Menu
Bison volleyball team second at GNAC
The McCook High School volleyball team posted a 2-1 record and placed second at the Greater Nebraska Athletic Association volleyball tournament Saturday at the MHS and McCook Junior High School gymnasiums.
The Bison defeated Scottsbluff 25-17, 25-12 in the first round, North Platte 25-15, 25-20 in the semifinals and lost to Kearney 25-16, 25-27, 25-20 in the championship match.
The Bison improved to 19-13. The 19 wins is a new school record.
"What an amazing day for this group of young ladies," said McCook volleyball coach Krystal Weber. "They break the school record, not by one win, but by two wins, and they make it to the finals of the GNAC tournament for the first time in school history. They had goals coming into the tournament, and they gave it their all to see to it that they reached those goals.
"We knew heading into the matches that getting wins was going to be important this late in the season in trying to push ourselves higher in wild card points, and this was the tournament that we could do that, especially with three class A schools here.
"We started off a little sluggishly against Scottsbluff in the opener, but after a quick timeout, we reminded the girls of what Scottsbluff was going to try to do against us. We made those adjustments and there was no looking back. The girls just played well from that point on. Our hitters did a great job of finding the open areas of the court and terminating the ball.
"Heading into the North Platte match, we had some things on our minds from our last meeting with them that we needed to make sure got fixed this time around. When we played them two weeks ago, we passed the ball terribly off serve receive. Most of our passes were put right on top of the net, and with their height, all they had to do was tip the ball straight down the net to score. This time was a complete turnaround.
"Our passing was flawless. We did not make a single passing error off serve receive the entire match. Because of the pinpoint passing, everything else fell into place. Brianna moved the ball around very well to our hitters, and our hitters didn't make many mistakes either. We just played a solid game with very few unforced errors.
"Against Kearney, we knew they would be tough to play as they have much quicker offense than we have seen all season. However, their offense wasn't what stunned us, instead, we couldn't pass the ball against their serves. We looked like we did against North Platte two weeks earlier. It was very frustrating for the girls and the coaches to come off such an error-free match against North Platte and to turn around and have the unforced errors just pile up in the Kearney match.
"The girls didn't give up, however, and came back in Game 2 after being down once again by 5 or 6 points to start the game. They really gained confidence at the end of Game 2 when they came away with that win. Heading into game 3, we knew we would have to play harder than we had played all day. The girls gave it their all, but we just couldn't seem to get over the hump and eliminate the errors.
"The girls were very disappointed with their play against Kearney in the finals, as were shown by some tears after the match. They need to be proud of what they accomplished here, and I'm sure that after they've had time to sleep on it, they will come to see that as well. They have very high expectations for themselves, and it shows that they are not satisfied when they don't play the best they can.
"It will definitely leave them hungry for districts this week. We will have a full week of practice to focus on preparations for the Hastings/Holdrege winner. We start a whole new season this week where anything is possible."
McCook def. Scottsbluff 25-17, 25-12
Ace Serves: Powell 2, Baumbach 1, Swanhorst 1, Bryant 1.
Kills: Swanhorst 10, Palic 8, Powell 5, Bryant 3, Watkins 1.
Assists: Baumbach 12, Watkins 9.
Blocks: Swanhorst 2, Baumbach 0.5, Watkins 0.5.
Digs: Baumbach 10, Powell 8, Watkins 6, Bryant 6, Swanhorst 5, Palic 3, Krepcik 3.
McCook def. North Platte 25-15, 25-20
Ace Serves: Powell 2, Swanhorst 2.
Kills: Bryant 9, Swanhorst 8, Palic 6, Powell 3, Watkins 3, Chitwood 1.
Assists: Watkins 17, Swanhorst 1, Bryant 1, Chitwood 1.
Blocks: Powell 0.5, Bryant 0.5.
Digs: Bryant 11, Swanhorst 6, Baumbach 5, Palic 4, Powell 3, Watkins 3, Chitwood 2.
Kearney def. McCook 25-16, 25-27, 25-20
Ace Serves: Swanhorst 2.
Kills: Bryant 9, Palic 8, Swanhorst 6, Powell 3, Watkins 2, Chitwood 1.
Assists: Watkins 24, Chitwood 2.
Blocks: Bryant 1, Watkins 0.5, Chitwood 0.5.
Digs: Bryant 14, Watkins 10, Powell 10, Swanhorst 8, Palic 7, Baumbach 3, Chitwood 1, Krepcik 1.