Week 9 Recap: Thursday Results and Regular Season Wrapup
What a regular season we’ve had. It’s been a year full of spectacular performances, standout players, and breakout teams. We’ll have plenty of time to analyze all the storylines from an exciting 2021 campaign. First, though, there’s a lot of…
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Continue ReadingWhat a regular season we’ve had. It’s been a year full of spectacular performances, standout players, and breakout teams. We’ll have plenty of time to analyze all the storylines from an exciting 2021 campaign. First, though, there’s a lot of unfinished business with the postseason quickly approaching.
Speaking of the postseason, subregional pairings are out! As always, you can find them on the NSAA website under the sub-districts tab. I’ve already seen and experienced the excitement around the volleyball community as we approach this time of year. You can expect a full breakdown of some of the intriguing pairings that we’ll see early next week.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s recap Thursday’s action and put a bow on the regular season.
Perfection
They’ve done it. Papillion-La Vista South has secured a flawless 34-0 season with a 3-1 win over Omaha Westside in the Metro Conference Tournament championship. Amid all the parity and surprises that permeate Nebraska high school volleyball, the Titans are the only undefeated team left standing in the Cornhusker State.
Of course, Omaha Westside‘s accomplishments in this tournament are worthy of a lot of praise. The Warriors were the kind of team that they aspire to be: explosive, tenacious, and well-rounded in every phase. This squad has the talent to compete with anyone and the determination to be great. That’s a fantastic combination that could lift Westside to a very special postseason.
Other Notable Results
Let’s get in a few quick hitters on some other matchups that helped wrap up the regular season.
- Lincoln Southwest is your Heartland Athletic Conference champion. The Silver Hawks are undoubtedly surging at the right time as they look to claim Lincoln’s first Class A title in a very long time.
- Omaha Duchesne picked up a big pair of victories in a triangular with Bennington and Wahoo. The Cardinals are reaching their peak form as they look for another successful postseason run in 2021.
- Wisner-Pilger took care of business with a pair of two-set sweeps over Fort Calhoun and Logan View/Scribner-Snyder.
- The triangular hosted by Gibbon was quite a slugfest. Gibbon took down Wood River but fell to St. Paul, and the Wildcats then took a hotly contested three-set win over Wood River. That’s quite a round-robin.
- A few teams took some quality 3-1 wins on Thursday; Pierce defeated Battle Creek, Columbus Lakeview took down North Bend Central, and Fairbury scored a big victory over Superior.
The Road Ahead
Here’s a quick glimpse at the subregional schedule that’s quickly approaching. It’s time for some postseason action.
The wildcard race has concluded, and it’s time to look ahead to districts. These postseason battles are all going to kick off on Monday, so there’s going to be a lot to track in a short amount of time. The teams that emerge from the opening day of action will meet in the district championships the following night. Then, we set a state bracket.
The state championships are set for Nov. 3-6. Like last year, it’s an expanded four-day setup with half the state’s classes playing on the first two days at the Pinnacle Bank Arean. Unlike 2020, however, championship matches will be played at the Devaney Sports Center.
It’s going to be exciting. Teams will be forming new legacies in just a couple of weeks. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating all the teams and players that make volleyball in this state so great.