The Lady Bobcats had a highly successful volleyball season in 2022, ending with a record of 21-8. Six of their eight losses came from the hands of teams that went on to qualify for the state tournament in Lincoln. Even though their season was cut short at sub-districts, the celebrations of the season are numerous and impressive.

When asked about her team, Head coach Desiree Guthrie described these young women as “Fierce, Competitive, Top-Notch, and Talented” “From day one this team came to practice ready to work. They had goals and had their sights set high,” she said.

A rocky season opener at the Bill Marshall Volleyball Classic at the Nebraska State Fair and a loss 0-2 against Burwell helped the Lady Bobcats see areas of their play that needed adjustment. Their next wins against Mullen and Anselmo-Merna, both in straight sets 2-0, gave them a boost of confidence to take on back-toback C1 state tournament qualifiers, Kearney Catholic and Gothenburg. These two games ended in losses for the Bobcats, but they made more adjustments and saw great success.

“We greatly improved our game from the beginning of the season until the end,” said senior Talli Martin.”

The next seven games were big wins over Brady, Twin Loup, Medicine Valley, Brady, Dundy-County Stratton, Elm Creek, Anselmo-Merna. Three of those games were at the annual Seven Valleys tournament, where the Lady Bobcats were the winners for a seventh consecutive year.

While at the annual Sutherland Sailors tournament, the Lady Bobcats picked up a win against Sutherland, but dropped two against Chase County and Southwest (another state tournament qualifier).

The next two games were solid wins over conference rivals Twin Loup and Sandhills Valley, before a trip down south, winning over Maxwell, but falling to Cambridge, a D1 state tournament qualifier. A long bus ride to Southern Valley was a season highlight for the Lady Bobcats, coming away with a hard-fought win 3-2.

A fifth-place finish at the Arcadia/Loup City tournament brought a 1-2 loss to West Holt, but straight wins over Gibbon and Sandhills/Thedford. This kicked off another seven game winning streak through the Mid-Nebraska Activities Conference (MNAC) tournament and another first-place finish for the Bobcats. They were the only team to win all sets during the tournament this year.

The final regular-season game of the season was an explosive 3-1 win over the C1 Ainsworth Bulldogs, crushing the Bulldogs chances of hosting sub-districts.

Headed into sub-districts a mere one point behind host team Southwest, the Lady Bobcats made easy work of the Southern Valley Eagles on day one of play. But the championship game on day two didn’t play out in the Lady Bobcats favor, bringing a second loss to Southwest and signaling the end of their season.

Even though their season ended earlier than they wanted, the Lady Bobcats had many players reach personal milestones. Senior setter Ava Pandorf reached 1,100 career digs early in the season. According to MaxPreps. com, the statistical analysis website, senior hitter Abby Stallbaumer was the top blocker in the entire state and ranked 22nd in the nation, with 202 total blocks. Other Lady Bobcats ranked in the state by MaxPreps.com include Taylor Ross, seventh in blocking; Charli Vickers, 15th in blocking; Talli Martin, 22nd in digging.

“Those last few games everyone on the court was clicking well, and we were playing very competitively. When we went to play our last game against South West they were expecting to walk all over us, but instead we battled hard against them and went out with a bang.” said Martin. “It was very heartbreaking for our season to end, but I wouldn’t have wanted to end the season any other way with any other team.”

As for Coach Guthrie, she is incredibly proud of her team and the season.

“The beginning of our season had some bumps, but we made the adjustments, some position swaps and we went rolling! From Seven Valleys Tournament Champs, to beating teams we lost to last year, Conference Champs, to ending the regular season with a win over Ainsworth, they played with heart and determination!”

Senior Ava Pandorf choses to remember the season in a positive light. “All the laughs before games in the locker room, our fun Wednesday practices, and all the TikTok making are my favorite memories,” she said.

The Lady Bobcats will lose five seniors to graduation - Lauryn Johnson, Talli Martin, Ava Pandorf, Abby Stallbaumer.