After four days of fierce competition, six teams claimed titles on Saturday at the 2024 NSAA Nebraska Volleyball State Championships.

For highlights and interviews from all six matches, check out the NebPreps Instagram page.

CLASS D2

Shelton junior Erin Gegg tips the ball over the net. Photo by Mike Sautter.

No. 3 Shelton def. No. 1 Leyton 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-16)

The Leyton Warriors entered Saturday looking to complete an undefeated season, but Shelton had other plans. The Bulldogs (32-3) ran right through the Warriors to claim the first volleyball championship in school history.

“I felt like the girls just followed our game plan and executed very well,” Shelton coach Misti Potter said. “We passed the ball, and that was our whole goal today was to pass well so we could stay in system.”

Juniors Erin Gegg, a middle blocker, and Jalyn Branson, an outside hitter, totaled 40 kills between them — six more than every other player in the match combined. Gegg had 24 kills despite only playing in the front row, hitting .347. Branson had 16 kills and 17 digs playing all six rotations.

“It’s really fun that we’re opposites of each other,” Gegg said. “So it’s basically like I sub out and I don’t have to worry about anything because Jalyn’s got my back … To have each other and to be opposites and be able to trust each other is really important.”

Libero Ellie Morgan, one of just two seniors on the roster, recorded a match-high 25 digs and served two aces. Nearly everyone else will be back for the Bulldogs next season.

Last year, Shelton made the state tournament as an eight seed, falling in four sets to top-seeded Cambridge. Gegg and Branson said that loss was the start of this year’s title run, and Potter said she knew her team was capable of winning it all after that match.

“When we lost that game, I knew that there was more potential than they showed,” Potter said. “They came hard during the summer, worked hard in the weight room, worked hard during camps, all of that.”

That offseason work paid off as Shelton didn’t drop a set in Lincoln.

The Bulldogs set the tone from the opening serve, racing out to a 6-1 lead and stretching the advantage to nine at 17-8. Leyton settled in and cut into the deficit with a 7-2 run, but 19-15 was as close as the Warriors got as Shelton closed it out.

Gegg had nine kills in the set, including a big swing on set point.

“I’m proud of our back row,” Gegg said. “They were talking to me. We started out with some quick hits, some different hits, some slides, and then we eventually started to get their defense on their toes. So to be able to push the ball, tip the ball behind the block, it really helps.”

The second set saw a faster start from Leyton and more competition throughout with 11 ties and five lead changes. The Warriors won the race to 24, but Shelton saved a set point with a game-tying kill from Riley Jones and Gegg terminated on the next two rallies to pull it out for the Bulldogs.

Shelton took control much sooner in set three, ripping off a 9-0 run to break a 4-all tie, and the Warriors never threatened from there.

Senior Shawnee Gamble led the 35-1 Warriors with 11 kills while Jones and Ella Haley combined for 13 kills without an error.

CLASS D1

Superior sophomore Reagan Meyers (12) set a single-season all-class kills record during the state championship. Photo by Drew Balus.

No. 3 Superior def. No. 5 Exeter-Milligan/Friend 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-17)

Superior sophomore Reagan Meyers earned a gold medal to cap off a record-setting season with a state title.

After two five-set thrillers in the quarters and semis, Superior won its second state title with relative ease, sweeping EMF.

“I’m very happy with how we played,” Superior coach Jessica Diehl said. “I thought our schedule and the bracket really set us up for success, honestly. I thought Cedar Catholic was a very, very tough opening match; they were incredible. BDS, having to play them for a third time and being able to compete and win. Then of course, getting EMF in the final and kind of making that full circle since we had a jamboree game. They were our first competition of the year this year and we ended with them as well, so that was kind of a fun moment. I’m just so incredibly proud of these girls and they earned it every step of the way.”

Meyers, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, totaled 23 kills on .308 hitting, 15 digs and an ace to lead the Wildcats. She called it a dream come true to play at the Devaney Center.

“When I watched that 2017 state championship, I told myself — I was 6 or 7 years old I think — I was going to be here one day,” Meyers said. “It’s just been in the back of my mind every single game. I want more. I’m hungry for more.”

Meyers totaled  36 kills in the first round and 30 more in the semifinals, giving her 89 kills in the tournament. She finished her sophomore season with 834 kills, breaking the previous all-class record of 812 by Papillion-La Vista’s Kyla Roehrig in 2003. She averaged 7.58 kills per set and hit well over .300.

“To be honest, I’m not surprised,” Diehl said. “She is extremely dedicated. Very young, so to be able to have all that pressure — we knew along the way. We keep track, and she’s very eager to know everything. She takes that, runs with it and always wants more. She’s never satisfied with anything … She works her tail off and she’s got some incredible teammates around her that just lift her up and keep her alive and open up so she can be just as successful.”

