Mullen and Sandhills/Thedford each advanced to the NSAA state volleyball tournament with district championship wins on Saturday.
Mullen claimed its second district title in as many years qualifying for the state tournament
in back-to-back seasons. The Lady Broncos picked up its 30th win of the season with a 3-0 win over Twin Loup (25-9, 25-22, 25-9) in the D2-2 district championship match. Jenna Donahoe finished with a match high 17 kills and Kalli Licking finished with 36 assists to lead the Mullen offensive attack. Twin Loup concludes the season at 14-19. Mullen advances to state where they will be the #2 seed in the Class D2 bracket. Mullen will open the tournament against Wilcox-Hildreth who advanced to state with a straight set win over SEM in the D2-7 district championship match. The match will take place at Pinnacle Bank Arena on the south court at 9 a.m. on Thursday November 5th.
Sandhills/Thedford will make its first state tournament appearance since 2015 as they
claimed the D2-8 district championship with a 3-1 win over Elba (25-21, 20-25, 25-15, 25-10). Emma Ray finished with 15 kills and Josie Morrow added 10 for the victorious Knights. Grace Johnston finished with 33 assists. Sandhills/Thedford’s defense was outstanding finishing with 111 digs in the match and nine total blocks. Sandhills/Thedford will be the #8 seed in the Class D2 bracket and will open the tournament against top seed St. Mary’s of O’Neill who advanced to state with a straight set over South Platte to win the D2-1 district title. The match will take place at Pinnacle Bank Arena on the north court at 9 a.m. on Thursday November 5th. (Stats for story from maxpreps.com)
Other opening round matchups in the Class D2 bracket will include Wynot vs Crawford/Sioux County and Hay Springs vs Bancroft-Rosalie.
Central Nebraska’s Sports Source will plan to cover both Sandhills/Thedford and Mullen during the state volleyball tournament.
Ansley/Litchfield saw its season come to an end on Saturday as the Lady Spartans fell to Tri-County in the D1-5 district championship match 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-19). Ansley/Litchfield concludes the season at 21-10.
2026 STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKET
District Final Scores
Saturday, October 31, 2026
Amherst 3, Falls City Sacred Heart 0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-14)
Aurora 3, Douglas County West 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-10)
Bancroft-Rosalie 3, Meridian 0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-22)
Bergan Catholic 3, Johnson-Brock 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-16)
Bishop Neumann 3, Battle Creek 0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-19)
Bloomfield 3, Exeter-Milligan-Friend 1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-15, 25-14)
Cambridge 3, Osceola 1 (25-9, 25-12, 19-25, 25-14)
Central Valley 3, Garden County 0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-13)
Centura 3, Lutheran High Northeast 0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-16)
Clarkson 3, Riverside 2 (18-25, 25-19, 27-25, 23-25, 15-7)
Concordia Omaha 3, Boone Central 0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-17)
Crawford Sioux County 3, Paxton 1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-19)
Freeman 3, Elmwood-Murdock 1 (25-19, 25-20, 19-25, 25-12)
Gering 3, Gretna East 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20)
Gretna 3, Elkhorn 1 (25-17, 13-25, 25-23, 25-14)
Guardian Angels Central Catholic 3, Kenesaw 0 (25-15, 27-25, 25-18)
Hay Springs 3, Dorchester 1 (25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23)
Kearney Catholic 3, Valentine 0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-22)
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 3, Hershey 0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-12)
Lincoln Lutheran 3, Ogallala 2 (24-26, 25-12, 30-28, 21-25, 15-6)
Lincoln Pius X 3, York 2 (21-25, 25-23, 20-25, 26-24, 15-11)
Milford 3, Lincoln Christian 0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-20)
Mullen 3, Twin Loup 0 (25-9, 25-22, 25-9)
Norfolk Catholic 3, Malcolm 2 (17-25, 25-23, 13-25, 25-20, 16-14)
Norris 3, Scottsbluff 0 (25-17, 25-8, 25-8)
North Central 3, Arapahoe 0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-18)
Northwest 3, Adams Central 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-19)
Omaha Skutt Catholic 3, Columbus Lakeview 0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-16)
Pierce 3, Central City 0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-18)
Red Cloud 3, Wauneta-Palisade 1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-17, 25-16)
Sandhills/Thedford 3, Elba 1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-15, 25-10)
St. Mary’s 3, South Platte 0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-11)
Stanton 3, Johnson County Central 1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-16)
Thayer Central 3, Sutton 0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-17)
Tri County 3, Ansley-Litchfield 0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-19)
Waverly 3, Platteview 0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-11)
Wilcox-Hildreth 3, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-20)
Wynot 3, Franklin 1 (22-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-22)
Yutan 3, Shelby-Rising City 2 (17-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-16, 15-9)
in back-to-back seasons. The Lady Broncos picked up its 30th win of the season with a 3-0 win over Twin Loup (25-9, 25-22, 25-9) in the D2-2 district championship match. Jenna Donahoe finished with a match high 17 kills and Kalli Licking finished with 36 assists to lead the Mullen offensive attack. Twin Loup concludes the season at 14-19. Mullen advances to state where they will be the #2 seed in the Class D2 bracket. Mullen will open the tournament against Wilcox-Hildreth who advanced to state with a straight set win over SEM in the D2-7 district championship match. The match will take place at Pinnacle Bank Arena on the south court at 9 a.m. on Thursday November 5th.
claimed the D2-8 district championship with a 3-1 win over Elba (25-21, 20-25, 25-15, 25-10). Emma Ray finished with 15 kills and Josie Morrow added 10 for the victorious Knights. Grace Johnston finished with 33 assists. Sandhills/Thedford’s defense was outstanding finishing with 111 digs in the match and nine total blocks. Sandhills/Thedford will be the #8 seed in the Class D2 bracket and will open the tournament against top seed St. Mary’s of O’Neill who advanced to state with a straight set over South Platte to win the D2-1 district title. The match will take place at Pinnacle Bank Arena on the north court at 9 a.m. on Thursday November 5th. (Stats for story from maxpreps.com)
