HIGH SCHOOL THURSDAY OMAHA WORLD-HERALD4C • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

Tyra Douglas, 6-0, senior, Lincoln Southeast:She had 330 kills and 30 aces for theKnights.

Clare Hamburger, 5-8, senior, Hastings St.Cecilia: Dished out more than 800 assists forthe Class C-2 state champion Hawkettes.

Kierra Harder, 5-10, senior, Millard North: Thetransfer from Omaha Skutt had more than250 kills last season.

Kylie Hohlen, 6-1, senior, Norris: She wassecond on the Titans (behind graduated bigsister Kasey) in kills with 360.

Katie Imig, 5-6, senior, Bellevue West: One ofthe top liberos in the Metro, she had 467 digslast season.

Raegan LeGrand, 5-10, junior, Papillion-La Vista South: After playing libero as afreshman, she moved to outside hitter last

season and had 354 kills.

Sage Meyer, 6-0, senior, Bellevue West:Pounded 334 kills in 2013 for theThunderbirds.

Jess Peters, 5-9, senior, Papillion-La Vista:The setter had 727 assists and more than100 kills last season for the Monarchs.

Tiani Reeves, 6-1, senior, Gothenburg: TheNebraska recruit has 707 career kills and 184career blocks.

Meagen Roth, 6-0, senior, Lincoln Southeast:She led the Knights last season with morethan 400 kills.

Kendall Schroer, 6-0, senior, Ogallala: Shehad almost 400 kills for the Indians, whofinished third last year in Class C-1.

Kira Shapiro, 6-0, senior, Millard West: A key

contributor last season for the state runner-upWildcats, she had more than 200 kills.

Bella Siciunas, 5-9, senior, Millard North: Shehad more than 300 kills last season to leadthe Mustangs.

Katie Stephens, 5-9, junior, Papillion-La Vista:She finished with a team-leading 326 kills and457 digs as an outside hitter.

Morgan Stute, 5-6, senior, Kearney Catholic:Earned All-Nebraska recognition as a liberowith almost 400 digs and 110 kills.

Kaitlin VanLoon, 5-11, senior, Lincoln PiusX: Pounded 441 kills and had 44 blocks lastseason for the Thunderbolts.

Megan Wickey, 6-3, senior, OmahaConcordia: The Ohio State recruit had 500kills last season for the Mustangs.

