The Lady Bobcats wrapped up their season on Oct. 27 in the first-round sub-district loss against the Brady Eagles, taking them out of the running for further post-season play. It was a bittersweet ending to a year full of ups and downs for the Bobcat squad.

Finishing the year with a record of 8-22, South Loup took a little while to get fired up, but then saw some successes smattered throughout the season. The first five games on the schedule ended in losses before the Bobcats hit a win against Twin Loup on Sept. 13.

South Loup hosted Anselmo-Merna first and fell to the tough team in two sets, followed by a loss the same night against Mullen, 2-0. Hi-Line and Ainsworth challenged South Loup the next week, resulting in losses for the Bobcats 3-1 in both games. The Bobcats then hit the road to meet Gothenburg on the court, where the Swedes struck them down 3-0.

The Seven Valleys Tournament win against Twin Loup came next, with South Loup winning in three sets, 2-1. However, the win faded quickly as they dropped their next two games the same day against Mullen and Sandhills/Thedford, both in a two-set sweep.

On Sept. 16, the Bobcats headed into a triangular, chalking up a 2-0 loss to Brady, while winning the Bertrand match 2-0. The following week Merna hosted a triangular, with the Bobcats falling once again to Anselmo-Merna in two sets. Elm Creek was also able to get out ahead of the Bobcat squad, winning 2-0.

Sutherland hosted their volleyball invitational on Sept. 27, and the beleaguered South Loup team finished with three more hashes in the loss column against St. Patrick’s (2-0), Overton (2-0), and Sutherland (2-1). After finishing out the month with a 3-0 loss to Ansley-Litchfield, the Bobcats caught a stride to start out October.

Facing Twin Loup once again on Oct. 2 in a triangular hosted at Arnold, the Bobcats defeated the Wolves in a 2-0 sweep. Next up, South Loup challenged Sandhills Valley, knocking them out in two sets as well.

The second week in October found the Bobcats in the loss column once more, dropping three games in a row by sweeps: Cambridge (2-0), Maxwell (2-0), Cozad (3-0). In a Saturday, Oct. 11 tournament in Loup City, South Loup found some success against Gibbon, winning their final match in a 2-0 sweep. The first two games of the day told a different story however, as they took the loss 2-0 and 2-1 against West Holt and Fullerton respectively.

The MNAC Volleyball tournament ran from Oct. 16-18, and once again South Loup came away with a mixed bag of results. In first-round action, they fell to the Mullen Broncos 2-1, followed by their second win of the year against Sandhills Valley. They swept the Mavericks 2-0. Next up was their third time facing Anselmo-Merna, and the Coyotes once again beat the Bobcats 2-0.

As regular season play wound down, the Bobcats ended their run on a high note in a triangular hosted by Stapleton on Oct. 21. South Loup picked off the Arthur County Wolves first in a two-set sweep and then took the win against Sandhills Valley for the third time this season, 2-1.

After the 3-0 loss to Brady the next week in sub-districts, the Lady Bobcats hung up their hats on the 2025 season. Their final season record stands at 8-22.

The Lady Bobcat squad finished the year with a team total of 433 kills, 958 digs, and 118 serving aces. Average serving percentage stood at 86.3%, with 570 points garnered over their 30 games.

Sophomore Emma Stallbaumer stands out as a stat leader for the Bobcats, racking up 166 kills, 178 digs and 43 blocks. Nyachay Haidle was also solid at the net, slamming down 95 kills. Charli Pandorf led the squad in digs, compiling 186 over 72 sets. Sophomore Rae Hagler contributed 164 digs, 20 blocks and a whopping 331 assists, while Aubrie Birkel finished with 110 digs and 30 assists.

Haidle was an asset on the service line for the Bobcats, landing 41 ace serves with an overall serve percentage of 85.5%. She put up 121 of the squad’s 570 total points for the year. Stallbaumer added 21 aces and Olivia Fitzgerald had 19.

South Loup has just three seniors leaving the Bobcat volleyball team: Aubrie Birkel, Nyachay Haidle and Neltje Reiff. The Lady Bobcats are led by Head Coach Michelle Preston and assistant coaches Erin Wyckoff and Jadyn Weber.