MaxPreps 2015 Nebraska state high school volleyball preview

Video: Bailey Parr's highlights vs. Ord
See the Grand Island Northwest player in action.

While 32 of last year's 48 Nebraska state volleyball tournament entrants are returning in 2015, one traditional participant will be missing as comeptition runs through Saturday.

In all, 42 matches will decide state volleyball championships in Classes A, B, C1, C2, D1 and D2. The 48 title hopefuls will duke it out at six locations throughout Lincoln, including Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln North Star, Lincoln Southwest, Lincoln Southeast, Lincoln East and the Devaney Sports Center.

Four consolation matches will determine third-place victors in Classes C1, C2, D1 and D2 Saturday at Lincoln Northeast beginning at 9 a.m.

Following a historic run of 20 straight berths to the Nebraska state volleyball tournament, Lincoln Pius X finds itself sitting at home for the first time since 1994 following Millard North's 23-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20, 17-15 conquest of the Thunderbolts. Pius X had won seven state titles, took second in 2004 and finished third in 2012.

Also gone from last year's state tournament is defending Class B state champion Norris. But five other defending champions including Omaha Marian (A), Kearney Catholic (C1), Freeman (C2), O'Neill St. Mary's (D1) and Giltner (D2) return to this weekend's field with the hopes of repeating.

700 match winner

Grand Island Northwest coach Diane Rouzee and her fourth-ranked Vikings captured the Class B-3 substate title Saturday with a 25-13, 25-11, 25-10 conquest of Columbus. However, they took added momentum into Thursday's Class B quarterfinal match against Omaha Gross at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

With the three-set sweep of the Discoverers, Rouzee collected the 700th victory of her career. During her tenure, Rouzee has captured three state titles, five runner-up finishes and a third-place finish at the state tournament. The Vikings are in the midst of 15 straight trips to state and have amassed 21 state tournament appearances under Rouzee.

Below we break down the tournament brackets from the semifinals on using MaxPreps Volleyball Computer Rankings, presented by the Army National Guard.

Class A Semifinals
No. 1 Marian (Omaha) (39-3) over No. 4 Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion) (35-6)
No. 2 North Platte (North Platte) (36-3) over No. 3 Papillion-LaVista (Papillion) (34-7)

Championship – No. 1 Omaha Marian (40-3) over No. 2 North Platte (37-3)
Dark Horse – Lincoln Southwest

Class B Semifinals
No. 2 Gretna (34-2) over No. 3 Northwest (Grand Island) (33-2)
No. 1 Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (38-2) over No. 4 Elkhorn South (26-10)

Championship – No. 1 Omaha Skutt Catholic (39-2) over No. 2 Gretna (35-2)
Dark Horse – Aurora

Class C1 Semifinals
No. 2 Ord (30-3) over No. 5 Chadron (33-4)
No. 1 Kearney Catholic (32-2) over No. 3 Scotus (Columbus) (25-6)

Championship – No. 1 Kearney Catholic (33-2) over No. 2 Ord (31-3)
Consolation – No. 3 Columbus Scotus (25-7) over No. 5 Chadron (33-5)
Dark Horse – Ogallala

Class C2 Semifinals
No. 2 Stanton (32-3) over No. 3 Freeman (Adams) (31-1)
No. 1 Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point) (30-2) over No. 4 Sutton (30-3)

Championship – No. 1 Guardian Angels Central Catholic (31-2) over No. 2 Stanton (33-3)
Consolation – No. 3 Freeman (31-2) over No. 4 Sutton (30-4)
Dark Horse – Shelby-Rising City (Shelby)

Class D1 Semifinals
No. 1 Emerson-Hubbard (Emerson) (31-2) over No. 6 Johnson-Brock (Johnson) (23-9)
No. 2 Bertrand (28-2) over No. 3 Diller-Odell (Odell) (30-4)

Championship – No. 1 Emerson-Hubbard (32-2) over No. 2 Bertrand (29-2)
Consolation – No. 3 Diller-Odell (30-5) over No. 6 Johnson-Brock (23-10)
Dark Horse – Howells-Dodge (Howells)

Class D2 Semifinals
No. 1 St. Mary's (O'Neill) (30-2) over No. 3 Hampton (28-5)
No. 2 Exeter-Milligan (Exeter) (25-4) over No. 5 Sandhills/Thedford (Dunning) (33-0)

