State’s Top Talent and Four Champions Back at State Volleyball
By Tony Chapman and Chris Basnett – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
The 54th Nebraska School Activities Association state volleyball championships will begin their four day run in Lincoln on Wednesday. Classes A, B and C-1 will kick off the championships on Wednesday with Classes C-2, D-1 and D-2 playing opening round contests on Thursday.
Quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be played at Pinnacle Bank Arena before Saturday’s state championship matches are played at the Bob Devaney Center.
Four of the six 2024 champions have returned, though two have moved classes. Papillion-LaVista South (A), Norris (B), Lincoln Lutheran (C-2 champion, in Class C-1) and Shelton (D-2 champion, in Class D-1) are back for a shot at a second consecutive championship.
Up-to-date championship information will be delivered via the NSAA Volleyball Championship Central page. All first round and state semifinals will be broadcast on the NFHS Network. Saturday’s six championship contests will be broadcast on Nebraska Public Media.
All-Class State Tournament Bracket
CLASS A: Papillon-LaVista South Seeks Fifth Title in Seven Years
The surest thing in Class A volleyball for the last decade and a half heads to the state tournament with the target on its back once again.
Papillion-La Vista South, winners of four of the last six titles, will be the favorite as the event gets underway Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Starting in 2009, Papio South has been in the finals 10 of the past 16 seasons, winning seven titles.
A check of the schedule shows that Papio South (28-9) should be the favorite again. Six of the Titans’ nine losses have come to out-of-state schools, two have come to Class B Elkhorn North, and the other came at the hands of Class B Omaha Skutt.
Against in-state Class A foes Papio South is unbeaten while dropping only three sets. Against Class A state tournament qualifiers, the Titans are 10-0 with just two sets lost. Perhaps the most athletic team in the Class A field, Papio South has six players committed to play college volleyball, led by Rutgers libero commit Kami Dyrstad. A seventh, Taryn Lewis, is Northwest Missouri State soccer commit.
While Papio South is the favorite, there are plenty of intriguing storylines. Top-seeded Lincoln North Star (30-4), enjoying the best season in school history, will try for its first-ever state tournament win Wednesday against city foe Lincoln Southeast.
Second-seeded Millard South is at state for the first time since 2019, when it reached the state semifinals. Lincoln Southwest, which in 2023 became the first Lincoln school to win Class A since 1998, is back for the sixth consecutive year and will try to knock off Papio South in the first round. Elkhorn South, the 2020 champion, is also in the field, as is Omaha Marian, making its 35th state tournament appearance.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Chloe Rauner (Elkhorn South), 571 set assists, 205 kills, 291 digs, 37 ace serves; Delainey Volkmer (Lincoln North Star), 365 kills, 44 ace serves, 326 digs; Haleigh Bauer (Lincoln Southeast), 443 kills, 40 ace serves, 296 digs; Ellie Eckman (Lincoln Southwest), 974 set assists, 91 kills, 47 ace serves; Bailey Wyzenski (Millard South), 986 set assists, 107 kills, 64 ace serves; Erin Cramer (Omaha Marian), 261 kills, .376 hitting percentage, 68 blocks; Mackenzie Wingett (Omaha Westside), 328 kills, 87 blocks, 30 ace serves; Kami Dyrstad (Papillion-La Vista South), 486 digs, 30 ace serves.
FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS (WEDNESDAY). At Pinnacle Bank Arena (North Court) | Lincoln North Star (30-4) vs. Lincoln Southeast (20-15), 5:00 PM; Omaha Marian (29-8) vs. Omaha Westside (22-9), 7:00 PM. At Pinnacle Bank Arena (South Court) | Millard South (32-7) vs. Elkhorn South (19-13), 5:00 PM; Papillon-LaVista South (28-9) vs. Lincoln Southwest (23-9), 7:00 PM.
CLASS B: After Ending Skutt Reign, Norris Eyes Another
There may not be a tougher class of volleyball in Nebraska in 2025 than Class B.
And there may not be a better team in Class B than Norris.
After slaying nine-time defending champion Omaha Skutt in a five-set epic last season to win the state title, the Titans (35-1) come to the state tournament this year as the team with a target on its back.
With a 73-2 record over the past two seasons, the casual observer might say Norris has had an easy time on its climb to the top.
Not so fast. Especially in a historic season for Class B as a whole.
