Cards too much for Jays in Class B state opener

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For the first time in seven seasons, the Seward volleyball team was in the state tournament field. But its stay was shorter than it wanted, as the team lost to Omaha Duchesne 25-17, 25-23, 25-14 in the opening round of the Class B competition.

“They were nervous once the game started, but then they settled in,” Coach Tom Pallas said of his team. “They handled the situation well.”

The Jays had to adjust to the wide-open spaces of Pinnacle Bank Arena, which was divided down the middle to form two courts. They also had to adjust to Omaha Duchesne, the team that beat them in the finals of the Seward tournament.

“They have a fast offense, and they’re a very good team,” Pallas said.

In the opening set, the teams played even until Duchesne went on a late run to pull away. Pallas said the Cardinal serve was able to get the Jays out of system and limit the offensive opportunities.

Seward fought to the end in the second set, losing by two, but in the third, Duchesne jumped out to a lead and the Jays couldn’t come back from that deficit.

Camryn Opfer led the Jays with 10 kills and three aces serves. Anna Covalt finished with 20 set assists.

“Overall it was a good experience,” Pallas said. “I think it was very positive for everyone, and they worked hard for it.”

One of the keys to this year’s team was the seniors’ leadership both on and off the court, he said. That helped create good team chemistry, which was “the number one factor in why we did so well,” Pallas said.

In his 34 years of coaching volleyball, he said this year’s team is one of the top two in examples of great chemistry. The other was the 2010 team that qualified for state.

“That directly coincides to success on the court,” he said.

The Jays will graduate seven seniors – Rylee Opfer, Lena Hughes, Jenna Williams, Amelia Hanson, Aubrey Cepek, Kelsie Zadina and Sarah Brown. At this time, none had expressed interest in playing college ball.