Olivia Boender, Dani Root strive to bring championship hardware to Waverly in Nebraksa Volleyball Tournament

Last year's third place finish at the Nebraska State Volleyball Tournament was both disappointing and worth its weight in gold for Waverly coach Terri Neujahr and her talented Viking volleyball team.

The Vikings put it all on the floor in a 3-0 semifinal loss to eventual Class B champion Northwest (Grand Island), then the Vikings settled for the consolation hardware and regrouped during the off-season.

"Last season's state tournament experience was invaluable," Neujahr said. "It's an experience that most people don't get. The adrenaline is pumping and everyone is jacked up. I believe we played in front of 2,000 screaming fans when most of our matches are played in front of 300 maybe 400. It's a big deal. Its all about how you react."

While the state tournament appearance did allow the Vikings to get a feel for what its like to play in front of a rowdy crowd in a big-time environment — it also served as motivation to get back and finish the job.

"We don't want to settle on getting to the state tournament, ultimately we want to win it," Neujahr said. "I believe that if your goal is to get there, sometimes you fall short because you've already reached your goal. Winning the whole thing gives you so much more to strive for."

A year has passed since that loss to Northwest and Waverly's opportunity to play for the champion's hardware is just around the corner. Opening round matches begin Thursday morning, semifinal matches hold court on Friday and championship and consolation matches conclude the weekend's competition on Saturday.

Should the Vikings get by No. 6 seed and Eastern Midlands Conference foe Norris (Firth), a team Waverly has taken three of four matches from so far this season, a semifinal rematch with top-ranked and No. 2 seed Northwest could be in the offing.

Neujahr's squad is led by Nebraska pledge Olivia Boender and future West Virginia Mountaineer Dani Root, both powerful swatters.

"Olivia has a powerhouse swing," Root said of the 6-foot-1-inch Boender. "She is so aggressive and makes it look easy. She hits the ball hard and is always fired up. We clocked her swing once and she hit ‘50' which is really fast. She is always fired up and plays at a really high level."

Boender returned words of kindness to her uber-competitive teammate, Root.

"Dani sees the floor so well and she brings a lot of energy to the court," Boender said of her energetic and relentless 6-1 teammate. "She has a dangerous serve. We always start her off serving because she gets us on a run. She is so aggressive and has a great jump float serve that she can spot with a long ball or a short ball. Her serve really helps us get a head start on our opponents."

Neujahr said getting a feel for the talent of her Division 1 duo is as simple as looking at their careers to date.

"I think the last four years speak for themselves," Neujahr said. "They make us not only a Top 10 team, but a No. 1, 2 or 3 team. They have pushed this program to a different level. Their play and the way they share the ball has pushed this program from 10 wins just a few years ago, to 30 (plus) wins this season."

Boender and Root aren't the only talented athletes on Neujahr's roster. Boender's younger sister Brianna Boender, a 5-10 sophomore setter, runs Neujahr's 6-2 offense along with 5-7 senior Mackenzie Hyde. Abby Curtis (5-9, Jr.) and Emily Helzer (5-9, Sr.) serve as Neujahr's middle blockers, while Ashley Neujahr (5-7, Jr.) is the Vikings libero.

Freshmen Lindsay Brunssen (5-6), Amanda Jordon (5-4), Emily Clarke (5-9) and Jasmine Schmidt (5-8) as well as senior Shelby Boehler (5-7) make up the rest of the Viking roster and all have earned playing time this season.

Olivia Boender leads Waverly with a .446 hitting percentage and has powered down 489 kills so far this season. Root finished the run to the state tournament with a .368 hitting percentage and 344 kills, while Brianna Boender has scored 176 kills to the tune of a .387 hitting efficiency.

Root leads the Vikings (31-4) with 52 ace serves, while Boender has dished up 45 and Hyde and Brianna Boender have been credited with 39 and 30 aces respectively. Helzer's 53 total blocks lead the Vikings, while Brianna Boender has successfully interfered with 40 enemy balls.

Olivia Boender leads the way with 377 digs. Neujahr and Root went down and brought up 341 and 322 enemy swats respectively, while Brianna Boender and Hyde have been credited with 527 and 501 set assists respectively.

Olivia Boender said she and her Viking teammates realized how much talent Neujahr possessed in the Viking program at a reasonably young age.

"I think we probably realized how talented we were during our sophomore year," Boender said shortly before taking the court against Holdrege in a Class B Sub-State match Saturday. "We started getting a little older and a little more mature that year, and we started beating Gretna, Norris and Pius."

