When the set to the right side is high enough and 6-foot-5 left-hander Steph Gaston fully extends up to hit the ball, no one in the state is going to get a block on the Creighton recruit’s attack.
Minutes after her high school career ends, the Papillion-La Vista senior wants to do something no other player in the state can get a hand on either — hoisting the Class A state championship trophy higher than any Nebraska high school player has ever lifted it.
The Monarchs, preseason No. 2 this fall, have been tantalizing close to such a moment the last two years. In 2014, when Gaston was a sophomore, Papillion-La Vista came into the state tournament championship match with a 42-0 record and five wins against Omaha Marian during the season. But when it mattered most, the Crusaders won the second of their three straight titles.
Last year, Papillion-La Vista overcame a season-ending knee injury to all-state outside hitter Katie Stephens midway through the season to post a 34-8 record and reach the state tournament semifinals.
People are also reading…
“We’ve been so close, but I think this is our year,” Gaston said. “Marian graduated a lot of players and almost all of us who played last year are back. In our practices so far, we’re all committed to do it.”
Gaston might be the biggest matchup problem for anyone in the state. She slammed a team-high 381 kills (.341 hitting efficiency) and registered 73 ace blocks as a junior. The Monarchs also return an experienced setter in 5-8 senior Dani Prusha, who had 1,094 assists and 276 digs a year ago.
Prusha has plenty of other options besides Gaston. Six-foot junior middle blocker Sydney Fitzgibbons hit .346 last season on 265 kills while also registering a team-high 99 blocks. Ally Glaser, a 5-10 junior outside hitter, became more prominent in the offense after Stephens’ injury last year, finishing with 118 kills.
Passing and defense should be strengths for the Monarchs, thanks to the return of a couple back-row specialists — senior Maddie Krajewski (353 digs) and junior McKenzie Michalek.
“At this point, our defense is much better than it was last year, and we were a good defensive team then,” said Papillion-La Vista coach Kristen Lebeda-Svehla, whose team opens the season Friday and Saturday in the Bellevue West Invitational, one of seven ranked teams in the field.
“We’re speeding things up offensively because we have hitters who can go fast. Dani (Prusha) can run that type of offense and our ballhandling and defense makes sure she’s not running all over the place to set the ball.”
Reach the writer at 402-473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ronpowell_ljs.
Ron Powell
High school sports reporter
Ron Powell is a longtime prep writer for the Journal Star. He covers high school football, boys basketball and track as well as state college football and Husker and professional tennis.
