Lady Blue Devils punch ticket to State

WYNOT — Wynot grabbed a spot in the D2 State Volleyball Championships this week with a three-set sweep over Howells-Dodge in the D2-5 District game.

The Lady Blue Devils return to Lincoln after missing the event last season and will be making their 11th trip south in the history of the school.

Wynot had a new coach in the first seat on the sidelines this season, but they had the same results that they had when Tammy Wieseler was in charge for the past couple of decades.

“A lot of what we accomplished this season is still her doing,” first-year head coach, Sidney Messersmith said. “I mentored under her the past three years and I learned so much.”

Wieseler was notorious for having teams that were very difficult to beat at the end of the season which was exactly the case in 2023.

To earn a sweep over the Jaguars, who made it to the championship match last season, was a huge step for the Blue Devils.

“We knew this would be a tough match,” Messersmith said. “I’m just happy we took care of our business.”

And Wynot did take care of its business. After the first set went to extra points, 2624, the Blue Devils left little doubt in sets two and three, winning 25-19 and 25-14 to earn a spot in this week’s state tournament.

In the first race to 25, which ended up being to 26, Wynot scored the final four points after the Jaguars had earned a set-point of their own after a Blue Devils service error made it 24-22.

Kinslee Heimes hammered three consecutive winners to make it 25-24 in favor of Wynot then the Wynot ‘D’ ended the set with a block for the 26-24 final score.

“We have talked about finishing sets and matches,” Messersmith said. “We have gotten a lot better about closing out a set or a match, taking advantage of what we are given or making sure we just finish.”

Set two was tied 16-16 after Sophia Geisen rifled an ace serve for the Blue Devils.

An error by Howells-Dodge and another ace from Geisen and Wynot was up 18-16 forcing the Jaguars to call a timeout.

The teams traded a hitting error and a service error before another Wynot block, one of 22 in the match, put the Blue Devils up 20-17.

An apparent Wynot point was replayed and Howells-Dodge scored on an Ava Noyd block to make it 21-18.

A Jaguar hitting error made it 22-18 and the teams traded errors until the Blue Devils wound up with the 25-19 win in the set to up 2-0 in the match.

Set three was somewhat anticlimactic as Kayla Pinkelman slammed a winner to make it 17-11 after Natalie Pieper hit a tip-kill, one of her 12 in the match, to make it 16-11 for Howells-Dodge.

Kinslee Heimes slammed a kill for the Blue Devils to make it 19-12, but a Pieper slam made it 19-13.

Another Pinkelman kill and a Jaylin Geisen ace serve made it 21-13 before a service error gave the Jaguars their final point in the match.

Kenna Oligmueller stuffed a Jaguar kill at the net for Wynot, a Howells-Dodge error and back-to-back ace serves by Sophia Geisen ended the match and sent the Blue Devils back to Lincoln after the one-year hiatus.

“I’m very proud to get these girls back to state,” Messersmith said. “But really, this is all them, these girls have worked so hard and the culture of winning around here is unbelievable. These girls just know how to win.”

Kinslee Heimes and Wieseler paced the Wynot attack with 11 winners each. Kayla Pinkelman hit eight to the floor.

WYNOT — Wynot senior Allison Wieseler and junior Sophie Geison both hit major milestones in recent days as the Lady Blue Devils make another trip to the state volleyball finals.

OH Wieseler surpassed the 500 kill mark for the season while setter Geison has hit the 1,000 assist mark for her career.

“Allison has had a great high school volleyball career and this year is no exception,” Wynot head coach Sidney Messersmith said. “I am so glad we were able to celebrate her in this way. She’s the type of athlete that shows up, works hard and doesn’t expect recognition. Not only is she an impressive athlete but she’s very determined and hardworking in the classroom.

“Sophia has done a really nice job for us this year. Last year she took over the setting role and her improvement from then to now is amazing. Reaching 1000 assists is a great accomplishment that not many athletes reach and to do it as a junior is impressive. We look forward to having her set for us another year. On top of her hard work, Sophie is just a great kid to be around. She’s a hard worker and a great friend to those around her.”

Wieseler said she always hoped to reach these types of milestones and is proud of doing so, which occurred during the regular season finale against Wausa.

“It was really important. Just because I got to do it with this team and it’s kind of a big deal that it is something that you’ve been working for your whole high school career,” she said. “Honestly, it’s just about working really hard every day and having a good setter and back row. None of it would be possible without having them make the first two (contacts) on every play.”

Wieseler said one of her inspirations was former Wynot terminator Karley Heimes.

“She was really good and I always kind of thought that (Heimes reaching 1,000) was pretty cool,” Wieseler said. “So I wanted to reach a milestone like that because it would be pretty exciting.”

Geison has enjoyed being a big part of the No. 5 Wynot (25-6) juggernaut that heads to Omaha to play No. 4 Wallace (27-4) at 11 a.m. Thursday at PBA North Court.

“I started setting halfway through my sophomore year,” Geison said after getting the assist milestone in the Lewis & Clark Conference final in Wynot.

“I knew it was milestone because my coaches told me and my friends made posters for me. It was a weird feeling, but was one of my biggest goals to achieve, so when it happened it was really cool.”