Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament Champions
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The Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament wrapped up on Saturday, October 9th at Norris High School with the Norris Titans capturing the crown. It was their 5th straight EMC Conference Championship. The Titans had little trouble in any of their matches…
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Continue ReadingThe Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament wrapped up on Saturday, October 9th at Norris High School with the Norris Titans capturing the crown. It was their 5th straight EMC Conference Championship. The Titans had little trouble in any of their matches and really put pressure on other teams the whole day.
The Titans defeated the #3 seed Waverly Vikings 25-13 and 25-14. The Titans held Nebraska recruit Bekka Allick Bekka Allick 6'3" | MB Waverly | 2022 State #7 Nation NE to just 4 kills in the match with a -.182 hitting percentage and kept Waverly as a team hitting a .076. The Titans were led by Ella Waters Ella Waters 6'3" | OH Norris | 2022 State NE with 9 kills and Gracie Kircher Gracie Kircher 5'11" | OH Norris | 2023 State NE had 7. Sophomore Alivia Hausmann Alivia Hausmann 5'5" | DS/L Norris | 2024 State NE had 3 ace serves and Maisie Boesiger Maisie Boesiger 5'5" | S Norris | 2022 State #198 Nation NE had 18 assists in the win. Norris really took control of the entire match and Waverly did not have an answer.
Coach Christina Boesiger said, “I couldn’t be more proud of these girls for winning Norris their fifth straight EMC Championship. This tournament had four of the top five teams in Class B and they put the pressure on every team they played. Every week and in practice we just keep advancing the drills a little bit more and they are soaking it all in. They keep working really, really hard and know that we still have a pretty high ceiling to get better. They are a very focused and goal driven group and we check in on our goals quite a bit. Our back row play has really allowed us to run a fast offense. We have also seen a quite a bit of improvement in our blocking as well. Overall it was a fantastic day for our team, but we know it is back to work on Monday as we prepare for our last two weeks of the regular season.” One of those matches is against Elkhorn North on Tuesday which gave the Titans their second loss of the season at the Pius Tournament with a 2-1 victory.
Boesiger also commented on the play of her freshman libero Anna Jelinek Anna Jelinek 5'8" | DS/L Norris | 2025 State NE . “She keeps getting better and better in each game. She’s playing great in this new role for her this year.” “The three seniors had done a great job of leading our team as well and it’s been fun to see each player really adjust and settle into their role, and work hard to make our team better.”
In the 3rd place match Elkhorn North defeated cross town rival Elkhorn 25-14 and 25-20. Grace Heaney Grace Heaney 6'2" | RS Elkhorn North | 2023 State #33 Nation NE had 11 kills while Ava Spies Ava Spies 5'9" | OH Elkhorn North | 2024 State NE chipped in with 8 and setter Reese Booth Reese Booth 5'7" | S Elkhorn North | 2024 State NE had 5 kills and 2 ace serves. Elkhorn Antler’s Senior Taylor Bunjer Taylor Bunjer 5'10" | OH Elkhorn | 2022 State NE had 8 kills in the loss followed by Haley Wolfe Haley Wolfe 6'2" | RS Elkhorn | 2023 State NE with 6. Both of these sets had some really nice rallies making for some fun volleyball! Ava Spies Ava Spies 5'9" | OH Elkhorn North | 2024 State NE played a great match and really got on a roll. She does a nice job of hitting high hands and finding the holes.
In the 5th place match Bennington defeated Blair 25-6 and 25-22. The Badgers were led by Evie Howard Evie Howard 5'6" | DS/L Bennington | 2023 State NE with 8 kills and sophomore Olivia Mauch Olivia Mauch 5'7" | DS/L Bennington | 2024 State #49 Nation NE had 3 aces and 20 digs in the match. As a team the Badgers had 8 ace serves in the match. Sophomore Olivia Mauch Olivia Mauch 5'7" | DS/L Bennington | 2024 State #49 Nation NE is a player that needs to be on your radar, as she has a high ceiling and does a phenomenal job in the back row.
Looking forward to seeing how things pan out for the EMC teams as we head into postseason!