PLAYERS TOWATCH

TOP TEN

Record LY

1. Omaha Marian 33-11 1

2. Papillion-La Vista 28-11 5

3. Lincoln Southeast 31-10 7

4. Lincoln Southwest 25-9 6

5. Papio South 22-18 NR

6. Millard North 29-12 8

7. Millard West 36-3 2

8. Lincoln North Star 22-11 NR

9. Lincoln Pius X 34-7 10

10. Elkhorn South 22-14 NR

CLASS A

1. Omaha Marian 33-11 1

2. Papillion-La Vista 28-11 3

3. Lincoln Southeast 31-10 5

4. Lincoln Southwest 25-9 4

5. Papio South 22-18 10

6. Millard North 29-12 6

7. Millard West 36-3 2

8. Lincoln North Star 22-11 7

9. North Platte 21-11 8

10. Grand Island 22-14 9

CLASS B

1. Lincoln Pius X 34-7 4

2. Elkhorn South 22-14 3

3. Norris 30-8 1

4. Grand Island NW 38-1 2

5. Omaha Skutt 32-9 5

6. Waverly 31-5 6

7. Aurora 27-9 7

8. Gretna 23-11 8

9. Elkhorn 15-18 10

10. Omaha Gross 15-19 NR

CLASS C-1

1. Kearney Catholic 27-8 1

2. Minden 27-5 2

3. Ogallala 33-7 3

4. Columbus Scotus 26-5 4

5. Omaha Concordia 21-11 NR

6. Wahoo 28-4 6

7. Gothenburg 27-5 7

8. St. Paul 27-5 5

9. Grand Island CC 21-11 8

10. Syracuse 27-5 10

CLASS C-2

1. Hastings St. Cecilia 28-8 1

2. Freeman 27-6 2

3. Crofton 23-5 6

4. West Point GACC 31-5 3

5. Palmyra 26-7 5

6. Humphrey/LHF 30-3 4

7. Superior 24-4 9

8. Sutton 19-12 NR

9. Norfolk Lutheran 23-10 8

10. Sandy Creek 16-13 NR

CLASS D-1

1. O’Neill St. Mary’s 33-1 1

2. BDS 30-4 2

3. Emerson-Hubbard 25-7 10

4. Howells-Dodge 25-9 3

5. Axtell 22-10 4

6. Blue Hill 25-5 NR

7. CWC 23-7 6

8. Friend 26-7 5

9. Ansley-Litchfield 27-3 8

10. Mead 26-6 NR

CLASS D-2

1. Stuart 26-7 2

2. Falls City SH 26-6 7

3. Giltner 31-2 1

4. Hampton 18-12 10

5. Ewing 22-5 6

6. Lawrence-Nelson 14-14 NR

7. Johnson-Brock 18-12 NR

8. Mullen 14-14 NR

9. Bertrand 32-2 4

10. Leyton 30-3 8

VOLLEYBALLRATINGS— By Mike Patterson

OMAHA SOUTHAT OMAHANORTHWEST

TV: KXVO (Channel 15; Cox 11;Prism 15)

Live streaming video:NEPrepZone.com

When: 7 p.m. (pregame showstarts at 6:30)

Where: Kinnick Stadium

When Omaha South (0-1) hasthe ball: The Packers will try toget the ball to tight end NoahFant, a junior who’s getting FCSinterest.

When Omaha Northwest (0-1) has the ball: SophomoreCory Myers will be making hissecond start as the Huskies’quarterback.

Stu’s pick: Northwest

— Stu Pospisil

‘THURSDAYNIGHTSHOWDOWN’CHECK OUT THE FOOTBALL GAMEOF THE WEEK EVERY THURSDAY

Columbus Scotus volleyball fansknew the day would come whensomeone would need to take over forlongtime coach John Petersen.

The time is now. And Joe Held is thatman.

He has the task of carrying on forPetersen, who stepped down afterguiding the Shamrocks for 37 years.On his watch, Scotus set state recordsfor most championships (15), mostfinal appearances (22) and most statetournament wins (63).

Petersen led his teams to 863 vic-tories, second all-time in Nebraskabehind only Grand Island Central Cath-olic coach Sharon Zavala’s total of 896.

Many might shy away from thejob of following in those gargantuanfootsteps. But not Held, who was aShamrocks assistant the past five yearsbefore being named head coach lastspring for the Class C-1 program.

“In a way, it is very intimidating,”Held said. “But someone needed to takeover, and I wanted to be that person.”

Held, who was recommended forthe position by Petersen, has workedto forge his own stamp on the pro-gram. He said the former coach, whostill teaches at the school, has mostlysteered clear of the gymnasium.

“I think John is trying to keep hisdistance,” Held said. “That’s been hisdecision, which I think makes it easierfor him and easier for everybody.”

The new coach added that the teamdidn’t have specific goals this season,though everyone who puts on a Scotusvolleyball jersey knows what thatentails.

“We’ve got a very proud traditionhere,” Held said. “There are definitelyexpectations, and the girls embracethem.”

Held added that practice has gonewell, though Scotus — which finished

fourth last year at state in C-1 — willfield a young team.

“Our seniors have no varsity experi-ence,” the coach said. “But we’re goingto go out and give it our best shot.”

Other storylines heading into thisseason:

Zavala’s next milestone: The afore-mentioned Zavala continues to rackup the wins for Central Catholic. It’spossible that career victory No. 900could be on the line against Held andhis Shamrocks when GICC plays atScotus on Sept. 11.

Another milestone: Hastings St.Cecilia’s Alan VanCura will reach the800-win mark with his next victory.VanCura, in his 40th year as headcoach, enters this season with a 799-247mark.

Challenging Marian: While theCrusaders will be favored to repeat asClass A champs, several other schoolsalso appear to be in the mix. That listincludes Papillion-La Vista, LincolnSoutheast, Lincoln Southwest, MillardNorth, Millard West and Papillion-LaVista South.

Sorting out Class B: There doesn’tappear to be a clear-cut favorite in thisclass, though Lincoln Pius X will beginthe season at No. 1. A strong challengecould come from Elkhorn South, whichgraduated just two seniors from lastyear’s state runner-up squad.

Watch the Vikings: One Class B teamto keep an eye on (again) is Grand Is-land Northwest, under longtime coach

Diane Rouzee. The Vikings have beento the final six of the past seven years.

