A state title is not the only thing on the line in Class C-1 on Saturday. So is perfection.
No. 1 Wahoo is 34-0 and No. 2 St. Paul is 34-0. It’s the only final pitting unbeaten teams against each other.
Columbus Lakeview coach K.C. Belitz has seen both teams. His Vikings lost to St. Paul during the regular season and to Wahoo in Friday’s state semifinals.
“I think it’s just a toss-up,†he said. “Great setters, big setters. There’s a lot of similarities in those two teams. I think St. Paul plays floor defense like no other team in the state. I think it’s a heck of a matchup.â€
St. Paul was unbeaten when it reached the C-1 final a year ago before losing to Lincoln Lutheran.
Student section returns:Â For almost all of the volleyball season, the crowds for matches at Norris were limited to family only.
But the student section is back now for the state tournament, and that’s a really good thing.
“It felt normal a little bit, where the season hasn’t,†said Norris coach Christina Boesiger.
The players were excited that the students and community could attend, Boesiger said.
For the district championship match last week, 25 students could attend.
For the state tournament, each school was allotted 500 tickets. For the Titans’ first-round match, about 300 tickets went to friends and family, leaving about 200 for students. The student tickets sold out in about 30 minutes.
Norris also had a good crowd on Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena, but it was a busy and big night for the school. The Norris football team was playing at the same time with a home game in the second round of the playoffs.
The accomplishment of making to the Class A state volleyball final isn’t lost on Elkhorn South head coach Chelsea Potter — she understands just how hard it is.
Finding their footing: The accomplishment of making to the Class A state volleyball final isn’t lost on Elkhorn South head coach Chelsea Potter — she understands just how hard it is.
The Storm made two state-final appearances at the Class B ranks in 2013 and 2018, but their first season in Class A last year presented a new challenge. Despite being the No. 2 seed, the Storm were eliminated in the opening round by eventual champion Papillion-La Vista South.
This year, the Storm went undefeated against Metro Conference opponents as their only loss came to Lincoln Pius X. They also won the Metro Conference Tournament, no small feat when considering all four Class A semifinalists are from the conference.
“Hats off to the Metro Conference for being so strong this year. Top to bottom, all the qualifiers for the state tournament were really great competitors,†Potter said. "We’re pretty proud that we’re newer to the class and newer to the metro but we’re still able to perform the way we’ve had.â€
Versatility to history: In Diller-Odell's opening round, Addison Heidemann recorded 44 set assists in a 3-1 win against Nebraska Christian on Thursday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Heidemann's total after the match was an unofficial 3,195 set assists, a D-1 state record.
"Having her in our program has really built our program to what it is," Diller-Odell coach Reba Hestermann said. "She's been somebody that we've had as a go-to person for a long time in this program.
"She's also a versatile player. She's willing to go out; she can serve, she can pass, she can set, and if she needs to put a ball down, she does that, as well. She just has a very good attitude and works hard each and every time she steps out onto the floor."
Heidemann added 32 more set assists Friday in a 3-0 sweep of Falls City Sacred Heart to move the Griffins into the state championship match against CWC.
Though Heidemann strives to have the best set-assist record in the state, she views them in a different category.
“I have really great hitters, so it's easy to get assists all the time," Heidemann said. "Last year was the same. Every hitter was an option and every hitter could put the ball down. Same as this year. … Watching my hitters put the ball down. I don't count that as assists. Just me giving them an opportunity."
The 5-foot-11 senior and Iowa State recruit added five kills, one ace serve, one block and nine digs Friday.
“Just being from a small school, everybody has to do everything," Heidemann said. "Having tough serves and tough defense will win games."
Friday night plans set: Pleasanton had a state finals berth wrapped up shortly before 10 a.m. Friday, sweeping No. 4 Mead.
So the No. 1 Bulldogs had some time to kill during the day, but the evening plans were set.
The coaches and players talked to the staff at their hotel in Lincoln about using a meeting room to watch the Pleasanton football team play Sandhills/Thedford in a Class D-2 state quarterfinal.
"They’re all about our school and establishing that culture, and they’ve been the ones to really put Pleasanton back on the map, and the boys are having a great season," Pleasanton coach Shane Nordby said. "They want to support them as much as anything else."
Pleasanton's opponent in the state volleyball final, Archbishop Bergan, also will be watching football Friday. The Knights played Sutton in the C-2 quarterfinals.
Partying like it's …: When Norfolk Catholic and Overton squared off in a Class C-2 semifinal Friday, the history books braced for impact. Entering the clash, neither team had reached a state tournament finale despite making a combined 17 state appearances.Â
Norfolk Catholic prevailed after losing the first set — and the feeling on the Knights' sideline was palpable. Coach Michaela Bellar remembers lending a hand in adjusting the team's preseason goals.
"Their goal at the beginning of the year was to make it to state," Bellar said. "I knew how much potential they had, so I'm like, 'Well, what about winning state?' and they kind of looked at me. I said, 'If you guys believe this, you can achieve it.'"
The Knights take on Lutheran Northeast in the final at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Photos: Semifinals Friday pushes teams one step closer to state volleyball lore
St. Paul's Josie Jakubowski (5) scores the match-winning point with a fifth-set kill against Lincoln Lutheran in a Class C-1 state volleyball tournament semifinal Nov. 6 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.Â