Ansley/Litchfield claimed the D1-7 volleyball district championship and qualified for the state tournament with a straight set win over Maywood Hayes Center 25-19, 25-14, 25-14. The Lady Spartans return to the NSAA state volleyball tournament for the first time since 2016. The opening set was tied at 16-16 but Ansley/Litchfield went on a 9-3 run to close out the set and go up 1-0. The Lady Spartans carried that momentum through the remainder of the match as they controlled sets two and three to collect the sweep. Ansley/Litchfield will be the #5 seed at the state tournament and will face Exeter Milligan Friend on Thursday afternoon at 3 pm at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
SEM is headed back to the state tournament. The Lady Mustangs claimed the D2-2 district championship with a 3-1 win over Silver Lake. SEM had to battle back after dropping the first 27-29. SEM tied the match by winning a deuce game in set #2 25-23. SEM took the third set 25-18 and closed out the match in the fourth 25-11. This will mark SEM’s third state tournament appearance in the last four years. SEM won the Class D1 state title in 2023. SEM will be the #2 seed in the D2 state bracket. SEM will face Bruning Davenport Shickley on Thursday morning at 9 am at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Mullen is headed to the state tournament. The Lady Broncos claimed the D2-7 district championship with an impressive three set sweep over Archangels Catholic 25-15, 25-16, 25-17. Mullen collected its 20th win of the season and will return to the state tournament for the first time since 2020. Mullen will be the #6 seed at the state tournament and will open against Cambridge Thursday morning at 11 a.m.
Sandhills/Thedford saw their season come to an end on Saturday finishing as the D2-5 district runner-up. The Lady Knights fell to Red Cloud in straights 25-20, 25-19, 25-22. Sandhills/Thedford concludes the season at 26-6.
STATE TOURNAMENT ALL CLASS BRACKET
Central Nebraska’s Sports Source will provide live radio play-by-play coverage of all Ansley/Litchfied, SEM, and Mullen matches from the state tournament.