“I don’t know if ever in my coaching career has Class B been this good,” said Norris coach Christina Boesgier, now in her 26th season. “There are just some really good athletes and teams and players right now, which is fun.
“You go through the grind and it’s like, OK, who do we have next week? OK, now who do we have? And I think that part of it just helps you prepare for the postseason as well.”
Norris has done it despite losing seven seniors from last season’s 38-1 state champion.
“They’re just so hungry, you know? I think they felt like a little bit of an underdog when they started this season,” Boesiger said. “A lot of people were like, ‘oh, you lost seven seniors, what are you going to do? So it’s been fun to see them embrace that, but in a really positive way.”
Making the transition easier has been a trio of juniors who have committed to Division I programs in South Dakota State commit Alli Bornschlegl, TCU pledge Kaelynn Lottman, and Nebraska setter commit Malorie Boesiger, Christina’s daughter.
Lottman leads the team with 73 ace serves and 275 digs and is second with 226 kills. Bornschlegl is the top attacker for the state’s top team, with 484 kills on .418 hitting to go with 32 ace serves while standing second to Lottman with 266 digs. Boesiger, after missing last season with a knee injury, has directed the offense with 1,085 set assists to go with 92 kills of her own while also sitting third on the squad with 40 blocks.
“It’s been a year where, knowing we did lose (seven seniors), the rest of the girls could step in, no pressure. They never felt pressure on them, knowing that we have a lot of new people on our team,” Christina Boesiger said. “And so I think that was good that we never focused on how many games we were going to win. Yes, winning back-to-back (titles) has been a goal, and that’s from the beginning, but the journey we knew was going to be was going to take hard work.”
It’s been special for the Boesiger family on a personal level, too.
Malorie, expected to be the team’s starting setter last season, found out a few weeks before the year that she would have to sit out with a fracture in her kneecap that would require surgery. After a freshman season in which she had more than 1,000 set assists, and with the talent Norris knew they had in the gym, it was a tough pill to swallow for player and coach.
But both Christina and Malorie (and Chris, Christina’s husband, Malorie’s dad, and Norris assistant coach), found ways to adjust. Malorie became like another assistant on the bench, helping guide the team in a transition to a 6-2 offense with a pair of new setters.
“Last year was a hard year for her, as part of her journey. And as a mom, it just pulled at my heart knowing she was going to miss it,” Christina said. “And now this year, she walks in the gym and wants to train and wants to get better, and truly is never taking anything for granted.”
Malorie agreed, saying the year off the court helped her grow.
“Honestly, it’s just so good to be back. I think I’m just even more thankful for each time I get to step on the court,” Malorie said. “I feel like I’m definitely a different player. I learned a lot from that experience.”
Norris is hoping the experience of winning a title pays dividends over the next few days. The Titans have dropped just nine sets all season, but eight of those came to teams that made the Class B tournament, including three in a five-set loss to Elkhorn North that is the only blemish on Norris’s record.
“There has not been one day this year where they did not have smiles on their faces in the gym, and that’s hard to say for high school kids,” Christina Boesiger said. “That’s one of the things I’m most proud of them for, is just their willingness and wanting to get better every day and never settling.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Hayden Liebsack (Bennington), 530 kills, .302 hitting percentage, 72 ace serves; Grace Dawson (Columbus Lakeview), 857 set assists, 42 kills, 24 ace serves; Reagan Wallraff (Elkhorn North), 600 kills, .349 hitting percentage, 24 ace serves, 251 digs; Jacey Cochran (Gering), 481 kills, 49 ace serves, 353 digs; Maggie Miller (Gretna), 779 set assists, 47 ace serves, 30 kills; Malorie Boesiger (Norris), 1,085 set assists, 67 ace serves, 92 kills; Addison West (Omaha Skutt), 447 kills, .446 hitting percentage, 38 ace serves, 324 digs; Gracie Lauenstein (Waverly), 387 kills, 54 ace serves, 328 digs.
FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS (WEDNESDAY). At Pinnacle Bank Arena (North Court) | Norris (35-1) vs. Gering (27-9), 9:00 AM; Waverly (29-5) vs. Gretna (27-6), 11:00 AM. At Pinnacle Bank Arena (South Court) | Elkhorn North (28-6) vs. Bennington (24-9), 9:00 AM; Omaha Skutt Catholic (28-10) vs. Columbus Lakeview (30-4), 11:00 AM.
