The first season of Nemaha Central volleyball was a successful one; however the campaign ended with three straight-set losses at the 3A State Tournament in Emporia on Friday.  The Thunder, ranked 6th in the final KVA Class 3A Rankings, fell to #1 ranked Silver Lake (3A Defending State Champs), #3 ranked Hillsboro (2A Defending State Champs) and #4 ranked Hesston in a loaded pool.  Although Nemaha Central competed, they could not finish any game with a victory and end their initial season with a record of 32-14 under Coach Jessica Koch.  They also said goodbye to seven volleyball seniors.  

Hillsboro Beat Nemaha Central 25-19, 25-15
In the first match, the Thunder came out strong and fired up jumping to an early 4-1 lead on points by Rachel Baumgartner, Shaylyn Stallbaumer and Madison Koch. They stretched the lead to 11-7 before Hillboro rallied but a Koch kill protected the Thunder advantage at 12-10.  Jaci Swart served two more points and it was 14-10, but the Trojans began their rally.  Hillboro tied the score at 16 before Stallbaumer delivered a block to keep Nemaha ahead.  But after a 18-18 tie, Hillsboro scored six straight points even with a pair of Thunder time-outs and would lead 24-18 before closing out game one.  
In game two, Hillsboro pulled away from a 3-3 tie and led 10-5 before a Stallbaumer kill pulled the Thunder within 10-7.  Nemaha called time-outs trailing 15-8 and again down 22-13 before the Trojans closed out the victory.  

Hesston Beats Nemaha Central 26-24, 25-14
Nemaha again would post an early 3-2 lead in game one after a two-hour break, but Hesston went on a six point barage and led 8-3 before a Thunder timeout.  Trailing 13-6, Nemaha got a block and kill from Stallbaumer before Brianna Delaney kept the kept alive and another Samantha Wessel serve point to pull within 13-9.  The Thunder could not get closer than three points before Hesston pulled away causing a timeout at 23-17.  Yet, Nemaha would not quit as they scored 7 of the next 8 points and tied the score at 24 after 4 good serves by Jaci Swart and a huge Jenna Macke block followed by a moster kill from Koch.  After a Hesston timeout, they won the final two points to take game one. 
In game two, Nemaha never led but did tie the score at 5 after a Koch kill followed by a April Kuckelman ace serve and block by Kaley Dalinghaus.  Hesston responded with a 12-7 advantage and led 14-9 when the Thunder took a timeout.  They stretched the lead to 15-9 before Dalinghaus earned a kill point, but five more consecutive by Hesston made it 22-12 and they held on for the win.  

Silver Lake Beats Nemaha Central 25-10, 25-15
Back to back matches and facing the #1 ranked team in the state, Nemaha Central started slow against the Eagles and fell behind 9-3.  Silver Lake rolled to a 20-6 advantage before posting the dominate win.  In game two, Nemaha Central led 6-4 and five straight serves by Baumgartner made it 8-4.  A Stallbaumer kill put the Thunder up 9-5 and then 10-5 after a could nice saves by Kennedy McKernan for their largest lead of the match.  Silver Lake tied the game at 12 then went up 16-12 on six serves from Rachel Heiman to cap an 11-2 run.  They momentum was enough to carry the Eagles on to the victory.