Watch these Vikings, too: AnotherClass B challenger to defending statechampion Norris could be Waverly,which moves on following the grad-uation of All-Nebraska outside hitterOlivia Boender. It helps that Olivia’syounger sister Brianna, a junior setter,will be back.

Early test: The first competitionfor many of the top teams will be theseason-opening Bellevue Invitationalon Friday and Saturday. Millard Northwon the title last year and rode thatmomentum to the school’s 19th statetournament appearance.

New face in Fremont: Amongthe new coaches this season is RickHughes, who moves from OmahaBurke to Fremont High. The Tigerswill once again have one of the top girlsbasketball teams in Class A, so we’llsee what Hughes — who guided theBulldogs to the Class A final in 2011 —can achieve there in volleyball.

Forever may they wave: Beginningthis season, line judges will be requiredto use flags. The NSAA also is recom-mending that line judges refrain fromwearing specific team colors.

Looking ahead: This year’s statechampionship will be held Nov. 13 to15 in Lincoln. Class A and Class B willplay first-round matches at PinnacleBank Arena with the other classes play-ing at North Star (C-1), Southwest (C-2),Northeast (D-1) and Southeast (D-2).Finals for all classes will be played atthe Devaney Center.

That’s enough for now. It’s time toget the season started, so we’ll onceagain quote public-address announcerSteve Lemon and say: Let’s ... play ...volleyball!

Contact the writer:402-444-1350, mike.patterson@owh.comtwitter.com/MPattersonOWH

A new leaf for ShamrocksMIKE PATTERSON

VOLLEYBALL

THE WORLD -HERA LD

Former Columbus Scotus coach John Petersen, seen here at the 2009 state tournament, won 863 matches and a state-record 15championships with the Shamrocks. Former assistant Joe Held is taking over on the bench this season for Scotus.

SCHEDULEHiland Dairy Game of theWeek—Football: No. 2 BellevueWest (1-0) at No. 6 Papillion-LaVista South (1-0), 7 p.m. Friday

Football: No. 7 Millard West (0-1)vs. No. 3 Millard North (1-0), 7p.m. Friday at Buell Stadium

Football: Omaha Westside (0-1) atNo. 9 Omaha Creighton Prep (1-0),7 p.m. Friday at Burke Stadium

Football: Class C-2 No. 7 Oak-land-Craig (1-0) at No. 2 BattleCreek (1-0), 7 p.m. Friday

Volleyball: Bellevue Invitational, Fri-day and Saturday at Bellevue West

Softball: Van Metre Invitational atFontenelle Park; Papillion-La VistaSouth/Westside Invitational at Hal-leck Park, Papillion, Friday-Saturday

Cross country: Burke Invitational,8 a.m. Saturday at Walnut GrovePark

Boys tennis: Capitol City Invita-tional, Tuesday at Woods Complex,Lincoln

NOTABLESFOOTBALL

Tré Sanders, Omaha Central: Ranfor 279 yards and three touch-downs against Lincoln North Star.

Kyle O’Neill, Omaha Skutt: In a42-7 win at Beatrice, he had 14tackles, two for loss, with a sackand fumble recovery.

Ben Stille, Ashland-Greenwood:Scored on 14- and 54-yard TDpasses and had nine tackles,including three sacks and fivefor loss.

Chris Hahn, Bellevue West:Was2 for 2 on field goals, 5 of 5 onextra points and 7 of 8 on touch-backs against Omaha Westside.

Tony Meish, David City: Ran for198 yards and two touchdownsin a 33-0 win at Douglas CountyWest.

Trevor Petersen, Lincoln North-east: Threw for 279 yards and twoTDs and ran for three in a 35-31win over Lincoln High.

Austin Hegge, Wausa: Caught sixpasses for 223 yards and threetouchdowns in a loss to Plainview.

Jacob Johnson, Fairbury: Scoredfour TDs in a 50-8 win at Superior.

Austin Bridges, Malcolm:Ran for 201 yards and fourtouchdowns in a 27-6 win overElmwood-Murdock.

Wyatt Mazour, Boone Central/Newman Grove: Threw for 244yards and ran for 171 in a 31-14win over Columbus Scotus.

Pierce Almond, Grand Island:Threw for 221 yards and ran for98, accounting for four touch-downs, in a 35-28 win overKearney.

Noah Lazaro, Lincoln Southwest:Ran for 219 yards and a TD in a24-22 win over Lincoln Southeast.