CLASS C-1: Loaded Class Could Lead To Chaotic Tournament
Star power and traditional powerhouses will combine for what could be one of the most combustible of the six brackets when Class C-1 gets going Wednesday.
With two-time defending champion Minden not in the field, but three-time defending C-2 champion Lincoln Lutheran moving up a class, a new champion in C-1 will have earned its title.
The bottom half of the bracket features an electric mix — Lincoln Lutheran will take on Malcolm while trying to reach a fifth consecutive championship match and sixth in the last seven years. The Warriors won the last three C-2 titles after winning the 2019 and 2021 C-1 championships.
To get to Saturday, the Warriors (29-6) will first have to get past the Dolliver sisters of Malcolm. Halle, a senior, had more than 600 kills as a sophomore while powering Malcolm to the 2023 state tournament. After missing last season with a knee injury, she’s back, this time teaming up with sister Payton, a sophomore, to give the Clippers one of the top 1-2 punches in the class. Both Dollivers have more than 400 kills this season (Payton 453, Halle 406) while combining for a .300 hitting percentage.
The winner of that match will face the winner of second-seeded Milford and No. 7 Adams Central. Milford, of course, is led by sophomore Shayla Rautenberg, already the state’s top player. She brings the Eagles to state with a 30-1 record. As a freshman last season, Rautenberg led Milford to state for the first time since 1997, then sparkled with a 29-kill performance in a first-round loss to Pierce before going on to play for the U.S. U-19 national team in the summer. A win Wednesday would be historic for either school — Milford and Adams Central are a combined 0-8 in state tournament matches.
On the other side of the bracket, tradition-rich Ogallala, with three titles and seven total finals appearances, is back at state for the first time since 2016. They will take the court Wednesday as the No. 1 seed with a 30-3 record. The Indians haven’t lost since falling to Class B Grand Island Northwest on October 4, and head to state on a 13-match winning streak.
Ogallala will see a familiar foe in Holdrege. The teams have faced off three times already, Ogallala winning the last two meetings after a Holdrege victory September 23. The Dusters (22-9) are at state for the first time since 2007.
Don’t forget either about Omaha Concordia and Ashland-Greenwood. Concordia (29-8) is at state for the first time since 2017 while Ashland-Greenwood is making its first appearance since 2020.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Isabel DeJonge (Adams Central), 378 kills, 45 ace serves, 324 digs; Sydney Schram (Ashland-Greenwood), 320 kills, 27 ace serves, 226 digs; Carson Sundquist (Holdrege), 291 kills, 14 ace serves, 298 digs; Bella Sjuts (Lincoln Lutheran), 890 set assists, 115 kills, 53 blocks, 46 ace serves; Halle Dolliver (Malcolm), 406 kills, 55 ace serves, 333 digs; Shayla Rautenberg (Milford), 464 kills, .376 hitting percentage, 44 ace serves, 97 blocks; Alex Ervin (Ogallala), 416 kills, 26 ace serves, 245 digs; Grace Samuelson (Omaha Concordia), 182 kills, .371 hitting percentage, 41 ace serves, 85 blocks.
FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS (WEDNESDAY). At Pinnacle Bank Arena (North Court) | Ogallala (31-3) vs. Holdrege (22-9), 1:00 PM; Omaha Concordia (29-8) vs. Ashland-Greenwood (23-8), 3:00 PM. At Pinnacle Bank Arena (South Court) | Milford (30-1) vs. Adams Central (24-9), 1:00 PM; Lincoln Lutheran (29-6) vs. Malcolm (23-8), 3:00 PM.
CLASS C-2: State’s Only Unbeaten, JCC Eyes First Title
The state’s final remaining unbeaten team brings little state tournament pedigree with them to Lincoln this week. But, Johnson County Central has been building toward this moment for the previous three years.
At 31-0 heading into the state tournament, the Thunderbirds can lean on previous experience of just missing Lincoln as they pursue a state championship for the first time in school history. JCC is at state for just the second time ever (2008), but Tecumseh’s (which formed with Nemaha Valley for the JCC district) only appearance in 1990 resulted in a state championship.
After losing in the district final each of the past two seasons, coach Tim Hedger’s team – led by four seniors – took the final step last week in a sweep of Elmwood-Murdock in the district final. JCC has lost just five sets all season.
“I think last year we had a lot of success and were close to making it to state,” Hedger said of last year’s 23-7 team that lost to Freeman in the district final. “We had most of our team returning, so going into this season we had the potential to do really well. But, we also knew we’d have some tough, tough matchups.
