Wolves rally for state tourney win, but lose today's semi

Coach Shayne Lawson (left) keeps the serious focus while her Maywood-Hayes Center reserves celebrate another big point in Thursday’s four-set Class D-1 state tournament win over Meridian at Lincoln’s Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Wolves (26-2 record) shook off a first-set loss to deal Meridian only its fifth defeat all season (27-5).

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LINCOLN, Neb. — Style points maybe didn’t go beyond those dance moves on the sideline celebrating Maywood-Hayes Center points.

Yet the Wolves don’t mind if wasn’t “their prettiest win” as coach Shayne Lawson said after Thursday’s D-1 staet tournament debut.

The only points really mattering was an 18-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-21 Maywood-Hayes Center win.

The Maywood-Hayes CenterWolves rallied on Thursday with Sutherland transfer Mataya Roberts (left) unleashing her best performance, blasting 17 kills past D-1 No. 6-seed Meridian. Senior Olivia Hansen (below) also provided her usual strong play at the net for 26-2 and No. 3-seed M-HC.

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“The great thing about this team is they know what needs to be done,” Lawson proclaimed about a team playing its third consecutive volleyball state tourney. “At timeouts, I just say take a breath and they know what they need to do to get it done.”

The Wolves (26-2 record) prevailed mainly behind a three-bite attack from seniors Mataya Roberts with 17 kills, Olivia Hansen’s 15 and Lexi Wood 12.

Senior Maddie Doyle drilled another six, including one final that basically finished 27-5 Meridian’s upset try.

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“Maddie is a lot like Olivia, we can count on her to play strong at the net and power down,” Lawson said.

Roberts has become the new power source since she transferred to M-HC for her final year.

“She has quite the (power) arm,” Lawson confirmed. “She’s stepped in to definitely be a big help.”

Defensive ace Aniah Seiler (left) ands another dig with senior Lexi Wood always ready to hit the floor during Thursday’s Class D-1 state tourney win at the Pinnacle Bank Arena.

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On National Sandwich day, the Wolves pounced around sinking volleyballs two or three at a time.

Senior libero Aniah Seiler led the Wolves’ floor defense again, while Wood has been known to bounce off a few floors and still help lead her team’s championships.

“Sometimes we have to tell Aniah to be confident and really go after the ball,” Lawson observed. “She’s been doing really well I think especially in the last few weeks.”

Maywood-Hayes Center senior Kiley Hejtmanek serving at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

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Defense was what helped the Wolves overcome that sluggish firs-set loss.

The second set was still a bit unsettling as Meridian battled to a 12-12 tie.

Yet a 4-1 run helped M-HC take the lead and those state-proven girls really never lost momentum again.

Senior Ashlin Broz also played another great role while continuing her return from missing all last season due to a knee injury.

“Sometimes, it’s tough to miss a whole season,” Lawson said. “But Ashlin has come right back and had a strong year and been a great leader.”

The Wolves move on into today’s D-1 semifinals where were playing No. 7-seed Hartington Cedar Catholic at press time.

Cedar (25-10 record) rallied from two sets down to stun No. 2 Cambridge earlier on Thursday.

The Cambridge Trojans had dealt M-HC its only two losses this season.

“We would have liked to see them again, but we’re happy to be playing another day,” Lawson concluded. “It will be a tough match. We’ll have to execute better than we did today.”

Hartington Cedar Catholic did defeat M-HC, 3-0, so the Wolves will play for third place in Class D-1 at Lincoln North Star High School.

Watch for a final wrap in Tuesday's Gazette.