by Stephanie Croston
scroston@sewardindependent.com
The Seward volleyball team (23-6) finished third in the Central Conference tournament after sweeping a triangular earlier in the week.
The Jays opened tournament play Oct. 11 with a 25-14, 25-16 win over Holdrege and then lost to Northwest 25-19, 25-14.
Coach Tom Pallas said the Jays were able to get Holdrege out of system in the first match, serving seven aces. Roles were reversed in the match against Northwest, where SHS committed 27 serve receive errors.
“It’s tough to win with that many errors,” Pallas said.
In the match against Holdrege, Camryn Opfer recorded 14 kills. Addison Smith picked up 11 digs.
Northwest was able to keep the Jays out of system, Pallas said. When the team was in system, the attackers had better looks. Camryn Opfer finished with six kills, and Rebekah Klenke added five.
On Oct. 13, Seward beat Schuyler 25-11, 25-11 and Lexington 15-25, 25-18, 25-7 to reach the third-place match. There, Seward beat Aurora 25-9, 29-27.
In the Schuyler match, Pallas said, the team got off to a quick start in the second set. Jaci Opfer served seven straight points to put Seward up 14-2.
Lexington, Seward’s second opponent on Saturday, was the national runner-up in club volleybal this summer, Pallas said. They have aggressive, high-energy players, and Seward didn’t respond well in the first set, he said.
In the second set, SHS put more pressure on the LHS players, he said. In the third, Seward came out strong and ran away with the game.
“It was good see us come out and dominate,” Pallas said.
Camryn Opfer notched 19 kills, and Klenke added 12. Jaci Opfer served four aces, and Smith picked up 12 digs.
Pallas said Seward picked up where it left off to begin the Aurora match. Anna Covalt served nine straight points in the first set to push the Bluejay lead to 22-7.
Unforced errors in the second set allowed the Huskies to stay close, and Aurora had set point two or three times, Pallas said.
Camryn Opfer put down 13 kills and Klenke had 12.
The Bluejays opened the week Oct. 9 with straight-set wins over Milford and Crete. In both matches, Pallas said, the younger Bluejays stepped into bigger roles. Abby Ringler and Anna Hughes have earned more playing time and did a great job, Pallas said.
“They’re figuring things out both offensively and defensively and giving us more dimensions,” he said.
The Jays beat Crete 25-14, 25-10 and Milford 25-14, 25-18. Pallas said the Jays limited unforced errors in the matches and kept their opponents out of system.
Against Milford, Camryn Opfer notched 12 kills and served four aces to lead the Bluejay offense.
Against Crete, Opfer had 11 kills. She and Jaci Opfer served two aces each.
Seward has just one match this week – Thursday, Oct. 18, at home against Ashland-Greenwood.
“I expect it to be a good match,” Pallas said.
