Waverly volleyball coach Terri Neujahr knows it’s been awhile since the Vikings won a state championship.
It was 1974, when she was 10 years old and growing up in the southwest Iowa town of Shenandoah.
“It’s been a long time, and we all know that,” Neujahr said. “Waverly won three straight titles and finished as the runner-up the next year.”
The Vikings did indeed string together three consecutive championships from 1972-74 when the title matches were best-of-three, and first to 15 points. Much has changed since then, but the Vikings’ volleyball excellence has remained a constant.
Waverly is having another outstanding season under Neujahr (pronounced New-year), in her 19th season at the helm. The Vikings are coming off a big week with a victory Thursday night over previously top-ranked Elkhorn North and a championship run Saturday at the Kearney Invitational.
That was enough to move 12-0 Waverly into the No. 1 position in Class B and the No. 2 slot in the overall Top 10.
“I knew we had a lot of potential this season,” Neujahr said. “But I didn’t necessarily think we’d have the record we have at this point.”
She knows that finishing the season with a perfect record is next to impossible in the competitive Eastern Midlands Conference, home to six of the 10 ranked Class B teams.
“We know that’s not going to happen,” she said. “Our goal is to keep playing hard and keep improving with every match.”
Waverly was on its game against the visiting Wolves as the Vikings outlasted Elkhorn North 25-18, 21-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-13.
“Most of the sets were really close,” Neujahr said. “It was like a chess match out there.”
Twins Gracie and Hallie Lauenstein led the way, combining for 52 kills. Setter McKinley Moser, a Minnesota commit, dished out 61 assists.
Those efforts helped offset the 36-kill performance from the Wolves’ Reagan Wallraff. The Creighton recruit was just two short of the Class B single-match record for kills of 38, set by Marriah Buss of Beatrice in 2016.
“She’s the real deal, that’s for sure,” Neujahr said. “Any team is going to have a tough time slowing her down.”
At the Kearney Invite, Waverly went 4-0 and did not lose a set. The Lauensteins — younger sisters of former Nebraska outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein — were named the co-MVPs of the tourney.
Neujahr said she likes the team chemistry she’s seeing this season.
“This group is really committed to relationships,” she said. “Every timeout we take, there’s talk of communication and trust.”
The Vikings have another challenging week ahead, starting with a home match Tuesday against defending Class B champion Norris. The Titans are 13-0 and have dropped just one set.
“I look at our schedule and I’m thinking ‘Who designed this thing?'” Neujahr said. “It’ll be another big challenge for our team, so we’ll need to be ready for it.”
Rankings update
Class A No. 1 Papillion-La Vista South climbs to the overall top spot in the rankings after home wins over three ranked foes last week — Millard West, Lincoln Pius X and Lincoln North Star.
Waverly — No. 1 in Class B — is second in the overall Top 10 and is followed by Elkhorn North, Omaha Skutt and Gretna.
Other No. 1 teams by class are Lincoln Lutheran (C-1), Norfolk Catholic (C-2), Overton (D-1) and Cambridge (D-2).
Lincoln Lutheran, which began the season with a loss at Waverly, was tested Saturday at the Malcolm Invitational. The Warriors defeated Columbus Scotus, Milford and the host Clippers to claim the title.
Coaches step down
Three longtime coaches won’t be on the sidelines this season.
Tom Pallas has stepped down at Seward after 23 years. He finished with 567 wins, which was seventh among active coaches and is 24th overall.
Sandy Miller, previously at Southern Valley, has retired after seven seasons at Stuart. She reached the 500-win milestone last year and finished with 506 victories, placing her 37th on the all-time list.
Shelly Byrn, who had earlier coaching stops at North Platte St. Patrick and Ogallala, stepped down from her most recent position at North Platte. She coached the Bulldogs for two years and has 408 career victories.
Hitting the road
Two of the state’s top teams — Papio South and Skutt — will compete Friday and Saturday at the Durango national tournament in Las Vegas.
This will be something new for the Titans, who traditionally have competed this week in the Lincoln Public Schools Classic. Papio South has won the event four of the past five years.
Top matches this week
Class A: Tuesday: Papillion-La Vista South at Lincoln Southeast. Thursday: Millard South at Elkhorn North. Friday-Saturday: Lincoln Public Schools Classic.
Class B: Tuesday: Norris at Waverly; Lincoln Pius X at Gretna East; Platteview triangular. Thursday: Grand Island Northwest at Waverly. Saturday: Seward Invitational.
Class C-1: Tuesday: Battle Creek at Pierce; Milford triangular. Thursday: Wahoo Neumann at David City; Columbus Lakeview at Battle Creek. Friday-Saturday: Gothenburg tournament. Saturday: Central City Invitational.
Class C-2: Tuesday: St. Paul at Centura. Tuesday-Thursday: Mudecas tournament (at Beatrice). Thursday: Norfolk Catholic triangular.
Class D-1: Tuesday: Elgin/Pope John triangular; Central Valley triangular; Wauneta-Palisade at Southwest.
Class D-2: Tuesday: Amherst at SEM; Bloomfield at Wynot. Thursday: Riverside at Humphrey Archangels.
mike.patterson@owh.com, 402-444-1350, twitter.com/MPattersonOWH
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