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WAKEFIELD — The Cedar Catholic volleyball team went 2-3 at the Wakefield Invitational, held Sept. 11 and 13.
The Trojans dropped their first two matches Sept. 11, falling to Elkhorn Valley and Pierce, before rebounding Sept. 13 with wins over Tekamah-Herman and Wakefield and a close loss to Ponca.
Ponca edged Cedar Catholic 25-21, 3129. Coach Denae Buss said her team found its rhythm too late.
“We just let this one slip away,” Buss said. “By the time we really got a sense of urgency, we had to fight hard, but it just didn’t go our way. Both teams played great in that second set. I could not have asked for more from our players.”
Ponca match
Cedar Catholic spread the offense, with five players recording at least four kills.
Ava Stewart and Brynn Bernecker each had five. Anisten Wortmann, Calley Stewart and Addison Walter added four apiece.
Bernecker served three aces, Autumn Kathol had two, and Wortmann and Walter chipped in one each.
Kally Becker tallied six set assists, Wortmann had 11 digs, and Kathol successfully passed 17 serves while adding seven digs.
Wakefield match
The Trojans swept Wakefield 25-16, 25-15, giving Buss a chance to rotate in the bench.
“It was exciting to get our whole bench on the floor and see them do great things,” Buss said.
Walter led with five kills, and Bernecker added four. Bernecker also served three aces, while Wortmann, Savannah Pick and Walter each had one. Kathol finished with six digs and five assists. Becker had six set assists. Jocelyn Bottolfsen and Wortmann recorded five digs apiece. Reese Albers and Walter each handled eight serve receptions.
Tekamah-Herman
Cedar Catholic beat Tekamah- Herman 25-23, 25-22. “We played really well in this game and hit our targets on serve receive,” Buss said. “It helped us play more offense than defense. I was a little worried because they really played well in pool play Thursday and have a lot of aggressive hitters. We did a good job slowing it down and getting them out of system. We are seeing our serve receive start to settle in.”
Calley Stewart paced the attack with six kills. Bernecker, Wortmann and Walter each had four.
Kathol served two aces, and Becker recorded 16 digs and just missed a doubledouble with nine assists.
Sept. 11 matches
Stats were not available for Cedar Catholic’s first two matches. The Trojans lost to Elkhorn Valley 22-25, 25-14, 25-21, and to Pierce 25-16, 25-20.
Up next
Cedar was scheduled to play a triangular at Elgin Public/Pope John and Norfolk Catholic on Sept. 16 before hosting Mid-State Conference rival Pierce on Sept. 23.
