GRAND ISLAND — Grand Island ran into the proverbial buzzsaw in the Class A, District 6 final.
Lincoln North Star controlled the first two sets and then rallied in the third to post a 25-20, 25-17, 25-23 victory over the Islanders on their home court Wednesday night. The win clinched a spot for the Navigators in next week’s state tournament at Lincoln and left Grand Island needing a wild-card bid to keep its season alive.
No. 10-rated (Omaha World-Herald) and second-seeded North Star was led by a trio of sophomores as Delainey Volkmer had a match-high 16 kills and Elsie Schmidt and Lauren McKernan had nine kills apiece. Alexandra Kroll finished with 37 assists for the Navigators (20-12), who had a 45-31 advantage in kills.
UNLV commit Tia Traudt had 12 kills and Addysen Waind had nine kills for top-seeded and No. 8-rated Grand Island. Setter Jaysa Wentzlaff produced 25 assists for the Islanders (26-8).
The two teams had split their previous two meetings this season. Grand Island won 2-0 in the first matchup on Sept. 20 in the Lincoln Public Schools Classic before North Star posted a 3-1 home-court victory over the Islanders on Oct. 8.
In set one, North Star led 17-16 before finishing on an 8-4 run. Volkmer had four of her five first-set kills during that stretch.
The score was tied 9-9 in the second set, but the Navigators used an 8-1 flurry to take control. McKernan led North Star with six kills and a block in the frame.
Trailing 11-4 in the third set, Grand Island got back into the match with an 8-1 run, including three ace serves by Reagan Ashby, to tie the score at 12-12. Tied at 20-20, the Navigators scored five of the final eight points, finishing the sweep on a kill by Schmidt.
In order to make a second consecutive trip to the state tournament, Grand Island will need to claim Class A’s lone wild-card bid. The Islanders entered the night fifth in the Class A NSAA points standings.
Lincoln North Star 3, Grand Island 0
Lincoln North Star (20-12)………..25 25 25
Grand Island (26-9)…………………20 17 23
LINCOLN NORTH STAR (kills-aces-blocks)—Alexandra Kroll 4-2-0, Elsie Schmidt 9-1-0, Ivanna Ramos Berrios 0-3-0, Lauren McKernan 9-0-4, Delainey Volkmer 16-0-0, Marie Paneitz 0-0-0, McKenna Powell 4-0-2, Alexis Parde 0-0-0, Aerrianna Quattrocchi 3-0-0, Ashlyn Jensen 0-2-0. Totals 45-8-6.
GRAND ISLAND (kills-aces-blocks)—Reagan Ashby 1-3-0, Tia Traudt 12-0-1, Jaysa Wentzlaff 1-1-0, Mya Chrisman 3-1-1, Lilly Goodwin 4-0-1, Addysen Waind 9-1-0, Elzada Gernstein 1-0-0, Aralynn Scheel 0-0-0. Totals 31-5-3.
Set assists—Lincoln North Star 38 (Kroll 37, Parde 1), Grand Island 27 (Wentzlaff 25, Traudt 1, Waind 1).