Superior used a 3-0 run including an ace from Meyers to take the lead early in set one and held onto it the rest of the way.

The second set was tight for much of the way until a 5-0 Wildcat run including back-to-back aces from Cora Schnakenberg created a big enough cushion for Superior to withstand a late EMF run.

The third set was much less competitive as Superior raced out to a 6-1 start and never looked back. The lead peaked at 13 before the Bobcats pushed back late to make the final score a bit more respectable.

Superior held EMF to .025 hitting in the match as Meyers nearly matched EMF’s kills total by herself.

“I think our defense really came alive during this tournament,” Meyers said. “We’ve been pretty consistent all year long, but I feel like all four of us, five of us, stepped it up and played outstanding defense.”

Junior Kaydence Haase capped her own stellar season with 15 kills and six digs for the Bobcats.

CLASS C2

Lincoln Lutheran libero Keri Leimbach holds the C2 state championship trophy with her teammates. Photo by Drew Balus.

No. 1 Lincoln Lutheran def. No. 3 Thayer Central 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-20)

Lincoln Lutheran overcame some uncharacteristic mistakes and a first-set loss to secure its fourth straight state title.

After giving away the first set in an error-filled frenzy, the Warriors dominated the middle two sets then erased a deficit with a strong finish in set four, securing the school’s sixth state championship.

“I’m so proud of these girls and how they responded to the situation, because when you’re down a set, a lot of teams can fold,” Coach Sue Ziegler said. “Our girls came together because they do that every practice, they do it in the games. They just started to execute the game plan. We were just a little bit off to start with, but once they came back, I could tell they would have their confidence back and I was really pleased to see that happen.”

Lutheran’s three seniors — libero Keri Leimbach, setter Jillian Donovan and outside hitter Ava Jurevicius — close out their careers with a perfect record in the state tournament. Jurevicius moved to Nebraska from Ohio last year, but Leimbach, a Nebraska commit, was a four-year starter.

“I think I could have anticipated it, but you don’t ever expect it because it takes a lot of hard work and dedication,” Ziegler said of her seniors’ title sweep. “The opportunities were there for us to kind of reload and refuel and keep things going. We’ve had some great seniors leaving us every year, but then it just seems like this team responds well when we’ve had other girls coming up through the program that love Warrior volleyball. I’m just proud that it happened and I’m very thankful.”

Donovan is a two-year starter with more than 2,000 career assists for the Warriors. She’s been a rock for the Lutheran offense all year long, but she struggled with double-contacts on Saturday to an extreme degree, something Ziegler had never seen from her. Donovan finished with 12 ball-handling errors, but Ziegler stuck with her.

“There were a lot of ball-handling errors and she kept apologizing to me, she goes ‘I’m sorry Coach Zieg.’ I just said, ‘Hey, hang in there,’” Ziegler said. “Michelle Sjuts, who is our setter coach, was talking to her a lot. Other coaches were just getting her love, and I talked to Keri about it and said ‘Just keep Jilly going,’ because those two have been best friends forever and she would listen and she can hear it.

“She thanked us all for supporting her and hanging with her, because we really didn’t have too many options at the time to change out of that. She got a little bit nervous there. I talked to the players and I think the players probably helped her just as much as the coaches did in feeling like you love me and you’re going to take care of me and I’ll do my best.”

Despite the technical mistakes, Donovan (44 assists and 10 digs) still set a balanced offense with four of her attackers recording double-digit kills. Jurevicius led the way with 15 kills and 24 digs, junior Lily Wohlgemuth notched 14 kills and 13 digs and the middle blocker duo of Lauren Kuhlmann and Bella Sjuts combined for 21 kills on .390 hitting.

Leimbach matched Jurevicius with 24 digs and served three aces.

The Warriors all but gave the first set away as 17 of Thayer Central’s 25 points came via Lutheran errors of one sort or another. The second set looked like more of the same as the Titans jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but the Warriors settled in from there and used a 10-1 run to take control, cruising to a 1-1 match tie. Lutheran had little trouble in the third set as well.

“I think how all of us have been at state before, all of our starters have experienced this, I think all of us are pretty equipped for what the environment is like and how we need to adjust to the environment,” Leimbach said. “After the first set, we knew that things needed to be changed, and things were changed. We all found confidence in each other.”

The fourth set proved to be more of a challenge as Thayer Central scored four straight to tie it up at 17-17 then surged ahead for a 20-18 lead. However, Lutheran showed its championship mettle with a 6-0 run to end the match.

CLASS C1

Minden senior Mattie Kamery (13) celbrates with Kinsie Land (9) after a point. Photo by Drew Balus.

