Seniors Petersen, Nemec back on court for Neb. City after injuries
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
By RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star
The Nebraska City volleyball team may finally be healthy, a prospect that might make its opponents a bit queasy.
Senior setter Steph Petersen appears to be fully recovered from surgery late last fall to repair ligaments and a dislocated kneecap.
Senior outside hitter Joreen Nemec, the Pioneers’ leader in kills a year ago, played her first matches of the season last week after being sidelined with a hairline fracture in her neck from a automobile accident in late July.
1. Papillion-La Vista (13-0) 1
2. Grand Island (12-1) 2
3. Omaha Marian (13-2) 4
4. Lincoln Southwest (12-3) 3
5. Millard North (8-1) 5
6. Bellevue East (4-5) 6
7. Lincoln East (10-7) 7
8. Lincoln Southeast (7-6) 8
9. Bellevue West (6-7) 9
10. Papillion-La Vista South (4-3) 10
Comments -
Contenders: Millard South, Elkhorn, Kearney, Omaha Burke, Omaha Bryan, Millard West.
Comments: The only change is Omaha Marian and Southwest switching spots after Marian beat the Silver Hawks twice in the LPS Classic over the weekend. As the lone unbeaten team remaining and LPS Classic champion, Papillion-La Vista has established itself as a clear No. 1. But the fact that both Grand Island and Marian pushed the Monarchs to three sets in the LPS tournament shows the gap can be closed by the end of the season. Burke (8-3) has a chance to move into the ratings next week when it faces Papillion-La Vista, Millard North and Papillion-La Vista South in the Allison Weston Invitational. Bryan (11-3) lost in a three-set sweep to Bellevue West last week in the Bears’ first match against a rated team.
Key matches: Tonight--Omaha Bryan at Papillion-La Vista South, Bellevue West at Millard West. Thursday--Lincoln East at Lincoln Southeast. Friday-Saturday--Allison Weston Invitational (Papillion-La Vista, Millard North, Papillion-La Vista South).
Class B Pvs.
1. Lincoln Pius X (13-1) 1
2. Northwest (11-2) 2
3. Omaha Gross (10-5) 3
4. Aurora (11-2) 4
5. Ogallala (9-0) 5
6. Omaha Skutt (9-4) 6
7. Omaha Mercy (6-3) 7
8. Nebraska City (6-1) 8
9. Hastings (10-3) 9
10. Seward (8-2) 10
Comments -
Contenders: South Sioux City, Norris, Waverly, Columbus, Alliance, Scottsbluff, McCook, Blair.
Comments: It wasn’t a totally smooth ride for the top 10 last week, but nothing to cause any changes. Gross, which is currently without sophomore standout Kendall Kritenbrink (sprained ankle), is not penalized for its loss to Class A contender Elkhorn in the LPS Classic since Gross had beaten the Antlers in two previous meetings. Hastings avenged a loss earlier in the week to Adams Central with a win against the Patriots in the Hastings quadrangular Saturday. Seward lost to Class C-1 No. 6 Syracuse in the finals of the Fairbury Invitational.
Key matches: Tonight--Northwest at Aurora, Omaha Mercy at Omaha Skutt, Nebraska City at Blair, Seward at Aquinas. Thursday--St. Paul and McCook at Hastings; Waverly at Nebraska City, Norris at Pius X. Saturday--Northwest Invitational (Northwest, Columbus Scotus, Omaha Skutt), Pius X Invitational (Omaha Mercy, Pius X, Blair, Norris), Aurora Invitational.
Class C-1 Pvs.
1. GI Central Catholic (11-0) 1
2. Columbus Scotus (6-1) 2
3. St. Paul (9-1) 3
4. Kearney Catholic (8-1) 4
5. Johnson County Central (7-0) 5
6. Syracuse (10-1) 6
7. Minden (10-3) 8
8. West Point-Beemer (6-0) -
9. Centennial (7-4) 9
10. Wood River (6-1) 10
Comments -
Contenders: Hastings St. Cecilia, Bennington, Norfolk Catholic, Central City, Battle Creek, Pierce, Boone Central, Wisner-Pilger, Ord, Crofton.
Comments: Grand Island Central Catholic now has wins against both No. 2 and No. 3 after outlasting St. Paul in three sets. Norfolk Catholic drops out after a loss to unranked Central City in the final of the Central City Invitational. Centennial is not penalized for a five-set loss to Class C-2 No. 3 Sutton, nor is Wood River for a setback to Class C-2 No. 1 Ravenna. Bennington (7-0) gets a chance to move in with a triangular at Syracuse tonight.
Key matches: Tonight--Wood River at Kearney Catholic, Bennington and Conestoga at Syracuse; Boone Central and Adams Central at St. Paul; Wilber-Clatonia at Centennial. Thursday--Grand Island Central Catholic at Kearney Catholic. Saturday--Holdrege Invitational (Grand Island Central Catholic, Ravenna, St. Paul, Alliance), Adams Central Invitational (Centennial, Superior), Sutherland Invitational (Wood River, Southwest, North Platte St. Pat’s, Dundy County-Stratton).
Class C-2 Pvs.
1. Ravenna (8-4) 2
2. Superior (9-1) 7
3. Sutton (8-1) 1
4. Aquinas (5-2) 3
5. Southwest (11-1) 4
6. North Platte St. Patrick’s (6-1) 5
7. Thayer Central (3-1) 9
8. Tri County (6-2) 8
9. Wilber-Clatonia (8-4) 6
10. Dundy County-Stratton (8-1) -
Comments -
Contenders: West Point Central Catholic, Bridgeport, Cross County, Louisville, Johnson-Brock, Archbishop Bergan, Shelton.