Gunnar Fuelberth, Norfolk: Threwfour TD passes in the first half ofa 48-7 win over South Sioux City.

Cole Prohaska and Noah Vedral,Wahoo Neumann: In a 30-29win over Syracuse, Prohaska hadeight carries for 106 yards and aTD and six catches for 198 yardsand two TDs. Vedral was 10 of16 for 266 yards and two TDsand ran for 60 yards and a score.

Trey Mueller, Syracuse: Ran for205 yards and three touchdownson 33 carries against Neumann.

Dash Cameron, Justin Hansenand Beau Braniff, Tekamah-Her-man: Cameron scored on runs of55, 65, and 80 yards against Wis-ner-Pilger, Hansen had 15 tacklesand Braniff had two takeaways.

Shane Mauch and Kort Steele,North Platte: In a 34-0 win overColumbus, Mauch threw four TDpasses and Steele made 33- and50-yard field goals.

GIRLS GOLF

Jordan York, Scottsbluff: Shot76, winning by 11 strokes, tolead the Bearcats to the WesternConference title.

Katie Irvin, Papillion-La Vista:She shot 76, winning by five, asthe Monarchs won the KearneyInvitational by 28 strokes overLincoln Southwest.

CONTACT USEmail: stu.pospisil@owh.com,mike.patterson@owh.com

Fax: 402-444-1238

Mail: 1314 Douglas St., Suite700, Omaha, NE 68102

Phone: 800-284-6397 or 402-444-1041

guided the Crusaders to three oftheir five titles, though addition-al duties at the school — athleticdirector and co-principal — haveher sharing her head coachingposition for the first time withassistant Amy McLeay.

“Amy is well qualified,”Rohlfs said. “I knew she couldpick up the duties because she’sa tremendous coach.”

McLeay, a 2000 Marian gradwho played for Rohlfs, said sheis excited about the challenge.

“I’ve got a great deal ofrespect for Rochelle,” she said.“We’re both really determined,and I think it will be a real posi-tive for the players.”

What might concern opposingcoaches the most is that Marianhas just one senior — 6-foot-2middle blocker Kelsey O’Con-nell. She earned a spot on theAll-Metro Conference team last

season with 305 kills, including20 in the championship matchagainst Millard West.

O’Connell is currently side-lined after undergoing kneesurgery six months ago, but

she’s expected back in action ina few weeks.

“I’ve got a really good feelingabout this team,” O’Connell said.“We’ve got some super-talentedplayers, and I can’t wait to get

back in the lineup.”Another returning All-Met-

ro performer is junior liberoBrittany Witt. The Creightonrecruit had 647 digs in 2013,with 36 coming in the five-setfinal against the Wildcats.

“We’ve been working reallyhard because we know teamswill be coming after us this sea-son,” Witt said. “And we knowthat we can’t overlook anybody.”

Other returning startersfrom the talented junior classare Hannah Mueller, ElizabethLoschen, Andie Hanus andSophia Terwilleger. Mueller andLoschen combined for almost600 kills last season, Hanus is asolid defensive specialist while

Terwilleger saw her 2013 seasoncut short by illness.

Even with all of that fire-power, replacing graduatedAll-Nebraska setter SydneyO’Shaughnessy will be key to theCrusaders’ success. Projectedto fill that role are junior MarenMcGuire or freshman LilyHeim, or both if Marian runs atwo-setter attack.

Rohlfs said she does see onedifference between last year’ssquad and the 2014 version.

“This group seems to be a littlemore laid-back, and that mighthelp us deal with any stress ofbeing the defending champ,” shesaid. “I guess we won’t know ifit’s a good thing or a bad thinguntil we start playing.”

The Crusaders will begindefense of their Class A title Fri-day at the Bellevue Invitational.

Contact the writer:402-444-1350, mike.patterson@owh.comtwitter.com/MPattersonOWH

Volleyball:Defending champion OmahaMarian has just one seniorContinued from Page 1 MORE ONLINE

Join Stu Pospisil at 12:30 p.m.Thursday for “The Prep Zone Chat”to discuss the latest high schoolsports news. NEPrepZone.com

B ARRE T T S T I N SON /WORLD -HERA LD NEWS S ERV I C E

Maren McGuire, No. 10, and Brittany Witt, No. 2, could be key players inMarian’s quest to celebrate another title. Witt, the libero, is a Creightonrecruit. McGuire hopes to replace all-state setter Sydney O’Shaughnessy.