In the final match of maybe the most successful career for a high school volleyball player in Nebraska, Lindsay Krause dominated one more time, smashing away for 30 kills in leading top-ranked Omaha Skutt to a four-set win against No. 2 Norris in the Class B state championship match Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
That makes Krause 4-for-4 on winning state championships in her career. The future Husker will very likely be chosen as one of the seven best high school players in the state each year she played.
After a rare set loss, Skutt dominated most of the final three sets for a 22-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-21 victory.
Skutt won a sixth straight state championship — tying a state record for consecutive championships — with each of the program’s state titles coming in that run. The other teams with six straight are Bellevue West (1992-97) and Shickley (1987-92).
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Krause had the kill on state championship point, just like she’s done a few times before.
She had a remarkable .574 hitting percentage, getting kills on 30 of her 47 attempts. And this wasn’t some midweek match in a triangular. This came against a great team in the final match.
Game stories:ÌýClass AÂ |Â Â Class BÂ |Â Â Class C-1Â |Â Â Class C-2Â |Â Â Class D-1Â |Â Â Class D-2Â |Â Â Results
But Krause can do it all, also recording seven digs, three blocks and two ace serves.
Krause had a whole lot of all-power swings for kills, but also scored on roll shots over two blockers to the open spot in the middle of the court.
And on the race occasion that Krause was blocked or hit out, the fiercely competitive player almost always got a kill on her next attempt.
“She’s great,†said Norris coach Christina Boesiger. “There were times when we thought we had a big block up on her and she was still going over us.â€
Playing club volleyball helped Krause get a scholarship offer from Nebraska before she played a high school match. She improved during two stints playing with the United States youth national team. But Skutt coach Renee Saunders and her teammates also helped make Krause into a great player.
“I think high school is amazing, and it’s nothing like club. I just love high school,†Krause said.
Saunders enjoyed watching the improvement of Krause, setter Allison Gray and the seven Skutt seniors.
“From their freshman year when they’re all gangly and have braces and are tripping over lines to this year, they look pretty athletic out there to me,†Saunders said.
Ella Waters led Norris with 17 kills. The Titans used their normal balanced attack to win the first set.
“I loved that they came out not afraid,†Boesiger said.
Skutt didn’t mess around in the second set, winning 13 straight points to begin the set.
One of the national polls has Skutt as the No. 2 high school team in the nation. It’s hard to compare teams from across the nation, but Skutt beat some of the best teams from Iowa, Kansas and Missouri this year. If not for the pandemic, they would have hit the road and played more of the top teams.
“I would have loved to take them to play some of these other teams,†Saunders said. “I think they would have held their own pretty well.â€