Wynot tops Lady Cats for title
HARTINGTON - The Hartington-Newcastle volleyball tournament on Saturday ended in an enthralling three-set battle between Hartington-Newcastle and Wynot. The Lady Blue Devils walked away as champs, avenging a loss to the Lady Wildcats that happened on the same gym floor just over a month earlier on Sept. 11.
Wynot came back to win the second and third sets after losing the first - 16-25 25-16 28-26 — to head home with a championship plaque that also gave Wynot the top seed in the Lewis & Clark Tournament that starts on Saturday.
Both HNS and Wynot earned first-round byes in the tournament. The Lady Blue Devils played Wausa, while HNS played Laurel-Concord-Coleridge in the semifinals. LCC went on to defeat Wausa for a third-place finish in the tournament.
Wynot head coach Tammy Wieseler said her team prepared for a finals matchup with HNS heading into the tournament by watching film from the loss from earlier in the season.
“We had a lot of unforced errors when we played them the first time,” said Wieseler. “We played scared and we kind of told ourselves we have to clean up that mess and play hard. We knew we were going to have a competitive game because they are a great team, so it is fun to be a part of all that. We just needed to clean up our own errors.”
Wynot played a much cleaner game this time around. The Lady Blue Devils rebounded from a first set loss that was controlled by the Lady Wildcats throughout. Wynot flipped the tables and similarly controlled the second set to tie things up and force a decisive third set.
This was a grueling battle that was back and forth the entire set. It ended up going to extras, with Wynot escaping with a 28-26 win to win the championship match.
“After the first set, I told the girls in the game of volleyball with rally scoring it doesn’t matter; you can come back from a five-point deficit at any point,” said Wieseler. “I told them you really can never play scared in the game of volleyball. You have to be aggressive all the time. The minute you start tipping or get complacent is when the good team’s like Hartington take advantage of you.”
It had been a few years since Wynot had won the HNS volleyball tournament, and this win gives the Lady Blue Devils five straight.
Wynot looked to continue that streak on Tuesday, hosting Osmond in the team’s last game before the conference tournament. Wynot earned the top seed and will have the weekend off, as Pool C plays on Saturday to decide who plays Wynot on Monday in Plainview. Pool C consists of Plainview, Walthill, Wausa, and Emerson-Hubbard.
For Hartington-Newcastle, the team will be the second seed in the Lewis & Clark Conference Tournament. HNS also receives a bye on Saturday and will play the winner of Pool B in Ponca on Monday. Pool B consists of Creighton, Osmond, Wakefield-Allen, and Winnebago.
Wynot 16 25 28
HNS 25 16 26
KILLS
Wynot - Whitney Hochstein, 11; Karley Heimes, 8; Edyn Sudbeck, 6; Shaelee Planer, 2; Katelyn Heien, 2. Hartington-Newcastle - Kayden Jueden, 13; Abbe Morten, 9; Hailey Gottsche, 5; Belle Harms, 4.
SET ASSISTS
Wynot - Edyn Sudbeck, 11; Emersyn Sudbeck 11; Noelle Wieseler, 1; Michaela Lange, 1. Hartington-Newcastle - Liby Lange, 27; Belle Harms, 1.
ACE SERVES
Wynot - Emersyn Sudbeck, 1; Katelyn Heine, 1; Edyn Sudbeck, 1. Hartington-Newcastle - Abbe Morten, 3; Liby Lange, 2; Kayden Jueden, 1; Brianna Hopping, 1
BLOCKS
Wynot - Kaitlyn Heimes, 4; Karley Heimes, 1; Shaelee Planer, 1; Katelyn Heine, 1; Whitney Hochstein, 1; Edyn Sudbeck, 1. Hartington-Newcastle - Abbe Morten, 3; Belle Harms, 3.
DIGS
Wynot - Noelle Wieseler, 21; Edyn Sudbeck, 12; Katelyn Heine, 12; Michaela Lange, 10; Emersyn Sudbeck, 5; Kaitlyn Heimes, 4; Shaelee Planer, 4; Karley Heimes, 2; Whitney Hochstein, 2. Hartington-Newcastle - Abbe Morten, 13; Kayden Jueden, 12; Willa Scoville, 9; Liby Lange, 5; Brianna Hopping, 2; Autumn Lammers, 2; Evvie Krie, 1; Belle Harms, 1.
To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition https://etypeservices.com/Northeast%20Nebraska%20News%20CompanyID379/