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LAUREL - The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Lady Bears dominated the Greater Northeast Activities Conference All-Conference and honorable mention teams released recently by the conference coaches.
And why shouldn’t the orange and black gather individual rewards after one heck of a season?
The Lady Bears posted a 33-4 record for the 2025 season, won the GNAC Tournament Title, the GNAC regular season, a Sub-District and District Championship and a runner-up finish in the C2 Nebraska Volleyball Championships earlier this month.
Coach Julie Kvols and her Lady Bears have been on the cusp of an appearance in Lincoln the past few years but climbed that mountain this season and then some.
“Well, I would say it sounds pretty cliche’ when I tell you our players have worked hard and are so deserving as I know every team in our conference has hard working athletes that love to compete,” the coach said. “We are so fortunate to have four girls voted on All-Conference and one player on honorable mention.”
Juniors Rena Rasmussen, Carlie Kvols and Kaida Eriksen along with senior Tyler Recob joining the LCC trio on the elite squad.
Sophomore Taelynn Settje was named to the honorable mention list.
Kvols had this to say about each player on the lists” TYLER RECOB (229 kills, 81 ace serves, 326 digs) - “Tyler has a special love for this game that made her special this season. I could see it in her face when she was going after a ball. She worked so hard in the off season to and had the goal to become a 6-rotation player and earned that spot. She led our team in aces and was a strong pin hitter for us. Her work ethic and love for the game is going to be hard to replace next year.”
RENA RASMUSSEN (547 kills/1,325 career, 395 digs/919 career) - “Rena had an incredible season this year and she just brought so much offense to our team this year after switching her to an outside hitter. She could take more out of system balls and she has strong, high reach and can see the court well. Rena bought into defense this year and does a great job reading the other side of the court.”
CARLIE KVOLS (1,112 set assists/ 2,816 career, 286 digs/724 career) - “Carlie had so many ‘hot hands’ on offense this year to dish the ball to and did a great job finding the ‘hot hands’ and mixing up the offense. She hustles after balls, gets her hands on so many out of system balls and puts up a good ball for our attackers to go after. She got so many touches on blocks to give our offense a chance to get another chance at the ball. Defense was her goal to improve on this year and she did just that. She was a calm, cool leader on the court.”
KAIDA ERIKSEN (282 kills/679 career, 348 digs/679 career) - “Kaida is a ‘fast twitch’ kid that comes hard and is going to attack the ball hard. She was a pin hitter this year swinging twice on the right and once on the left. She is quick on that right side and can put up a good block on the outside. She took most of our serve receive passes this year and has worked hard passing with a calm platform and feet to the ball. Those passes are what start our offense and she did a great job with that. Her defense was probably most improved and she wasn’t afraid to hit the floor.”
TAELYNN SETTJE (78 digs, 114 serves received) - “Tae played different roles for the team this year. She went from one rotation in the front as an outside hitter and progressed to three rotations in the back row. She did a great job for the team no matter the role she played. She had a calm platform on serve receive and played an important defensive role in the back when in the back row. I was very impressed with her composure when she came on to the court. She was calm, cool and collected and a very good teammate.”
Coach Kvols also gave her overall assessment of the season.
“It was a great year for the Lady Bears and I am beyond proud of the WHOLE TEAM,” she said. “Volleyball is one of the most ‘team sports’ there is and it takes a whole team for any of these girls to be recognized at this level.”
