Volleyball numbers bring positives, disparities

JOHNSON – The Johnson-Brock Eagles are on top of their D-1 classification based on the number of girls enrolled in school and Volleyball Coach Cara Williams says the percentage of girls out for the sport provides positives and challenges.
Johnson-Brock’s enrollment of 39 ties it for the biggest volleyball school in D-1 and 25 of those 39 girls are out for volleyball this year.
Williams: “We are able to get game-like situations every day in practices because we have so many girls. It’s good that we have so many that do want to play. It shows our culture here at Johnson Brock. It brings a lot of our girls in high school together, so the connections are better within us. It is also nice to have a deeper bench in case anything happens, we always have people to put in.”
She said 64 percent of the school’s girls are out for volleyball.
Williams: “Although it is nice to have a big team, since we are one of the biggest in D-1, not many other schools have the same numbers, making it hard for some girls to get playing time.”
According to the August update of the NSAA volleyball classification, Nebraska City has the lowest girls enrollment for all class B schools. Nebraska City has 139 girls, 291 below the class-leading Scottsbluff.
Palmyra has the second lowest girls population in class C-1 with 61 students. Auburn and Syracuse have 73.
Lourdes Central Catholic has 40 girls in C2, compared to the class leading Tekamah-Herman with 60.
Pawnee City is tied for highest girls enrollment in class D2 with 26. Falls City Sacred Heart has 16 girls.