Ratings: No looking ahead to a big rematch
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BY RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star
A year ago, Johnson County Central was looking forward to a Class C-1 volleyball subdistrict final against Syracuse.
That high-stakes matchup on paper, however, never played out on the court. Falls City, 13-17 entering those subdistrict semifinals, won in five sets to end the Thuderbirds’ season at 24-5.
That may be why Johnson County Central coach Ben Swanson is a little apprehensive talking about his 27-1 and sixth-ranked Thunderbirds possibly taking on fourth-ranked Syracuse (28-1) in Tuesday’s finals at Johnson-Brock.
State volleyball ratings
Class A Pvs.
1. Papillion-La Vista (36-1) 1
2. Omaha Marian (31-6) 2
3. Grand Island (29-1) 3
4. Millard North (22-7) 4
5. Lincoln Southwest (22-9) 5
6. Lincoln East (23-10) 6
7. Papillion-LV South (21-12) 8
8. Kearney (17-13) 9
9. Lincoln Southeast (20-13) —
10. North Platte (16-12) 7
Contenders: Omaha Bryan, Omaha Central, Bellevue East, Millard West, Elkhorn.
Looking back: Two things Saturday changed up the bottom of the top 10 — Lincoln Southeast’s upset of Millard North in the finals of the Mustangs’ Trick or Treat Invitational and North Platte’s losses to Class B ranked teams Hastings (No. 6) and McCook (No. 10) in the Greater Nebraska Conference tournament. Papillion-La Vista solidified its No. 1 spot by avenging an earlier loss to Omaha Marian with a three-set sweep of the Crusaders in the finals of the Metro Conference tournament.
Looking ahead: The district not involved in the seeding process last week — A-7 — is the toughest with three of the four teams rated (Grand Island, Kearney, North Platte). If all seven favorites win their districts, Omaha Bryan currently has the edge for the lone wild card into the state tournament.
Projected district champions: Papillion-La Vista, Omaha Marian, Millard North, Lincoln Southwest, Lincoln East, Papillion-La Vista South, Grand Island.
Class B Pvs.
1. Lincoln Pius X (33-2) 1
2. Northwest (28-3) 2
3. Omaha Gross (21-12) 3
4. Seward (26-4) 4
5. Ogallala (29-4) 5
6. Hastings (21-10) 7
7. Aurora (21-9) 8
8. Omaha Skutt (21-11) 10
9. Waverly (23-10) 6
10. McCook (19-13) —
Contenders: Omaha Duchesne, Nebraska City, Platteview, Alliance, Omaha Mercy, South Sioux City.
Looking back: Waverly slips three spots for a loss to Class A unranked Elkhorn. The fact Hastings, Aurora and Omaha Skutt are a combined 5-0 against Waverly this fall also contributed to the demotion. Duchesne’s loss to South Sioux City in the third-place match of the River Cities Conference tournament allows McCook (Greater Nebraska Conference runner-up) to move in.
Looking ahead: The top five teams in the ratings are in different districts. The toughest districts are B-5 (No. 2 Northwest, No. 6 Hastings and No. 10 McCook) and B-4 (No. 4 Seward, No. 7 Aurora). Seward or Aurora will get one of the wild cards if Pius X, Northwest, Ogallala and Omaha Gross win their respective districts. Barring upsets, it’s extremely tight between McCook, Waverly, Omaha Skutt, Alliance and Hastings for the other wild card.
Projected districts champions: Lincoln Pius X, Omaha Gross, Omaha Skutt, Seward, Northwest, Ogallala.
Class C-1 Pvs.
1. Columbus Scotus (21-2) 1
2. Grand Island CC (28-2) 2
3. St. Paul (27-2) 3
4. Syracuse (28-1) 4
5. Kearney Catholic (22-4) 5
6. Johnson Co. Central (27-1) 6
7. Minden (23-7) 7
8. Wood River (19-7) 8
9. Battle Creek (25-3) 9
10. Norfolk Catholic (20-6) —
Contenders: Gordon-Rushville, West Point-Beemer, Wahoo, Pierce, Wisner-Pilger, Hastings St. Cecilia, Bennington, Lincoln Lutheran.
