Millard South won a sort of moral victory Thursday night, but Elkhorn North captured the volleyball match.
The host Wolves, ranked No. 2 in Class B, posted the sweep over the Class A No. 4 Patriots. Elkhorn North got 19 kills from Creighton pledge Reagan Wallraff in a 25-18, 25-17, 25-22 victory.
The Wolves moved to 11-2 while Millard South fell to 13-5.
After winning the first two sets, Elkhorn North led 23-11 in the third. The Wolves’ starters headed for the bench and the younger players took over, but the Patriots weren’t going down without a fight.
Behind the strong serving of Nevaeh Jacobson and Liv Koziol, Millard South went on a 10-1 run that led Wolves’ coach Jenny Gragert to send her starters back on the court. The Patriots won the next point to close to 24-22 but a kill by Elkhorn North’s Payton Palmer ended it.
“It’s nice to get some subs into the match, and that’s important,” Gragert said. “But it did take a little while to put that last set away.”
The coach said she expected a competitive match against Millard South, which is enjoying one of its most successful seasons in recent years.
“They’re just such a scrappy team,” Gragert said. “They never let anything drop and they’re one of the better teams in Class A this season.”
The first set was close until the Wolves opened an 18-11 advantage. Wallraff had nine kills in the set, including the final one as Elkhorn North scored the seven-point win.
Gragert’s squad sprinted to a 10-2 lead in the second set and was never threatened. Millard South fought off two set points before a block by Kaitlyn Huff gave the Wolves a 2-0 edge in the match.
Elkhorn North rode that momentum into the third set and opened a double-digit lead. The Patriots fought off six match points before Palmer’s kill closed it out.
Gragert said she liked the way her team has bounced back from a five-set road loss Sept. 11 against Waverly, which knocked the Wolves out of the Class B No. 1 ratings slot.
“The takeaway that night was that the defensive part of our game needed to improve,” she said. “Our players took responsibility and learned from that one.”
Huff finished with seven kills for the Wolves while Palmer had six kills and three aces. Setter Hayden Booth, a Bradley pledge, dished out 32 assists.
Scotlyn Erwin and Madi Jacobson each had six kills for the Patriots while setter Bailey Wyzenski had 20 assists.
Elkhorn North will return to action next Thursday night in a triangular at Omaha Skutt.
The Patriots’ next match will be Tuesday night at Millard West.
mike.patterson@owh.com, 402-444-1350, twitter.com/MPattersonOWH
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