When the ball hit the floor on Scottsbluff’s side of the net, the cel- ebration was on for the Seward volleyball team.
The Bluejays defeated Scottsbluff 25-17, 25-19, 25-11 Oct. 29 to earn a place in the Class B state tournament.
Coach Tom Pallas said they thought if Seward could put pres- sure on the Bearcats, things would go the Bluejays’ way.
“They got tight, and we took advantage, espe- cially in the third set,” he said.
Seward played steady ball throughout, Pallas said. He thought Scotts- bluff was a good match- up for Seward. The key to the match was the Bluejays’ balanced offense.
Sophia Turek led the way with 15 kills, fol- lowed by Keira Lliteras with 12, Amara Siebert with nine and Kelsey Miller with eight. Libby Kratochvil set 41 assists.
Pallas said the Jays were efficient, as well, hitting over .320 for the match.
The win followed a subdistrict victory over York Oct. 25. SHS de- feated the Dukes 25-19, 25-17, 25-14. Pallas said the team continued its improvement in serving and eliminating errors.
“We played pretty well. We hit .360, which was amazing in a match like that,” he said.
Miller led the team with 14 kills in the match, followed by Turek with 12. Siebert served five aces, and Abby Covalt picked up 21 digs.
“The kids have done a good job finding weaknesses,” Pallas said. “We’ve been very balanced, and that’s kept our opponents off balance.”
The Jays (28-7) now turn their attention to Bennington (27-7), their first-round opponent at state. Seward last played at state in 2017.
The Badgers are led by 6-0 senior Lauren Buzbee who has 360 kills this season. Junior setter Madelyn Uhlir has delivered 1,032 as- sists, and Olivia Mauch at libero has 776 digs. Mauch, a junior, has already committed to play at Nebraska.
The teams will play Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
“They are a mirror of us,” Pallas said.
