Early August Top 5 Rankings in Class D2
First official practices of the 2019 high school volleyball season begin a week from Monday and the first contests are now less than four weeks away. What, exactly, happened to summer? It feels like I spent my entire summer driving…
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Continue ReadingFirst official practices of the 2019 high school volleyball season begin a week from Monday and the first contests are now less than four weeks away. What, exactly, happened to summer?
It feels like I spent my entire summer driving the back roads of the state hitting as many team and individual camps as I could this summer, probably because that’s what I did. With that knowledge in hand, I give you a look at what I consider – right now – to the the top five teams in each class.
I will post the full top 10 in each class the weekend before the start of competition, but for now here is a look at the teams I would rank in the top 5 in Class D2 right now.
#1 – Wynot
Wynot has never won a state championship in volleyball, although the Blue Devils have come close the past couple years. Wynot fell to a loaded Hampton team in the Class D-2 championship in 2016 and finished fourth in Class D-2 last year. This fall, though, might be set-up perfectly for Wynot to be the last team standing come November. From last year’s team that went 24-6 and finished fourth, Wynot returns basically everyone. Junior setters Emersyn Sudbeck and Edyn Sudbeck along with senior libero Noelle Wieseler join attackers Karley Heimes, Shaelee Planer, Katelyn Heine and Whitney Hochstein as returning starters. There is really only one or two teams that can compete with Wynot in this class, so I fully expect the Blue Devils to be playing on the last Saturday of the season at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
#2 – BDS
In a likelihood, Class D2 is going to be a two-horse race between Wynot and BDS – the defending Class D2 champions. The biggest difference between the two – and why Wynot gets the nod here – is because the Eagles lost much more significant pieces than Wynot did. BDS, however, showed its not going anywhere in the Class D2 title hunt by winning the D1-D2 division of the Kearney Top 10 Team Camp. Regan Alfs, Jordan Bolte and Macy Kamler are very good players for the Eagles, but what will determine if BDS can repeat as state champion or not is the development of the rest of its team to try and match the all-around fire power of Wynot.
#3 – Nebraska Christian
Two years ago, Nebraska Christian lost in the Class C2 state tournament to eventual champion Superior and last fall, the Eagles lost to Pleasanton in the first round of the Class D1 state tourney. Now Nebraska Christian has dropped down to Class D2 and chances are good the Eagles will wind up back at the state tournament again this year. Nebraska Christian loses a lot from last year, but the return of libero Kendyl Jividen is big, but the Eagles have probably the best player in Class D2 in senior Grace Langemeier and she is good enough to carry the team a long, long ways. If there is anyone that can keep Wynot or BDS from winning the title, it’s the Eagles.
#4 – Giltner
If I’m just being completely transparent, after the top three teams in Class D2, it’s pretty much anyone’s guess who is going to step up and be a state-tournament worthy team. Even though Giltner has lost quite a bit from its 22-9 team from a year ago, it should benefit from dropping down to Class D2 from D1 last year. The Hornets had their season end in five sets against Nebraska Christian last year in the round of 16. Sydney Janzen and Cassidy Tompkin return as attackers for Giltner and Hannah Preissler is back as setter.
#5 – Exeter-Milligan
When I watched Exeter-Milligan at the Kearney Top 10 Camp, if I’m being honest, I didn’t feel like I was watching a state-tournament kind of team. But, with D2 lacking depth this fall and the fact that the Timberwolves do return a couple really nice players in Anna Sluka and Emma Olsen the Timberwolves are as worthy of the fifth spot in the rankings as anyone at this point and culture never graduates – so with five straight state tournament appearances and reaching Lincoln nine of the past 10 years, Exeter-Milligan is a program that knows how to get things done.