Waverly has taken eight of 11 matches against that trio this season and they're looking for more in Grand Island this weekend. Should the Vikings get by Norris in opening round action and upend the Beatrice-Northwest winner in the semifinals, an opportunity for pay back could appear should No. 1 seed Lincoln Pius X (34-6) make its way through its side of the bracket.

"Class B is really, really talented this year with (Grand Island) Northwest, Pius X (Lincoln), Norris, Skutt Catholic (Omaha) and us," Neujahr said. "And there are always a couple of teams that could sneak in there and get somebody too."

Graduation losses to Class A power and four-time defending champion Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion) opened the door for Northwest to move in and take over as the state's top program regardless of class. The Vikings will defend last season's Class B title while riding a 64-match win streak.

Millard West (Omaha) (34-2), the No. 1 seed in Nebraska's largest classification opens play against Grand Island (22-13) and could go head-to-head with MaxPrep's second-ranked squad Lincoln Southwest (25-8) in the finals. Look for Millard North (Omaha), Marian (Omaha) and Lincoln Southeast to challenge for Class A hardware as well.

Graduation losses hit defending C-1 champion Kearney Catholic hard a year ago, seemingly putting defending runner-up Scotus (Columbus) in the driver's seat. But a late season surge has the defending champs chomping at the bit for another title. Ogallala, Wahoo and Minden are also looking to get their foot in the championship door.

Defending D-2 champion Humphrey consolidated with Holy Family (Lindsay) in the off-season creating Humphrey/Holy Family (Humphrey) moving the Bulldogs up two classes to Class C-2. Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point), the defending D-1 runner-up moves up as well making Class C-2 a wide-open race. No. 1 seed Freeman (Adams) and second-seed St. Cecilia (Hastings) are hoping make a title move of their own.

St. Mary's (O'Neill), Bruning-Davenport (Bruning) and Howells-Dodge (Howells) are the front runners in D-1, while undefeated Bertrand, Giltner and Mead take on the favorites role in the D-2 tournament.

Players to watch at the Nebraska State Volleyball Tournament

Carlie Bauer, Minden 5-9 Sr., Olivia Boender, Waverly 6-2 Sr., Shayla Conner, Kearney Catholic 5-7 Sr., Morgan Nikkila, St. Cecilia (Hastings) 5-9 Sr., Dani Root, Waverly 6-1 Sr., Taylor Thiele, Aurora 5-10 Sr., Sydney Townsend, Pius X (Lincoln) 5-8 Sr., Marysa Wilkinson, Lincoln Southwest 5-11 Sr., Tarrin Beller, Humphrey/Holy Family (Humphrey) 5-11 So., Allie Davis, Lincoln Southwest 6-1 So., Clare Hamburger, St. Cecilia (Hastings) 5-7 Jr., Kiley Hixson, Aurora 5-10 So., Allison Penner, Aurora 5-11 Jr., Ali Rowse, Minden 5-6 Jr., Brittany Witt, Marian (Omaha) 5-7 So., Kaylee Jensen, Humphrey/Holy Family (Humphrey) 6-4 Sr., Payton Chohon, Scotus (Columbus) 5-10 Sr., Sydney O'Shaughnessy, Marian (Omaha) 5-9 Sr., Katie Placke, Northwest (Grand Island) 6-1 Sr., Ashley Witt, Pius X (Lincoln) 5-11 Sr.

Picking the Field Using MaxPreps Computer Rankings

Class A
No. 1 Millard West (Omaha) (34-2) over No. 8 Northwest (Grand Island) (22-13)
No. 5 Millard North (Omaha) (29-11) over No. 6 Papillion-LaVista (Papillion) (26-10)
No. 2 Lincoln Southwest (25-8) over No. 4 Marian (Omaha) (30-11)
No. 3 Lincoln Southeast (30-8) over No. 7 North Star (Lincoln) (22-10)

No. 1 Millard West (Omaha) (35-2) over No. 5 Millard North (Omaha) (30-11)
No. 2 Lincoln Southwest (26-8) over No. 3 Lincoln Southeast (31-8)

Championship – No. 1 Millard West (Omaha) (36-2) over No. 2 Lincoln Southwest (27-8)
Consolation – No. 3 Lincoln Southeast (31-9) over No. 5 Millard North (Omaha) (30-12)

