Wolves repeat as EMC Tourney Champions

ELKHORN — The Eastern Midlands Conference has proven to be one of the best volleyball conferences in the state. The past three seasons, at least three EMC squads qualified for the state tournament. After qualifying four teams for last year’s Class B State Tournament, at least four teams looked poised to once again make a trip to Lincoln. 

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Some of the best teams in the state hit the hardwood for conference bragging rights at the Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament. 

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“It really gives us a good idea of what we are going to be facing at state,” Elkhorn North freshman Kaitlyn Huff stated. “It helps prepare us and makes us better as a team because we know what we need to work on to improve.”

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Elkhorn North and Norris each won their first two matches to advance to the championship bout. The EMC championship match featured the last two state runners-up.

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The Wolves swept Blair (25-15 and 25-13) then fended off a tough Waverly squad in three sets (25-21, 21-25 and 25-20) to earn their second-straight trip to the EMC Tourney finals.

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Norris scored two-set wins over Lincoln Northwest (25-17 and 25-8) and Bennington (25-19 and 25-17).

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A matchup of two of Class B’s bests lived up to the hype in the first set. 

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Norris jumped out to an early three-point lead, before Elkhorn North used a 4-1 run to gain its first lead at 10-9. A pair of Shay Heaney kills, along with a Delaney Briganti and Ava Spies kill, fueled the run.

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The battle was on as both squads went back-and-forth exchanging leads. The first set featured 17 ties and eight different lead changes.

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“It was crazy,” Heaney commented. “The momentum kept changing back-and-forth. We were both doing really good things and we are both really good teams.”

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A crucial point in the set came after Norris claimed a 23-22 edge. Coach Jenny Gragert used her first timeout and got the Wolves dialed in. Her squad responded with a 4-1 run to end the set, capped by back-to-back Spies kills, to win the opening set 26-24.

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“Coach (Gragert) told us to work together, keep pushing and keep our mental focus up,” Huff recalled. “It was the last game of the day and we were kind of tired. We had to fight through it to win.” 

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Elkhorn North used the momentum from its first-set win to jump out to a big lead. The Wolves scored nine of the second set’s first 11 points to claim a 9-2 advantage.

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“We brought what we had in the first set,” Huff continued. “A big thing for us was to not get complacent. We wanted to keep pushing and fight for the win.” 

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The Wolves’ serving ability proved to be the key in the second set. Elkhorn North’s serves gave the Norris defense fits, as the black and blue collected four aces in the set.

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“We have been working a lot on our serving and being aggressive with it,” Heaney noted. “We want to be aggressive, but also hit our zones. Getting them out of system was a huge thing.”

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Norris drew no closer than four, as Spies ended the match with a kill to give Elkhorn North a 25-17 set win and the Wolves’ second-straight EMC Tournament title.

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:”I’m really glad and really happy with how we played as a team,” Huff remarked. “I am excited for what is to come for the rest of the season after winning the EMC title.”

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In the three matches, Reagan Wallraff led the way with 30 kills, four blocks, two aces and five digs. Spies recorded 32 kills, 24 digs, four aces and four blocks; Heaney tallied 19 kills, a block and 10 digs; Reese Booth contributed 92 assists, 18 digs, 1 aces, three kills and three blocks; Haylee Wolf accounted for 43 digs and an ace; Briganti collected eight kills and five blocks; Huff had four kills and a block; Hayden Booth pitched in 18 digs and Alayna Vaughn added two aces and four digs.

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“Reese (Booth) does a great job of getting the ball, reading the opposing blockers and distributing the ball to each person,” Heaney spoke. “She does a great job of finding the person with the best matchup.”

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Bennington (23-6) finished third at the conference tournament and Elkhorn High (6-23) took sixth.

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Elkhorn North (23-3) welcomes Norris back to town Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. for an EMC regular-season battle, before playing in the Westside Tournament on Friday and Saturday. 

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“We have to keep working hard in practice and keep putting in the work,” Huff concluded. “We need to continue to work together well.”