In a battle of state ranked teams with a second place Big 7 League finish on the line, Holton swept Nemaha Central in straight sets in their only matches on the year Tuesday night.  Holton won 25-21 and 25-23 in the first match then prevailed 25-21 and 27-25 in the second contest.  The results pushed Holton to a 12-4 finish in the League, one game back of champ Jeff West, and left the Thunder with an 11-5 mark in the Big 7.  It was also senior night for 7 Holton seniors. 

MATCH 1:  Holton started 2-0 in the first game of the night with Megan Rhule controlling the serve and after Nemaha battled to a 5-5 tie, Holton took control with a 10-6 advantage and went up 13-7 before a Thunder time out as Rhule was serving again for the Cats.  On two straight points by Haley Thompson and serving by Ashley Cook, the Wildcats stretched the margin to 17-8.  Jenna Macke delivered three staight service points to pull the Thunder within 19-14 but Darien Lamme answered with two serves and an ace for Holton to make it 24-16.  Kennedy McKernan kept Nemaha Central alive and served five consecutive points before Holton closed out game one 25-21.  In game two, Nemaha had the early advantage and went ahead 12-10 after three serves by Macke.  Holton responsed out of a timeout with Tori Bontrager delivering an ace in the middle of four straight serves and Holton led 14-12.  Four more serves by  Lamme pushed the Holton lead to 20-14, but again the Thunder rallied late with Jaci Swart serving and Madison Koch earning a trio of points on dink hits just over the blockers.  Nemaha pulled as close as 23-22 before a Thompson point and final play by Rhule gave Holton the 25-23 victory. 

MATCH 2:  Like the first match,  Holton never traield in game one after grabbing a 2-0 lead.  Mallory Fate served three straight points to make it 6-2 and Ashley Weilert added two more points to make it 12-7.  Nemaha pulled back within 13-11 on a couple attacks by Kaley Dalinghaus, but Ashley Cook had a kill for Holton then went back and served the next 8 points as Holton led 20-11.  The Thunder again battled back and got as close as 22-19 after a couple nice plays by Macke, but Thompson had the game-winner to answer for the Cats as they closed out game one, 25-21.  In game two, Nemaha got the first point, but an ace serve by Cook put Holton ahead 2-1.  The Wildcats were up 7-4 after a pair of Bontrager service points but teh Thunder came back and took an 11-9 lead on serving by Kennedy McKernan and a couple error hits by the Cats.  Holton reclaimed the advantage at 14-13 and stayed ahead until Macke delivered four straight serve points to make it 22-21 getting help from a block and net play by Shaylyn Stallbaumer.  Rachel Baumgartner got a point to tie the score at 23 and a block put Nemaha Central ahead 24-23 with a game-point opportunity.  Yet, Holton responsed with three of the next four points and Thompson served the final two for a Wildcat 27-25 triumph.      

Both teams will head to Sub-State this Saturday as Holton 21-12 (Ranked #5 in Class 4A D2) plays at Chapman and will have to contend with top ranked Clay Center who ended their season last year and beat the Cats already this season; while Nemaha Central 29-11 (ranked #6 in Class 3A) is the top seed at the Hiawatha sub-state and looks for a return trip to state volleyball.