“But, I don’t think we had the expectation that we would go undefeated. The girls have shown up and just been really consistent all year.”
Leading the way for the Thunderbirds is Midland commit Ashley Beethe, who is fourth in the state and second in the class for kills this season at 533. A four-year starter, Hedger said that Beethe has developed more mentally as well as physically over the past season. Her leadership has carried the team in some tight matches.
“She’s elevated her game a little bit,” Hedger said. “She’s very coachable, but this year she’s just upped her game. I think a lot of that has to do with her mentality. In the past when she struggled mentally you could see it, but this year the look on her face is just very positive and very consistent.”
The Thunderbirds play around sophomore setter Riley Wellensiek. Senior Harley Lubben adds 264 kills while junior Molly Weber has 154 on the season.
The road to a possible finals appearance will be familiar to JCC. They will face Yutan (21-7) to start the tournament on Thursday — the Chieftains ended JCC’s 2023 season in the district final.
Thayer Central — the 2024 runner-up — will face Freeman in the other quarterfinal on the top side of the bracket. JCC has beaten both teams this year and Freeman defeated the Thunderbirds in last year’s district final.
The opponents are familiar to each other on the bottom half of the bracket as well. The four teams — GACC, Oakland-Craig, Norfolk Catholic and Laurel-Concord-Coleridge — have all played at least one of the other teams on their side.
“It really does look like a tournament where the team that gets hot and plays well can win it,” Hedger said. “We are obviously very familiar with the teams on our side. And you have teams familiar with each other on the other side as well.
“It’s going to be an interesting tournament.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Aniston Bartunek (Freeman), 813 set assists, 45 ace serves, 187 digs; Bailey Gerths (GACC), 473 kills, 334 digs; Riley Wellensiek (Johnson County Central), 872 set assists, 56 ace serves, 220 digs; Rena Rasmussen (Laurel-Concord-Coleridge), 514 kills, 39 ace serves, 40 blocks, 335 digs; Sidonia Wattier (Norfolk Catholic), 724 set assists, 55 ace serves, 162 kills, 274 digs; Briar Ray (Oakland-Craig), 541 kills, 84 ace serves, 353 digs; Piper Havel (Thayer Central), 385 kills, 65 blocks; Mylee Tichota (Yutan), 364 kills, 44 ace serves, 274 digs.
FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS (THURSDAY). At Pinnacle Bank Arena (North Court) | Johnson County Central (31-0) vs. Yutan (21-7), 5:00 PM; Freeman (26-4) vs. Thayer Central (27-5), 7:00 PM. At Pinnacle Bank Arena (South Court) | Guardian Angels CC (28-3) vs. Oakland-Craig (28-7), 5:00 PM; Norfolk Catholic (27-5) vs. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge (31-3), 7:00 PM.
CLASS D-1: Experienced Field Ready For Wide Open Tournament
There is plenty of experience in the Class D-1 field this year; it’s just that they have moved classes. Some of them anyway. Of the eight teams in the field this year, just two return from 2024 — fourth-seeded EMF and seventh-seeded Southwest. But four others were in the Class D-2 field a year ago.
EMF was the runner-up to Superior at the 2024 tournament, while Southwest finished fourth.
On the bottom half of the bracket Southwest will face 2023 Class D-2 champion Overton. The game features three of the top attackers in the class as twins Kyra and Anikka Nelms have combined for 959 kills for the Roughriders while the Eagles’ Daisy Ryan enters the tournament with 379. Overton has swept Southwest twice this season.
The winner of that match will face either Shelton, the 2024 D-2 champions, or Central Valley, which defeated Overton in the 3rd place match in Class D-2 last season.
A youthful Amherst team is the top-seed overall with no class D losses on the season. Setter Mackenzie Cochrane is the lone senior on the roster for the Broncos, who beat Overton three times this fall and fifth-seeded Ansley/Litchfield twice.
They will face Cross County who made a 668-mile round trip to Morrill for their district final and survived in five sets to advance to Lincoln. Senior Sydney Hengelfelt leads the field in kills with 507.
