|
For the final time as the Raiders, the Nemaha Valley volleyball squad entered the 3A State Tournament at White Auditorium in Emporia, Kan. as the eight seed. It was the third trip in the past four years and the ninth under head coach Betty Peterson and the Lady Raiders had a tough task to start out.
Nemaha Valley played in the first match of the tournament against the number one seed Jayhawk-Linn. The Lady Jayhawks came in with only four losses on the year. The first set was a tough battle, but Jayhawk-Linn took control late in the set to win 27-25. In the second, Nemaha Valley’s blocking and hitting started to pick things up for the Lady Raiders and NV sneaked by winning 26-24 to force the match to set three. Nemaha Valley continued to perform well from the momentum in set two and the Lady Raiders opened up the tournament upsetting the number one seed, winning the third set 25-21.
NV’s next match would set the tone for the rest of the tournament as the Lady Raiders battled number four Hoisington. The Lady Cardinals were 0-1 in pool play and if Nemaha Valley won, the Lady Raiders would be heading to bracket play. Nemaha Valley did all it could, but eventually fell to Hoisington in two sets, losing 25-15 and 25-13.
Number five Cheney was 2-0 in pool play when the Lady Cardinals faced Nemaha Valley right after the Hoisington-NV match. Cheney would continue to dominate in the tournament and defeated Nemaha Valley 25-18 and 25-11. Cheney would make it to bracket play, but fell to Silver Lake for the 3A state title.
Nemaha Valley ended its season as the Raiders for the final time with a 22-18 record. The Lady Raiders finished with more state tournament appearances and championships than any other team in Class 3A history. Nemaha Valley finished with 23 state trips and seven state titles. Next year, Nemaha Valley will combine with 1A Division 2 state champs Baileyville B&B to form the Nemaha Central Thunder.
|
