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The Cedar Catholic Lady Trojan volleyball team is returning to the Nebraska State Volleyball Championships for the first time since 2022 where the Lady Trojans won a state title, the third of three in program history.
It will be the 14th time in program history.
“We knew we had the pieces to get there from the beginning of the season,” Cedar Catholic coach, Denae Buss said. “We just needed them all to come together at the same time and I think we are getting there.”
Cedar Catholic was also the runner-up in 2010, 2017 and 2018 and brought home the fourth-place in 2019.
Buss will be taking a balanced, deep and tested squad to Lincoln to compete against the best in Class D1.
“We are still practicing with 16 girls,” Buss said. “We can’t suit them all up but they are all a part of this trip to Lincoln and what happens when we get there.”
Five Lady Trojans have led or tied for the lead in kills in matches over the course of the season with Melayna McGregor being the most consistent while registering 211 winners on the season thus far. She also tipped up 325 set assists and had 194 digs.
Lauren Bernecker slammed down 181, Katelyn Ahler had 138, Addison Walter had 121 despite missing a few matches with an injury and Brynn Bernecker hammered 107 kills.
Lyndsey Hamilton set up the offense along with McGregor and led the team with 393 assists and also rifled 59 ace serves..
Anisten Wortmann and Ava Stewart were part of the versatility of the team.
“Anisten is a very aggressive attacker and Ava is great at the net defensively,” said the coach.
Bailey Hochstein was great in the back row with 549 good passes in serve receive and 375 digs.
Buss also likes the mental talents of her team.
“We showed what we can do when we play smart like we did in the district final,” she said. “We have been battle tested. Five Mid-State teams were in the district finals and four moved on to state, and a lot of our losses were to this four teams.”
The Lady Trojans will take a 14-18 record into the state tournament to take on a familiar opponent in Lincoln, Superior.
“We played them a few years back down there and they have another Meyer girl,” Buss said. “I think she may be better than the other two.”
Superior’s hitter and middle blocker, Reagan Meyer has accounted for 30-40 kills per match this season as a sophomore.
“We’ll have to know where she is all the time,” Buss said. “They have other weapons, but she will definitely be someone we’ll have our eyes on. We may have a bigger block than what they have been used to seeing.”
Superior brings a 26-7 record into the Class D1 tournament.
Cedar Catholic and Superior square off at 3 p.m., Nov. 7 on the South Court at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.