The other quarterfinal has EMF facing Ansley/Litchfield. EMF ended Southwest’s unbeaten season in last year’s semifinal and survived Sutton in five sets in the district final. The Trojans season has all six of their losses to teams in Lincoln.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Caydence Feldman (Ansley/Litchfield), 688 set assists, 38 ace serves, 352 digs; Mackenzie Cochrane (Amherst), 421 set assists, 56 kills, 31 blocks, 44 ace serves; Bentleigh Dugan (Central Valley), 293 kills, 62 ace serves, 307 digs; Sydney Hengelfelt (Cross County), 503 kills, 41 ace serves; Kaydence Haase (EMF), 507 kills, 52 ace serves, 34 blocks, 329 digs; Daisy Ryan (Overton), 379 kills, 48 ace serves, 317 digs; Erin Gegg (Shelton), 411 kills, 37 ace serves, 48 blocks, 137 digs; Aspen Billeter (Southwest), 868 set assists, 53 kills, 39 ace serves.
FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS (THURSDAY). At Pinnacle Bank Arena (North Court) | Amherst (25-5) vs. Cross County (26-8), 1:00 PM; EMF (25-5) vs. Ansley-Litchfield (25-6), 3:00 PM. At Pinnacle Bank Arena (South Court) | Overton (26-5) vs. Southwest (28-5), 1:00 PM; Central Valley (27-5) vs. Shelton (26-5), 3:00 PM.
CLASS D-2: Wynot, Cambridge Headline Deep Field
With four teams from last year’s field – including three semifinalists and 2024 champion Shelton – moving up to Class D-1 this year, the Class D-2 field seems as wide open as ever. The bracket, too, is littered with teams who will come from all parts of the state.
Top-seeded Wynot has ascended to the top of most state rankings and brings a 28-4 record with them to Lincoln. Most known for their basketball prowess, the Blue Devils are making their 8th trip to the state tournament in the past 10 seasons, but they have yet to make a state finals appearance. They will face Red Cloud (22-9) to open the day on Thursday.
State track champion Dundy County-Stratton (26-6) will face Garden County (29-3) in the other quarterfinal on the top half of the bracket. The Tigers bring oval standouts Abi (234 kills, 136 blocks) and Clara (247 kills) Spargo to Lincoln and are making their fifth appearance at state, looking for their second win. The Eagles, led by senior Ridglyn Stanczyk, are back for the first time since 2019 and just the second time this century.
The bottom half of the bracket sees Cambridge (26-7) making their 11th overall appearance and fourth straight. In Class D-1 last year, the Trojans lost to eventual finalist EMF in the opening round. They were the state runner-up to Overton in Class D-2 in 2023. They will face Mullen (20-10) in the opening round, which returns for the first time since 2020.
Two teams with recent state tournament success – SEM (26-6) and BDS (22-10) – will meet in the other first round game. SEM, the 2023 Class D-1 champions, survived the rugged Fort Kearny Conference, which has three teams in the D-1 field. Senior Taryn Arbuthnot brings 488 kills to the tournament and is the all-class state leader with 156 blocks. BDS – winners of 11 of their past 13 matches – are at state for the 9th year in a row and were champions in 2018 and 2019
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Lauryn Koch (BDS), 231 kills, 34 ace serves, 344 digs; Mallory Springer (Cambridge) 279 kills, 44 ace serves, 373 digs; Emily Schack (DCS), 341 kills, 58 ace serves, 271 digs; Ridglyn Stanczyk (Garden County), 332 kills, 41 ace serves, 174 digs; Jenna Donohoe (Mullen), 259 kills, 44 ace serves, 234 digs; Alivia Rust (Red Cloud), 297 kills, 25 ace serves, 274 digs; Jaycelyn Hoos (SEM), 187 kills, 34 kills, 318 digs, 299 set assists; Kenna Oligmueller (Wynot), 387 kills, 56 ace serves, 338 digs.
FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS (THURSDAY). At Pinnacle Bank Arena (North Court) | Wynot (28-4) vs. Red Cloud (22-9), 9:00 AM; Dundy County-Stratton (26-6) vs. Garden County (29-3), 11:00 AM. At Pinnacle Bank Arena (South Court) | Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (26-6) vs. BDS (22-10), 9:00 AM; Cambridge (26-7) vs. Mullen (20-10), 11:00 AM.
Tony Chapman is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He has written for multiple Nebraska daily and weekly newspapers. His weekly Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.
Chris Basnett is a freelance writer based in Lincoln. He has covered prep and college sports for more than 20 years and most recently was the assistant sports editor at the Lincoln Journal Star. He currently provides content for the Harvest Sports Newsletter.