Championship – No. 1 O'Neill St. Mary's (31-2) over No. 2 Exeter-Milligan (26-4)
Consolation – No. 3 Hampton (28-6) over No. 5 Sandhills/Thedford (33-1)
Dark Horse – Stuart

First round rematches and their results from the regular season

Class A
Millard North vs. Omaha Marian (0-2, 0-2, 0-3)
Papillion-LaVista South vs. Lincoln Southwest (2-0)
North Platte vs. Lincoln Southeast (2-0, 2-0)
Papillion-LaVista vs. Millard West (2-0, 3-1)

Class B
Elkhorn vs. Gretna (1-3)
Omaha Skutt Catholic vs. Omaha Duchesne (3-0, 2-0)

Class C1
Ord vs. Grand Island Central Catholic (1-2)

Class C2
Hastings St. Cecilia vs. Sutton (0-2, 3-2, 3-0)

MaxPreps stat leaders competing in the state tournament
Hitting percentage – Kelsey Menke, Lawrence-Nelson (Nelson) .431
Kills – Sarah Swanson, Elkhorn South (Elkhorn) 474
Kills per set - Kylie Belt, Emerson-Hubbard 4.8
Assists – Taylor Crandall, Papillion-LaVista South 1,225
Assists per set – Cameron Scott, Gretna 12.0
Aces – Julianna Kalil, Duchesne (Omaha) 120
Aces per set – Julianna Kalil, Omaha Duchesne 1.2
Blocks – Kelsey Placke, Grand Island Northwest 175
Blocks per set – Kelsey Placke, Grand Island Northwest 2.1
Digs – Mackenzie Brandl, Stanton 715
Digs per set – MacKenzie Brandl, Stanton 8.4

State tournament appearance leaders
Columbus Scotus – 30
Omaha Marian – 30
Papillion-LaVista – 30
Grand Island Central Catholic – 29
Ogallala – 29

Consecutive years in state tournament leaders
Grand Island Northwest – 15
Omaha Marian – 15
Papillion-LaVista – 15
Kearney Catholic – 11
Ogallala – 10

State championship leaders
Columbus Scotus – 15
Grand Island Central Catholic – 9
Giltner – 7
St. Cecilia (Hastings) – 6
Omaha Marian – 6

They said it from around the state
"We got some momentum back in the fourth set and I thought we were ready to play again," Elgin/Pope John (Elgin) head coach Tina Thiele-Blecher told the Norfolk Daily News of her team's fourth set win during a 25-18, 16-25, 13-25, 25-23, 5-15 loss to Crofton in the Class C2-5 District Championship. "They came out serving aggressively that last set and we couldn't get any offense going. Tonight, we definitely started tipping too much. I always tell the girls in volleyball it is kill or be killed. Give Crofton credit, they came out with a lot of power that last set. We got too scared and stopped attacking and let them attack us."

"You know, there's something about the tradition at this school. I was a part of it. There's a whole different gear that's not seen until this time of year," Hastings St. Cecilia head coach Thera Jones told the Hastings Tribune following her team's 25-23, 25-19, 25-19 win over Sutton in the C2-4 District Final. "These girls, they knew what was on the line and they knew it was go time. They knew they'd have to play hard and give all of their heart."

"I'm overwhelmed by this," first-year Papillion-LaVista South head coach Brad Reichmuth told the Omaha World Herald following his team's 25-15, 25-15, 25-9 Class A-4 District Championship sweep of South Sioux City. "It's like a dream because I did not want to let the girls down."

"Did I think we'd only have one loss? No," Freeman head coach Dani White told the Lincoln Journal Star after the Falcons replaced five seniors from last season's 33-0 state championship squad and still took the Class C2-1 District Championship with a 25-15, 26-24, 25-16 sweep of East Butler. "These girls have been in practice the last two years because I didn't have any seniors the year before. But we have firepower. Every girl at the net can put the ball down, and I have five players with over 200 digs."

"Scotus is hard, because they keep digging and digging. You think you finally get a shot and they dig that, too," Lincoln Christian head coach Vikki Power told the Lincoln Journal Star following a 25-19, 25-19, 25-19 C1-2 District Championship loss to Columbus Scotus. "We knew they would keep attacking and we wanted to limit their service runs to two or three, but they got them to four and five. That's just what they do."

"I think we had a great scouting report on them," Shelby-Rising City head coach Sandy Voss told the Columbus Telegram of her team's 20-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-10 upset win over Stanton in the C2-4 District Championship. "They are a great team, but these kids never quit. They really honestly don't. They knew what their goal was and were intent on reaching it."