Quarterfinal Thursday at the NSAA State Volleyball Championships produced more magnificent performances and a few more upsets than day one as Class D2, Class D1 and Class C2 took the stage at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Here’s a list of some superlatives from the second day of action.
Most Dominant Performance
Day two of the tournament truly saved the best for last as Class C2 No. 3 Laurel-Concord-Coleridge outlasted No. 6 Freeman in a rematch of last year’s final.
After the Falcons took home the 2025 title, but the Bears returned the favor in the first round this season in reverse-sweep fashion.
I’m burying the lead, though. As impressive as Laurel-Concord-Coleridge’s resiliency was, senior outside hitter Rena Rasmussen should be the headliner. Not only did she finish with more kills than any other player in the first round of this year’s tournament, she broke a class record in the process.
Rasmussen recorded 31 kills on .338 hitting, 16 digs, two blocks and one ace. She had six of L-C-C’s nine kills in the final frame, one more than Freeman’s whole team managed. It was tight in the fifth late as Laurel-Concord-Coleridge led by one until back-to-back kills from Kaida Eriksen gave the Bears match point, and of course setter Carlie Kvols went to her superstar pin the end it.
Heading into the match, Rasmussen only needed five kills to break Superior great Kalynn Meyer’s Class C2 career scoring record, and she got them all within the first 26 rallies of the match. Heading into the semifinals, Rasmussen sits at 1,909 kills, with two more chances to pad her total even further.
Rena Rasmussen made sure her time with LCC wasn’t over yet 😏
The new all-time career leader in Class C2 kills talks after recording 31 kills in No. 3 Laurel-Concord-Coleridge’s reverse sweep win over No. 6 Freeman. #nebpreps | Presented by Edwards Auto Group pic.twitter.com/6cKfDEn0nV
— nebpreps (@THEnebpreps) November 6, 2026
For the Bears, Eriksen added 21 kills and 24 digs while Kvols finished with 56 assists, eight digs and three kills.
An honorable mention in this category goes to Wynot junior middle blocker Calley Stewart, who put up 20 kills on .548 hitting, six digs and six blocks in a quick sweep over five-seed Crawford/Sioux County. The reigning champion and fourth-seeded Blue Devils held the Ram Warriors to minus-.065 hitting and just 17 kills, meaning Stewart tallied more kills herself then the whole Crawford/Sioux County team.
Biggest Upset
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge’s win was the third of three reverse-sweeps. The other two happened at the same time in the late afternoon window, but only one them involved an unbeaten team.
No. 3 Bloomfield was the lone team in the state to visit Lincoln without a blemish on its record, carrying a 29-0 record into Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Sixth-seeded Tri County put up a good fight in the first two sets, but the Bees won both, 25-21 and 27-25. They looked to be well on their way to the sweep after a 4-0 run made it 10-6 Bloomfield and drew a Tri County timeout, but the Trojans responded with a 7-1 run to take the lead for good in the third en route to a 25-22 victory that saw six Tri County aces to turn the tide.
The fourth and fifth sets saw 21 ties and seven lead changes, but the Trojans managed to win both of them in extras: 27-25 and 16-14. With the final frame tied at 14-all, Bloomfield blinked with a service error, then Tri County junior outside hitter Sayber Hoesche sealed it with her 18 kills to go with 21 digs.
The final point tally for the match: 114-113 in Tri County’s favor. Hard to be evener than that.
Senior Olive Clark added 14 kills and 20 digs, sophomore Claire Schneulle chipped in 12 kills and 30 digs and senior Macey Gronemeyer racked up 48 assists and 26 digs.
While Tri County got the win, Bloomfield junior Madyson Mlady was probably the best player on the floor. She went down swinging with 24 kills on .345 hitting and 31 digs.
The other candidate for this spot was the 3-6 clash in D2 as Bancroft-Rosalie knocked off Hay Springs in three. After winning the first two sets (the second 25-6), the Panthers fell behind 21-14 in the third but rallied to win with an 11-2 run. Senior Bailey Murphy led the way with 12 kills on .358 hitting.
Best Sister Showing
There were numerous groups of siblings teaming up throughout the first two days of the state tournament, but I’ll give this plaudit to St. Mary’s. The top-seeded Cardinals in D2 started Thursday with a sweep over No. 8 Sandhills/Thedford behind the stellar player of senior Pyper Ickes and sophomore Tatum Ickes.
The duo put down 38 kills between them while everyone else in the match combined for just 34. They accounted for all but six of their teams kills and did so efficiently.
Pyper led the way with 20 kills on .302 hitting while Tatum added 18 kills on a .356 clip. They also added 14 digs apiece.
Pyper is grateful for the opportunity to play with her sister this season after missing the entire 2025 slate with a torn ACL. Now in her final season, she’s led the Cardinals to the semifinals alongside her little sister.
Biggest Comeback
Bancroft-Rosalie digging itself out of a 21-14 hole was impressive, but Class D2 No. 2 Mullen one-upped the Panthers against No. 7 Wilcox-Hildreth.
The Broncos dropped the first set after trailing by as much as 10 then fell behind 20-8 in the second set. However, somehow they found a switch to flip and turned it around.
Mullen outscored the Falcons 18-4 to win the second set 26-24 then dominated the third 25-14 before pulling out the fourth as well, 25-20.
Four of the Broncos’ nine blocks came during that 18-4 finish to the second. Junior Jenna Donohoe went off for 20 kills on .310 hitting, 15 digs, four blocks and one ace in on of the best individual performances of the day.
Bancroft-Rosalie is heading to its third-ever state volleyball semifinal appearance 👀
Coach Caragan Tietz talks after the No. 6 Panthers’ 3-0 win over No. 3 Hay Springs in the Class D2 quarterfinals. #nebpreps | Presented by Edwards Auto Group pic.twitter.com/6TU03cIaZS
— Hurrdat Sports (@HurrdatSports) November 5, 2026
Best Defensive Performance
I’m going to give this one to North Central sophomore middle blocker Audrey Kuchera who led the fifth-seeded Knights to a small upset over No. 4 Cambridge in Class D1.
The was the third reverse sweep, with the odd feature that the first two sets mirrored each other. Cambridge won the first two 28-26 and 25-21, then North Central fired back with a 25-21 victory in the third and a 28-26 win in the fourth.
The fifth set saw four ties and two lead changes, but North Central closed it out with a 4-0 run to win 15-10. Kuchera terminated to give her team set point then closed it out with a solo block, her 10th of the match. She added 13 kills offensively for the double-double.
Behind Kuchera, Class D1’s leader in blocks at a remarkable 1.7 per set, sophomore Myley Hoffman racked up 33 digs and two aces while senior outside hitter Mya Lewis added 22 digs and three blocks to go with her team-high 16 kills.
In all, North Central held Cambridge to minus-.032 hitting in the fifth.
Up Next
Day two’s conclusion means the semifinals are all set. Check out our playoffs schedule page for update brackets with matchups and game times.