Comments: Major changes, as expected. Superior jumps five spots for its win agaiunst previous No. 1 Sutton. Tri County beat Wilber-Clatonia in the Fillmore Central Invitational, but also lost to 4-7 and unranked Fillmore Central. West Point Central Catholic exits because of a loss to Class D-1 unranked Scribner-Snyder. There’s potential for more drastic changes next week.
Key matches: Tonight--Sutton at Tri County.
Class D-1 Pvs.
1. Elkhorn Valley (6-2) 1
2. Humphrey St. Francis (7-2) 2
3. Giltner (10-0) 5
4. Freeman (10-2) 3
5. Bertrand (8-1) 7
6. Silver Lake (8-0) 9
7. Bancroft-Rosalie (10-3) 8
8. Sandhills/Thedford (8-0) -
9. Meridian (6-1) -
10. Pawnee City (6-3) 10
Comments -
Contenders: Mead, Humphrey, Nebraska Lutheran, Nebraska Christian, Alma, Exeter-Milligan, Leyton, Deshler, West Boyd.
Comments: Freeman recovered from its first-round loss to Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer to finish fifth in the MUDECAS, beating No. 10 Pawnee City along the way. Pawnee City’s other MUDECAS loss came to Class C-1 No. 5 Johnson County Central. Mead exits after a loss to 2-6 Prague in the Cedar Bluffs Invitational. Humphrey is gone after going 0-3 in the Chambers tournament, losing to Class D-2 No. 3 Chambers and Class D-2 contenders Pope John and Greeley-Wolbach. Meridian pops into the top 10 after winning the MUDECAS B division title.
Key matches: Tonight--Meridian at Clay Center, Humphrey at Humphrey St. Francis. Thursday--Johnson-Brock at Freeman, Giltner at Nebraska Lutheran, Archbishop Bergan at Bancroft-Rosalie. Friday--Hay Springs at Sandhills/Thedford, Alma at Bertrand. Saturday--Wisner-Pilger Invitational (Chambers, Humphrey St. Francis, Wisner-Pilger), Hampton Invitational (Giltner, Hampton), Burwell Invitational (Sandhills/Thedford).
Class D-2
Pvs.
1. Ewing (11-0) 1
2. Paxton (10-0) 2
3. Chambers (12-0) 3
4. Dodge (9-0) 4
5. Clay Center (10-0) 5
6. Falls City SH (7-4) 6
7. Pleasanton (9-2) 7
8. Hay Springs (9-0) -
9. Elba (8-2) 8
10. Lawrence-Nelson (2-2) 10
Comments -
Contenders: Pope John, Greeley-Wolbach, Wallace, Mullen, Wynot, Parkview Christian, Banner County, McPherson County, Hampton.
Comments: Greeley-Wolbach drops to contender status because of a loss to unranked Spalding/Spalding Academy. Both Elba and Lawrence-Nelson have losses to Class C-2 Kenesaw.
Key matches: Friday--Ewing at Pope John. Saturday--Scribner-Snyder Invitational (Dodge).
It’s coming together just in time for the 6-1 Pioneers, ranked No. 8 in Class B, as they move into their toughest stretch of the season. Next month, Nebraska City will be vying to win its first Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament title since 1981. In November, the Pioneers will be looking for their first state tournament berth since 1985.
“They’ve persevered through a lot of adversity,” said Nebraska City coach Marla Larsen, whose team’s only loss is to Class C-1 No. 6 Syracuse. “With everyone back, we’ve had our best practices of the year recently. There’s a lot of cohesiveness on the team right now. This is a group that’s passionate about volleyball. The talent and the heart is there to get it done.’’
Petersen suffered her kneecap injury late last season in PE class. That forced Larsen to move standout senior outside hitter Justine DeBuhr to setter to finish the season, which Nebraska City ended 21-10. The explosive DeBuhr leads the team this season in kills (47), digs (60) and ace serves (20).
DeBuhr, who had 259 kills a year ago, initially wasn’t sure about the switch to setter.
“Coach just threw me into a position I’d never played before, but it worked out,” DeBuhr said. “I’d never thought of myself as a setter, but now I’m trying to decide between libero and setting for college.”
Petersen had a six-month recovery time from surgery and didn’t play in game situations until mid-July. “Every once in a while, it (the knee) gets sore, but otherwise I’m 100 percent,” said Petersen, who has 129 assists this season.
Petersen’s options have expanded with the return of Nemec, who had 271 kills last season. She was in a neck brace for five weeks after the accident. She’s recovered much quicker than doctors originally anticipated.
“The doctor said I wouldn’t be playing this season, that I’d be in a brace for six to eight weeks with a six-month recovery time,” said Nemec, who‘s currently just playing the front row. “I told him that (sitting out volleyball season) wasn’t an option, that somehow I was going to play this season.”
DeBuhr, Nemec and Petersen are among five returning starters from a year ago. Senior right side Calli Earhart has 21 kills this fall, while senior middle blocker Maegan Hathaway’s all-around play includes 21 kills, 11 ace blocks and 18 service aces. Nebraska City has 70 ace serves as a team in seven matches.
While the Pioneers are senior-dominated, they also have a pair of talented freshmen who are seeing extensive playing time — middle Johanna Rakes and defensive specialist Taylor Devorss, who has 39 digs. Devorss joins sophomore Jenna Peterson as strictly back-row players, but others such as DeBuhr, Earhart and Petersen have been liberos at some point of their careers.
“I would put our back-row defense up against anyone’s,” Larsen said. “They won’t let a ball hit the floor, they take a lot of pride in that.”
Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.
Post Your Comment
Standards and RulesYour posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.