Looking back: Everything went to form last week. Minden isn’t penalized for a loss to GICC. Battle Creek beat Norfolk Catholic in five sets in the finals of the Mid-State Conference tournament.
Looking ahead: Four ranked teams are in the same district with No. 3 St. Paul, No. 7 Minden and No. 8 Wood River in the same sub-district (C1-8) with the winner likely facing No. 2 GICC (C1-7) in the district final. One of the wild cards is almost certain to go to either GICC or St. Paul. If Battle Creek and Columbus Scotus win their districts, the other will go to Syracuse or Johnson County Central, both of whom are in C1-1.
Projected district champions: Syracuse, West Point-Beemer, Columbus Scotus, Grand Island Central Catholic, Battle Creek, Kearney Catholic.
Class C-2 Pvs.
1. Ravenna (22-7) 1
2. Aquinas (22-7) 2
3. Tri County (21-5) 7
4. Sutton (22-7) 3
5. Superior (23-5) 6
6. Lutheran High NE (25-5) 4
7. North Platte SP (20-6) 5
8. Humboldt-TR-S (20-7) 8
9. Johnson-Brock (23-6) 9
10. Southwest (23-7) —
Contenders: Dundy County-Stratton, Archbishop Bergan, Wilber-Clatonia, Louisville, West Holt, West Point Central Catholic.
Looking back: Tri County won the Southern Nebraska Conference tournament and beat Sutton and Superior along the way. Southwest’s win over previous No. 10 Dundy County-Stratton explains the Roughriders moving in. Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer beat Johnson-Brock in the Pioneer Conference finals.
Looking ahead: This class is wide open. Three of the top five teams are in the same district — Sutton and Superior in the C2-9 sub and Ravenna in C2-10. North Platte St. Patrick‘s, Southwest and Dundy County-Stratton are in the same sub-district (C2-11). The two state tournament wild cards will likely come from those six teams if Aquinas, Tri County and Lutheran High Northeast win their districts.
Projected district champions: Johnson-Brock, Tri County, Aquinas, Lutheran High Northeast, Ravenna, North Platte St. Patrick’s.
Class D-1 Pvs.
1. Elkhorn Valley (20-6) 1
2. Giltner (25-2) 3
3. Humphrey (17-9) 4
4. Exeter-Milligan (18-9) 6
5. Humphrey St. Francis (17-7) 5
6. Pawnee City (19-8) —
7. Freeman (21-7) 2
8. Leyton (28-2) 7
9. Sandhills/Thedford (27-1) 8
10. Bancroft-Rosalie (20-7) —
Contenders: Meridian, Winside, Bertrand, Alma, Silver Lake, Deshler, West Boyd, Overton, Hitchcock County, Eustis-Farnam.
Looking back: A pair of third-place conference tournament matches made a big difference in the ratings. Pawnee City beat Freeman for the second straight time in the Pioneer Conference, while Humphrey St. Francis fell to D-2, No. 7 Dodge in the Cornhusker Conference. Bancroft-Rosalie beat last week’s No. 10, Winside, in the Lewis & Clark Conference tournament.
Looking ahead: This is another class in which anything could happen in the post-season. No. 1 Elkhorn Valley, No. 3 Humphrey and No. 5 Humphrey St. Francis are together in the D1-7 sub-districts. Elkhorn Valley and St. Francis are almost a lock for one of the state tournament wild cards. If favorites Sandhills/Thedford, Leyton and Giltner and Bancroft-Rosalie win their districts, the other goes to a D1-1 sub-district team, either Freeman or Pawnee City.
Projected district champions: Freeman, Giltner, Bancroft-Rosalie, Elkhorn Valley, Sandhills/Thedford, Leyton.
Class D-2 Pvs.
1. Ewing (30-0) 1
2. Paxton (24-0) 2
3. Clay Center (25-1) 3
4. Chambers (26-3) 4
5. Lawrence-Nelson (20-3) 5
6. Pleasanton (22-2) 7
7. Dodge (23-3) 6
8. Elba (25-4) 8
9. Wynot (20-2) 9
10. Hay Springs (20-1) —
Contenders: Falls City Sacred Heart, Pope John, Wallace, Greeley-Wolbach, Parkview Christian, Banner County, Brady.