Class B
No. 1 Northwest (Grand Island) (36-0) over No. 8 Beatrice (22-11)
No. 3 Waverly (31-4) over No. 6 Norris (Firth) (27-8)
No. 2 Pius X (Lincoln) (34-6) over No. 7 Elkhorn South (Elkhorn) (20-13)
No. 4 Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (31-7) over No. 5 Aurora (27-8)

No. 1 Northwest (Grand Island) (37-0) over No. 3 Waverly (32-4)
No. 2 Pius X (Lincoln) (35-6) over No. 4 Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (32-7)

Championship – No. 1 Northwest (Grand Island) (38-0) over No. 2 Pius X (Lincoln) (36-6)
Consolation – No. 3 Waverly (32-5) over No. 4 Skutt Catholic (Omaha)(32-8)

Class C-1
No. 5 Ogallala (Ogallala, Neb.) (31-6) over No. 8 Wayne (Wayne, Neb.) (25-6)
No. 3 Kearney Catholic (Kearney, Neb.) (24-8) over No. 12 Chadron (Chadron, Neb.) (27-3)
No. 1 Scotus (Columbus, Neb.) (25-3) over No. 13 Syracuse (Syracuse, Neb.) (27-4)
No. 2 Wahoo (Wahoo, Neb.) (28-3) over No. 4 Minden (Minden, Neb.) (25-4)

No. 3 Kearney Catholic (Kearney, Neb.) (25-8) over No. 5 Ogallala (32-6)
No. 1 Scotus (Columbus, Neb.) (26-3) over No. 2 Wahoo (Wahoo, Neb.) (29-3)

Championship – No. 1 Scotus (Columbus, Neb.) (27-3) over No. 3 Kearney Catholic (Kearney, Neb.) (26-8)
Consolation – No. 2 Wahoo (Wahoo, Neb.) (29-4) over No. 5 Ogallala (Ogallala, Neb.) (32-7)

Class C-2
No. 2 St. Cecilia (Hastings) (25-8) over No. 6 Lutheran-Northeast (Norfolk) (23-9)
No. 1 Crofton (23-4) over No. 7 Palmyra (25-5)
No. 5 Freeman (Adams) (25-5) over No. 12 Ord (20-11)
No. 3 Humphrey/Holy Family (Humphrey) (30-2) over No. 4 Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point) (29-4)

No. 1 Crofton (24-4) over No. 2 St. Cecilia (Hastings) (26-8)
No. 3 Humphrey/Holy Family (Humphrey) (31-2) over No. 5 Freeman (Adams) (26-5)

Championship – No. 1 Crofton (25-4) over No. 3 Humphrey/Holy Family (Humphrey) (32-2)
Consolation – No. 2 St. Cecilia (Hastings) (26-9) over No. 5 Freeman (Adams) (26-6)

Class D-1
No. 1 St. Mary's (O'Neill) (30-1) over No. 25 Cross County (Stromsburg) (17-16)
No. 3 Friend (25-5) over No. 6 Chambers/Wheeler Central (Chambers) (23-6)
No. 2 Bruning-Davenport/Shickley (Bruning) (28-3) over No. 13 Brady (23-6)
No. 5 Howells-Dodge (23-8) over No. 8 Axtell (22-9)

No. 1 St. Mary's (O'Neill) (31-1) over No. 3 Friend (26-5)
No. 2 Bruning-Davenport/Shickley (Bruning) (29-3) over No. 5 Howells-Dodge (Howells) (24-8)

Championship – No. 1 St. Mary's (O'Neill) (32-1) over No. 2 Bruning-Davenport/Shickley (Bruning) (30-3)
Consolation – No. 3 Friend (26-6) over No. 5 Howells-Dodge (Howells) (24-9)

Class D-2
No. 2 Giltner (28-2) over No. 9 Leyton (Dalton) (30-2)
No. 3 Mead (26-5) over No. 5 Sterling (25-7)
No. 1 Bertrand (31-0) over No. 14 Wallace (16-7)
No. 4 Sacred Heart (Falls City) (26-5) over No. 7 Stuart (24-6)

No. 2 Giltner (29-2) over No. 3 Mead (27-5)
No. 1 Bertrand (32-0) over No. 4 Sacred Heart (Falls City) (27-5)

Championship – No. 1 Bertrand (33-0) over No. 2 Giltner (30-2)
Consolation – No. 3 Mead (27-6) over No. 4 Sacred Heart (Falls City) (27-6)