#1 Nemaha Central defeats #8 Smoky Valley 26-24 & 25-23

The Thunder had to grind out their first match of the tournament against the Vikings of Smoky Valley. The Thunder got off to a great start in the first set with a bevy of kills coming from Addy Holthaus. The Thunder kept the Vikings at arm’s length for a majority of the first set, but the Vikings would rattle off 11 of 15 points to get right back into it. The Vikings had multiple chances to win the first set with leads of 22-20 and then 24-23 but the Thunder would rally for the final three points to take the first set 26-24.

The second set was close from the start as neither team had a lead bigger than three. Nemaha Central had multiple three-point leads in the second set of 15-12 and 16-13 but once again the Vikings put together a good stretch where they got it tied at 22-22, but the Thunder would once again score the final three points to take the second set 25-23.

#1 Nemaha Central defeats #5 Cheney 25-22 & 25-17

The Thunder once again got a tough test from a very good Beloit squad. The Trojans entered the tournament having won seven straight league titles. The Trojans had every opportunity to take the first set from Nemaha Central, but the Thunder put together an impressive rally. The Thunder trailed 20-17 late in the first set but scored seven straight to lead 24-20. Beloit got it to within 24-22 but the Thunder were able to hold on for the 25-22 win in the first set.

The second set was a back-and-forth battle between the two, but the Thunder ramped it up in the second half of the set to pull away. After it was tied 3-3 early, NC never trailed the rest of the second set. The Thunder put a stretch together where they led 18-10 and were able to win it 25-17. The win over Beloit secured their spot in the 3A Semi-Finals on Saturday.

#1 Nemaha Central defeats #4 Cheney 25-21 & 25-22

The Thunder had to battle hard in the first set to get the win. It was a set full of runs as the Thunder and Cardinals went back and forth throughout. It was an 8-8 tie early but then both teams rattled off anywhere from four to five point runs to continue the back-and-forth affair. Nemaha Central led 21-17 but the Cardinals rattled off four straight to tie it at 21. The Thunder would go on to score the next four to win the first set 25-21.

It was another tough battle in set two as both teams alternated points early. The Cardinals went on a little bit of a run and had a 15-11 lead. The Thunder would go on to score 14 of the next 21 points to get the win and go perfect in pool play.

Nemaha Central will face 2-seed Riverton in a semi-final match tomorrow at 1:00 PM. The other semi-final is the defending champs in Heritage Christian taking on Cheney. The Championship and consolation matches will follow 25 minutes after the semi-finals. We’ll have coverage of the Thunder once again on KMZA 92.1 FM.