The 2019 Mid Nebraska Activities Association volleyball tournament began with opening round matches in Merna and Callaway on Thursday night. In Merna, the night began with the #10 seed Sandhills Valley (Stapleton / McPherson County) knocking off the #7 seed Arthur County in a 5 set thriller. After falling behind 2 sets to 1, Sandhills Valley fought back to win the fourth set 27-25 and then won a back and forth fifth set 18-16. That advanced the Mavericks to a match with the #2 seed Anselmo-Merna. The Lady Coyotes were able to advance to the semifinals with a straight set victory 25-20, 25-12, 25-17. AM’s opponent in the semi’s will be Twin Loup. The Lady Wolves defeated Cody Kilgore in straight sets 25-10, 25-11, 25-23.
Opening round matches also took place in Callaway. The night began with Hyannis winning in straight sets over Sandhills/Thedford 25-13, 25-20, 25-20. That advanced the Longhorns to a showdown with the top seed South Loup. The Lady Bobcats would advance to the semifinals with a straight set win by scores of 25-14, 25-15, 25-10. South Loup’s opponent in the semi’s will be Mullen. The Lady Broncos put together a thrilling comeback against Brady in the opening round. After dropping the first two sets (16-25, 15-25), Mullen came back to win sets 3 and 4 (25-12, 25-16) and then won in the fifth 15-8.
The MNAC semifinals will be played Saturday at North Platte Community College. The first semifinal will feature South Loup against Mullen at 1pm followed by Twin Loup against Anselmo-Merna. The semifinals, 3rd place consolation, and championship matches will all be broadcast on KBBN 95.3 FM and on the web at kbbn.com
Action will begin on Saturday morning at 10am with play in the consolation bracket as Brady will take on Cody Kilgore and Sandhills Valley will play Hyannis.
