LINCOLN, NE - After a rousing upset victory over Oakland-Craig in the first round of the State Tournament on Thursday, 7-seed Johnson-Brock drew the 3-seed of Thayer Central on Friday afternoon. The Eagles started off very strong, jumping ahead 14-4 in game one, but the Titans turned things around after that to win handily in straight sets; 25-20, 25-21, 25-16. Thayer Central improved to 33-2 with the win, while Johnson-Brock fell to 28-7.

JB was led by the nine kills of Taryn Ottemann, who also had a team-best three blocks to go with 11 digs. Daley Pelican helped out with seven kills & 13 digs. Chloe Vice was tops on defense with 22 digs, and Brooklyn Buchmeier helped out with ten digs to go with 23 set assists.

TC got 15 kills from Emma Brueggemann, and 13 kills apiece from Ella Brueggamnn & Piper Havel. Five different Titans finished with double-digit digs.

That moved Thayer Central into the title match against top seed Lincoln Lutheran on Saturday, while Johnson-Brock would clash with 4-seed Norfolk Catholic for third place.

In that Saturday battle, Johnson-Brock bounced back strong with a straight-set sweep, 26-24, 25-19, 25-18. The Eagles finished their year at 29-7, while the Knights ended up at 29-6.

JB got 14 kills & four blocks from Ottemann; ten kills from Charlotte Metschke; 18 digs from Chloe Vice; and 34 set assists from Brooklyn Buchmeier.

NC's Sidonia Wattier led her squad with 15 kills & four blocks, while also piling up 11 set assists. Mallory Wolf topped NC's defense with 15 digs.