No. 1 Minden def. No. 6 Wahoo 3-1 (25-22, 25-12, 21-25, 25-12)

Both of Minden’s hybrid setter/hitters recorded triple-doubles on Saturday as the Whippets went back-to-back in C1. Minden is 73-2 over the past two seasons.

“This group is just so amazing,” Coach Julie Ratka said. “It left a lasting legacy. I’m so proud of them. They’re such competitors, great leaders, great fundamentally, but they’re the best humans.”

Senior leader Mattie Kamery, the program’s all-time kills leader, put up 17 kills, 22 assists and 22 digs in her final performance as a Whippet. Junior Myla Emery added 17 kills, 24 assists and 10 digs. Senior middle Makenna Betty chipped in 10 kills on .533 hitting and three blocks.

The Warriors delivered the first punch, scoring five straight to double up the Titans early in game one, 12-6. Minden took it on the chin and fired back, rallying to take its first lead at 14-13. After a couple lead changes, the Whippets got the better of the play down the stretch to take a 1-0 lead.

“I think as much as you’ve prepared for any game, there are jitters, and I truly think that was our side,” Kamery said. “We just weren’t playing exactly how we do. So once we started just really getting each other excited and ready to go, I think it just started flowing. We knew we’ve come back from runs before, and that always give you a little extra push. We started pushing then we started rolling and it just kind of all fell together.”

Rolling is exactly what the Whippets did in set two. They ripped off a 9-2 run early and never really slowed down.

The third set, however, belonged to Wahoo senior Gretchen Seagren. She notched 11 of her team-high 17 kills in the set, hitting over .500 and adding a pair of aces. That was enough to get Wahoo a four-point win and extend the match.

The fourth set was shaping up to be a close one with Wahoo leading 10-9. Emery earned a sideout with a kill to tie it up, then junior Makenna Anderson stepped up to the service line… and remained there for a long time. The Whippets ripped off 13 straight points including two aces from Anderson to turn it into a rout.

“Earlier today we talked about maybe someone else serving, and I’m glad we didn’t change that,” Ratka said. “She struggled a little bit yesterday, and so for her to have that amazing serving run, and then she played some great defensive balls in there as well.

“It was awesome. She believed in herself.”

CLASS B

Norris celebrates after winning the Class B state championship. Photo by Drew Balus.

No. 1 Norris def. No. 2 Skutt Catholic 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 17-25, 25-18, 15-8)

After nine years at the top of Class B, Skutt Catholic’s reign came to an end at the hands of the Norris Titans, the same team that handed the SkyHawks their previous loss at the state tournament.

Norris battled back from a 2-1 deficit to force a game five and left no doubt who deserved their title from there. The Titans finished 38-1 with their lone loss coming to Class A’s champion, Papillion-La Vista South.

“It was awesome — the atmosphere, the community, the girls,” Norris coach Christina Boesiger said. “Our big thing this year is we’re going to do it for us, we’re not going to do it to end a streak. We just wanted to do it for us and have a different mindset, like ‘just go do Norris volleyball.’ We kind of have a unique team this year where things aren’t perfect all the time with our offense. But that’s what’s the coolest thing is they’ve won 38 games doing this, with hard work and determination. I feel like they’ve handled a lot of adversity and were really confident coming into this game tonight.”

Senior Anna Jelinek said she and her teammates were tired of the conciliatory messages after state tournament losses the previous three years. The disappointment and realization that the seniors only had one more crack at it fueled them during the offseason and resulted in what Jelinek called their best volleyball at the most important time.

“We knew we had one job to do,” Jelinek said. “Usually we end up a little bit short. But this year, I don’t think we’ve ever played that high-level of volleyball. I don’t think we’ve ever hustled like that. Everyone on the team, no one let a ball drop. If it dropped, somebody’s body was on the ground. I just think that really shows how much hard work and effort we put in during practice. We’re in the gym six out of the seven days in the week, and I feel like that really showed out in this game. I’m just really proud of everyone on this team.”

Jelinek, a Long Beach State commit, led the Titans with 22 kills on .247 hitting and 17 digs. Sophomore Alli Bornschlegl added 15 kills on .282 hitting. North Dakota State commit Rya Borer led the defense with 25 digs.

The Titans were without starting setter Malorie Boesiger all season, but seniors Zoe Rademacher (29 assists, 13 digs, three aces) and Harper Gable (15 assists, 10 digs) filled in admirably.

The opening game set the tone for the match with three lead changes and eight ties, the last at 22-all. Jelinek was the difference, terminating twice to give the Titans set point. Skutt got one back on a kill but misfired on the next rally to end it.

