To get to the state volleyball tournament, Seward had to go through three tough opponents.
First up in subdistricts was Beatrice Oct. 26, and the Jays topped the Lady Orange 29-27, 25-20, 25-20.
In the subdistrict final, Seward fell to York 25-19, 25-18, 25-20. The Jays had enough wildcard points to earn a spot in the District B8 final at Omaha Duchesne Academy Oct. 30, and the Cardinals defeated the Jays 25-23, 25-16, 25-13, ending Seward’s season outside of the state tournament bracket.
“I didn’t think we played poorly,” Coach Tom Pallas said. “Duchesne is very talented. We played very well the first set; they just didn’t give us a chance to go on runs.”
The Seward block was not as good against the Cardinals, and ODA was able to exploit the holes in the block, Pallas said.
Sophia Turek led the offense with 10 kills. Gabi Cepek added eight and Keira Lliteras seven. Ellie Sagehorn served the team’s only two aces and recorded 14 digs. Desirae Hibbert put up 30 sets assists and had eight digs.
In Seward’s subdistrict win over Beatrice, Pallas said, the Jays played a good match. Beatrice played one of its best matches of the season, he said.
Turek’s 19 kills led the Bluejay attack, with Hibbert recording 41 assists and Abby Covalt notching 13 digs.
Pallas said the Jays played a solid match against York Oct. 27. The Dukes moved 6-1 Masa Scheierman around, and the Jays couldn’t match her.
“If she is on, they’re hard to beat,” Pallas said. “And she was on.”
Seward put up a balanced attack against the Dukes, with Turek recording seven kills, Cepek, Amara Siebert and Kelsey Miller five each and Lliteras four.
Hibbert put up 25 assists. Sagehorn recorded 18 digs.
The district final loss ended Seward’s season with a 22-14 record. SHS will graduate four seniors – Hibbert, Sagehorn, Drew Kratochvil and Morgan Craig.
Pallas said the four played well all season, providing good leadership to the team’s younger players.
