The Nemaha Central volleyball team had their season end on Saturday with a loss to Halstead in the Class 3A State Tournament Championship in Hutchinson. 

The Thunder started the day with a wild semifinal win over Hoisington 25-21, 22-25, 25-23. NC trailed 23-22 in the final set but the Thunder scored the final three points for the win which included a couple of costly miscues by the Cardinals. 

Nemaha Central entered the title match getting a rematch against the top-seed in Halstead. The Dragons defeated the Thunder on Friday night in pool play 2-0 but both sets were tight. 

In the first set in the title match, the Thunder built an early lead. Leading 11-9, Halstead went on a run where they scored eight of the next 11 points to take a 17-14 lead which forced the Thunder to call a timeout. 

The Thunder tied it at 17 with three straight points out of the timeout but the Dragons would score five of the next eight points to lead 22-20. 

The Thunder came right back and tied it at 22 after another timeout but Halstead scored three of the final four points for the set one win of 25-23. 

In the second set, Nemaha Central once again jumped out to an early lead of 8-5 but the Dragons responed scoring five of the next six to force a timeout. 

Halstead slowly built on their lead and got it to 17-13 which forced another Nemaha Central timeout. 

After that timeout, the Thunder fought back and would have the set tied at 20-20. The Dragons responded scoring four straight to lead 24-20. 

The Thunder fought off a couple of match points but the Dragons would hold on for the 25-22 set two win. 

It was the second time in the last three seasons that Nemaha Central finished runner-up in the state tournament. 

Back in 2022, the Thunder made the title match but was swept out in straight sets by Heritage Christian. 

The 2024 season for Nemaha Central ends with an overall record of 42-7 which also included winning the first ever Big East league title. 

The Thunder will send off a decorated senior class that includes Cali Honeyman, Zoey Sudbeck, Sadie Haverkamp, Hallie Holthaus, Reagan Gerety, Cami Dalinghaus, and Kate Niehues. 

Halstead was at the state tournament for the first time since 1991 and the win captured their first state volleyball title in school history.