The second set was similar, only it went the other way as North Carolina commit Addison West broke a 21-all tie with four straight kills to even the match. The third set was all Skutt as the SkyHawks built up a double-digit lead before Norris shaved a few points off down the stretch.

Skutt hit over .300 in the second and third sets. Needing a change to extend the match, the Titan block came alive with four stuffs, locking up the Skutt offense. Norris led by as much as eight in the set, forcing a game five.

“We knew our blocking was going to set the tempo,” Boesiger said. “Their offense is a lot faster than what we practice against and kind of what we’ve seen. So we were getting used a lot on the block. Between the third set and fourth set, I said ‘we just have to get one good block and that can make the difference,’ and I think we kind of started figuring that out.”

The start of the fifth set looked much like the beginning of the match with the tams trading heavy blows. They tied each other six times, the last at 7-7. Then Jelinek terminated for the lead and the flood gates opened with Norris outscoring Skutt 8-1 to win the match. Rademacher served back-0to-back aces late in the run to put an exclamation point on the win.

“The fifth set was back and forth a lot,” Jelinek said. “First five points, I didn’t have a clue who was winning this match. I know no one else had a clue. But the second we got those two balls, I was like ‘Norris has made history.’”

The SkyHawks came up short, but West went down swinging. The junior pin totaled 31 kills on .424 hitting and 14 digs, capping a state tournament that saw her put down 81 kills on .388 hitting for the Class B runner-up.

CLASS A

Charlee Solomon (10) and Lyric Judson (7) led the Titans to the Class A state title. Photo by Drew Balus.

No. 1 Papillion-La Vista South def. No. 6 Elkhorn South 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18)

One year ago, Papillion-La Vista South entered the state tournament as the clear favorite in Class A with a 35-1 record. That Titan team lost in the first round to No. 8 seed Papillion-La Vista.

This year’s Papio South squad faced more challenges with injury issues and five regular season losses, but the Titans earned the No. 1 seed again and finished the job.

“Last season was a heartbreak for these kids because they worked extremely hard day in and day out, and every team does, no doubt about that,” coach Katie Tarman said. “But when you have exceptional kids that put their heart on the line, you just want to see them succeed. They chose to embrace each other, and they chose to embrace the hard moments and they did it not only for themselves and their team, but they did it for last year’s team too.”

The final score shows a sweep, but the final was anything but easy for the Titans. Papio South had to rally from a deficit in all three sets but did just that.

Senior utility player Charlee Solomon nearly capped her career with a triple-double, dropping 17 assists, 10 kills and nine digs. Solomon was a four-year varsity player for the Titans and played a key role over the past three years, totaling nearly 600 kills, 1800 assists and 800 digs.

“The kid is fire,” Tarman said. “She brings so much light to us, she brings so much intensity to us, and it will most certainly be missed.”

Sophomore Lyric Judson led the Titans with 12 kills on .385 hitting and eight blocks. The Titans racked up 12 blocks as a team, which played a big part in each comeback.

“They weren’t willing to give in,” Tarman said. “They stayed disciplined, they executed our game plan to the best of their ability, they got themselves out to the pins so that we could touch a lot of balls and so that our defense could pick them up, and they were just relentless.”

Elkhorn South built up a 17-10 lead midway through the first set, but Papillion-La Vista South rallied to take a 21-20 lead. Five straight sideouts followed until Solomon put down a kill to give the Titans set point, then Judson teamed up with Maddox Graves for a block to seal it.

Elkhorn South led 6-3 early in set two, but the Titans didn’t let the deficit grow any further. The set saw nine ties, the last at 20-20 before a 5-0 closing run by the Titans. The third set included a 9-3 start by the Storm, but Papio South rallied to take the lead at 16-15. Elkhorn South pushed back, jumping in front 18-17, but the Titans ripped off an 8-0 run to end the match. Solomon had had two kills and a block assist during the finish.

“They’re good,” Tarman said. “Elkhorn South is a good team. They blocked well, they’re scrappy. We had to make a decision, and that’s just so cool that humans have the ability to do that and change your mindset and be able to change the outcome of something just because you decide too. Of course, their effort is what got them there, but they had to make that choice.”

The Titans have now captured the Class A title in four of the last six years and for the seventh time overall. The Titans will lose Solomon and two other seniors, but the rest of their lineup will return to make another title run in 2025.

“We’re just trying to do the same thing every year,” Tarman said. “We’re just trying to be our best self and be the best version of ourselves, and I think that’s the outcome of getting a group of young women together and really building upon that. They bought in, they bought in throughout the season. It wasn’t easy, but I think as coaches in this program, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re just trying to instill a sense of accomplishment, that you can do anything that you put your mind to, that you can be your best self with all the tools that we have for them to use, and that’s what they’ve done.”