Making their second trip to the Class 3A State Volleyball Tournament in their short three year school history, Nemaha Central did win a set, which was something they hadn't accomplished two years ago. However, the opening game win against Hesston was the only victory for the Thunder in pool play at Emporia and they dropped the next two sets 25-18 and 25-15 before losing in straight sets to Cheney 25-23, 25-9 and Douglass 29-27 and 25-11.  The Thunder ended their season tied for a record 32 wins against 11 losses after repeating as Big 7 League champions. 

The first set against Wellsville was probably the best Nemaha played all day, not just because they won, but they seemed focused and more active all over the court.  Nemaha held the early 3-1 lead on kills by Laura Macke and Kaley Dalinghaus and went up 7-2 behind the serving of Allison Rottinghaus.  Wellsville caught the Thunder at 12 and took a 15-12 lead before Riley Bontrager served six straight points, including an ace, to put Nemaha back on top 18-15.   Angela Holthaus had a big block make it 21-16 and keep Wellsville in check, and the Thunder put the set away 25-20 after a late kill by Ashley Larkin.  Game two was back and forth and the Thunder led 12-10 before Wellsville tied the game at 15 and went up 18-15 before a kill from Jacy Dalinghaus briefly stopped the momentum at 21-16.  Yet, the Eagles pulled away for the 25-18 win and forced game three.  Wellsville jumped to an 8-4 advantage and never looked back leading 17-9 at a Thunder timeout and going on for the 25-15 clincher. 

Against Cheney, it was a very competitive first set despite falling down 3-0, the Thunder battled back and took their first lead at 16-15 behind two good serves from Riley Bontrager.  After a tie at 17, Nemaha went on a run behind Jacy Dalinghaus who deliverd five consecutive serves as Macke had a big kill and another stuff to make it 21-17.  The Thunder led 22-18 before a Cheney timeout and the Cardinals repsonded to tie the game at 22.  Nemaha Central got a point from Angela Holthaus to lead 23-22, but Cheney rallied to score the final three points for the 25-23 win.  The Cardinals went ahead 9-8 in the second set and didn't look back as they went on a 15-0 run to close the match 25-9 when the Thunder really struggled to get any momentum or do anything right. 

The final set had Nemaha Central playing for pride and again the first set was very competitive with neither the Thunder or Douglass having more than a five-point-margin.  Nemaha led 8-3 early but it was tight and tied several times after that before Douglass went ahead 19-18.  The Thunder resonded as Bontrager's serve put Nemaha ahead 24-23, but they couldn't get the winning point then, or at 25-24, and finally Douglass rallied for a 29-27 victory.  Like earlier, after a tough loss and not being able to close out a game, Nemaha Central really struggled in the ensuing set as Douglass jumped to a 6-3 lead and never trailed or looked back in route to a 25-11 win. 

Four seniors including Kaley Dalinghaus, Maggie Hammes, Claire Deters and Shania Schraad played their final match, but all 12 athletes saw the state court multiple times and in a deep and talented, 10-player rotation, the Thunder will bring back lots of experience including five starters plus their libero next season.