Ogallala claims Southwest Conference title, takes down Gothenburg in four
COZAD — “It’s anybody’s game,” Ogallala coach Emma Trammell said, of the Southwest Conference volleyball tournament. “We had talked about it earlier, a lot of people said, ‘Oh, the Southwest Conference is wide open.’”
“We didn’t want it to be anybody’s game. We wanted it to be our game,” Trammell added.
And it was Ogallala’s game. The Indians won 25-13, 21-25, 25-14, 25-16 over Gothenburg in the championship.
Senior Alex Ervin led the Indians with 22 kills and Shaydyn Rasby added 15.
Ogallala’s Alex Ervin (6) attacks the ball during a rally in the Indians’ win Tuesday over Gothenburg in the Southwest Conference championship in Cozad.
“They (Ervin and Rasby) rely on their team. We are strong defensively and that keeps us in more rallies,” Trammell said. “Our setter just feeds them the ball and they go get kills.
“Those two (Ervin and Rasby) hit very well tonight and were very successful, but it took everybody — all their teammates to get them to that point.”
Ogallala started and finished with a bang, leading 7-2 in the first set. Ervin picked apart the Swede defense, landing four kills early on. A pair of aces from libero Samantha Bell added to the Indians strong start.
Ogallala’s Samantha Bell (5) prepares to serve in the Indians’ win Tuesday over Gothenburg in the Southwest Conference championship in Cozad.
Rasby came in to knock down back-to-back kills, extending the Indian lead to 14-5. Down the stretch, Ogallala found their largest lead of 12 points after a Gothenburg serve error at 23-11. A Rasby kill gave Ogallala set point.
The Indians won the set off a block of Zoe Beveridge.
A battle pursued in the second set, and Gothenburg took the lead 4-3 off a Grace Evert kill. Later, a Lauren Mroczek kill pushed Gothenburg up 10-8.
Gothenburg’s Lauren Mroczek (1) attacks the ball in the Swedes’ loss Tuesday against Ogallala in the Southwest Conference championship match in Cozad.
Ogallala battled back to regain the lead at 12-10 after an ace by Charlie Caskey. Beveridge tied the set at 16 after back-to-back kills.
Gothenburg kept the momentum rolling, leading 20-17 off an Evert ace. Ogallala pulled within one at 20-19 after an ace from Addison Powell.
Gothenburg’s Grace Evert (7) prepares to serve in the second set of the Swedes’ loss Tuesday to Ogallala in the Southwest Conference championship match in Cozad.
The Indians found themselves down 24-21 and used a timeout to regroup. Gothenburg’s Riley Flesch ended the set with an ace at 25-21.
“We struggled — had a lot of hitting errors,” Trammell said.
Ogallala found their energy again, starting the third set with a 4-1 lead off an Ervin block. A pair of Mroczek kills pulled the Swedes within one at 4-3. Gothenburg remained close until an Ogallala 6-1 run pulled the Indians away 18-11 off Ervin’s 14th kill.
Ervin came flying out of the back row for a kill, giving Ogallala set point. The Indians took a 2-1 set lead after Rasby found the floor for her 11th kill, ending a long rally 25-14.
“It was good to bounce back in the third, and then get after it,” Trammel said.
And get after it, Ogallala did. The Indians jumped to a 4-0 lead in the fourth, making it difficult for the Swedes to run their offense.
Gothenburg kicked into gear, pulling within one at 4-3 off an Evert kill. Mroczek had a kill and Flesch claimed an ace in the swede 3-0 run.
Down the stretch, Ogallala found a five-point lead at 10-5 after Rasby’s 12th kill of the match. The Indian lead proved to be too difficult for Gothenburg to erase. Ogallala extended their lead 17-10 off an Ervin kill.
Ervin put some heat on a ball, flying out of the back row for a kill at 23-14. Kooper Knispel’s kill earned match point for the Indians and Erving’s 22nd kill gave Ogallala back-to-back Southwest Conference titles.
Ogallala wrapped up the regular season with a 19-10 record, ending on a six-game win streak.
“We’ve really had a tough schedule, you know, on paper our record looks a little rough,” Trammell said. “But these girls are relentless. So, it’s nice to come here and get this win. To be back-to-back champs.'“
“And it feels good, especially at the end of the season, to be clicking and working well.”
Gothenburg ended their regular season with an 18-12 record. The Swedes await their seeding in the Class C-1 subdistricts.
Ogallala’s Harper Smith (11) sets the ball Tuesday in the Indians’ four-set win over Gothenburg in the Southwest Conference championship in Cozad.
Gothenburg’s Ellaray Koch passes the ball Tuesday in the Swedes’ loss to Ogallala in the Southwest Conference championship match in Cozad.
