Against Millard West, Ashley Leitner led a balanced Southwest attack with seven kills. Whitney Mason added six kills, while Stacie Hansen and Sarah Faubel both cranked five kills. Kaleigh Anderson’s 12 digs and Stephanie Daffer’s 22 assists ignited the offense.
“We cleaned up our passing errors from Thursday night (against North Star) and gave our offense a lot more opportunities,” Southwest coach Mary Schropfer said.
North Star finished third, defeating North Platte in the consolation match.
Freeman Invitational: Freeman bounced back from a three-set loss to Deshler in pool play to sweep Johnson-Brock 25-23, 25-20 in the finals of the Freeman Invitational.
Kelsey Schuster had 14 kills to pace the Falcons in the championship match.
— Ron Powell
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