Looking back: Greeley-Wolbach’s loss to D-1 unranked Burwell allows Hay Springs to move in. Ewing beat Chambers for the second time this season to win the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament.
Looking ahead: The D2-2 sub-district should produce a wild card entry into state since No. 3-ranked Clay Center is second in the point standings and No. 5 Lawrence-Nelson is fourth. Sixth-ranked Pleasanton is also in the D2-2. To get the other wild card, the loser of Ewing and Chambers in D2-6 will need Paxton, Hay Springs and either Clay Center or Lawrence-Nelson to win their districts.
Projected district champions: Clay Center, Elba, Ewing, Wynot, Paxton, Hay Springs.
“We’re not looking beyond our match Monday (today) against Conestoga or Falls City,” said Swanson, whose Thunderbirds handed Syracuse its only loss of the season 25-17, 25-16 on Sept. 9.
“That subdistrict was a lesson learned — never look beyond the next match.’’
Syracuse coach Dean Farley, whose Rockets have not dropped a set since the early loss to the Thunderbirds, is taking a similar approach, especially since neither team has one of the two wild-card spots into the state tournament secured.
Johnson County Central and Syracuse are fifth and sixth, respectively, in the wild-card standings. With second-ranked Grand Island Central Catholic (No. 1 in wild-card points) and No. 3 St. Paul (third in wild-card points) in the same district, one of those wild cards is already spoken for.
For Johnson County Central or Syracuse to get the other wild-card, top-ranked Columbus Scotus and No. 9 Battle Creek (No. 4 in the wild-card standings) must win their districts.
“We’ve got to take care of that first match against Auburn Monday before we can start thinking about anything else,” said Farley, whose team went 30-3 and qualified for state a year ago. “I‘ve told our kids that if going to the state tournament is important to them, they’ve got to count on winning their way into it.”
If Johnson County Central and Syracuse do face off Tuesday, it will be the toughest match either one has played for several weeks. With five starters back from a year ago, the Rockets have played just two ranked opponents in their 23-match winning streak since the loss to the Thunderbirds — Class B No. 4 Seward and D-1 No. 7 Freeman.
“I’m happy with what we accomplished in the regular season,” Farley said. “Their steady and consistent play and hard work in practice shows what kind of kids we have. They didn’t like what happened the first time we played (Johnson County Central). They learned from it and moved on.”
While 5-foot-9 junior all-state outside hitter Jordan Lechner has had another outstanding season (240 kills, 83 ace serves and 190 digs), 6-foot senior middle blocker Katie Dettmer has emerged as another major weapon for the Rockets with 238 kills (.497 hitting efficiency) and 62 ace blocks.
Sophomore setter Megan Farley, the daughter of the coach, is another all-state caliber player, igniting the balanced attack with 653 assists.
Since defeating Syracuse, the Thunderbirds have wins over C-2 No. 8 Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer, C-2 No. 9 Johnson-Brock, D-1 No. 4 Exeter-Milligan and D-1 No. 6 Pawnee City, but none against C-1 ranked foes. The lone loss came in a upset to 18-9 Louisville, a C-2 contender.
“We were up 17-8 in that match, then we started making errors, Louisville got hot and started putting the ball down,” Swanson said. “We can‘t overlook anyone, we have to be focused every time we play.”
Johnson County Central seniors Jamie Straube and Kate Wellensiek hurt the Rockets in the first meeting, and have been the offensive leaders all season. Straube, a 6-2 all-state middle and Iowa State recruit, is hitting .464 with a team-high 267 kills and 58 ace blocks, despite playing most of the season with a stress reaction.
“We’ve limited what Jamie does in practice, in fact she doesn’t approach or hit in warmups,’’ Swanson said. “I don’t know how many coaches asked me (during warmups) if she was out, and I’d just tell them, ‘no, we’re just saving her.’ ”
The 5-8 Wellensiek’s aggressive arm swing has produced 104 ace serves and 218 kills (.328 hitting efficiency). The other outside, 5-7 senior Kelsi Holthus, is hitting .335 with 165 kills and a team-high 138 digs.
Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.
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