Cambridge Advances to Class D2 NSAA State Championship Match - DCS To Play In Class D2 Consolation Match
- Evan Jones
- Nov 7
- 6 min read
Cambridge and Dundy County Stratton were both in action during the morning session at PBA on Friday for their semifinal matches. The #4-seeded Tigers battled #1 Wynot and fell 3-1, and will play in the consolation match on Saturday. The #3-seeded Trojans faced #2 SEM and punched their ticket to the championship match on Saturday with a 3-1 win over the Mustangs. Check out the full recaps below!
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In the first set, the Tigers trailed 4-0 early, but cut the deficit to 2, trailing 5-3. DCS found some momentum and clawed their way back into the set, even the score at 9-9. After that, the two traded blows until the Tigers took a 15-13 lead. That forced Wynot to call a timeout. After the timeout, the Blue Devils evened it at 15-15, and the two traded points until it was 20-20. Wynot took the 22-20 lead, and the Tigers found some momentum to even the set at 22-22, which forced the Blue Devils to call their final timeout. The Tigers took set one 25-23 to take the set and a 1-0 lead.
In set two, the Blue Devils jumped out early again with a 7-2 lead before the Tigers caught fire as they cut the lead to two, trailing 9-7. Wynot went on a run, extending their lead to 12-7 and forcing DCS to call a timeout. After the timeout, the Tigers cut the deficit to one, 12-11, and forced Wynot to call a timeout. DCS evened it up at 12-12, but Wynot didn't let them get too far away as they evened it back at 13-13. Wynot found some rhythm and pulled away, 21-15, and forced the Tigers to use their second timeout. The Blue Devils reached set point, 24-15, and Kimberly Escobar took the service line. With her tough serves, the Tigers closed out 25-19, forcing Wynot to call a timeout. The Blue Devils took the second set, 25-20, and evened the match at 1-1.
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In set three, the Tigers went down 8-1 early and had to work to get out of the hole, then called a timeout to slow down the Blue Devils, trailing 14-7. Wynot was rolling and kept the pressure on DCS as the Tigers called their final timeout trailing 23-9. Wynot took the third set, 25-12, and took the 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, the Tigers trailed 4-2 early and fell into a rut, prompting a timeout at 12-7. After the timeout, the Tigers were able to string together some points and pulled within three points. That forced the Blue Devils to call a timeout with a 16-13 lead. DCS evened it up at 18-18 and took a 19-18 lead. You can almost feel the momentum shift at that point, so Wynot called a timeout. The Tigers took a 21-19 lead, but the Blue Devils evened it up at 21-21, and DCS called a timeout. The Tigers pulled within one, 24-23, but the Blue Devils took the set, 25-23, and the match 3-1.
We caught up with Clara Spargo before the match. Interviews are brought to you by Acme Printing Company.
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For Dundy County Stratton, Clara Spargo had 15 kills, two aces, and 13 digs; Emily Schack had 14 kills and 17 digs; Abi Spargo had nine kills, 12 digs, and seven blocks; Ava Lutz had seven kills and six digs; Bree Lutz had 35 assists and 10 digs; and Kimberly Escobar had seven digs.
For Wynot, Kenna Oligmueller had 16 kills and 17 digs; Haley Wieseler had eight kills, 30 assists, 15 digs, and five blocks; Mya Pinkelman had eight kills, seven digs, and three blocks; Jordan Foxhoven had eight kills, two aces, 17 digs, and two blocks; Tiara Sudbeck had four kills, four digs, and four blocks; and Taylor Pinkelman had three blocks.
Check out our highlights from the match. Highlights are brought to you by Prairie Girl Candle Company.
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In set one, it was a bit of a feeling-out process for the two squads as they traded blows back and forth until it was 6-6. SEM took the edge and capitalized on Trojan errors, resulting in an 11-6 lead, and Cambridge called a timeout. The Trojans then capitalized on the Mustangs' errors, pulling within two, 12-10. SEM extended their lead to 18-14, but Cambridge began to climb back into the set, evening the score at 20-20. The Mustangs took a 22-20 lead, and the Trojans called a timeout. The Trojans tied it up again at 22-22 and again at 24-24. SEM took set one, 26-24, and the 1-0 lead.
In set two, Cambridge fell behind 3-0 and eventually 7-3, which forced them to call a timeout to try and slow the Mustangs. SEM kept the pressure on the Trojans as they extended their lead to 10-3. The Trojans then started clicking and pulled within two, 14-12, and forced SEM to call a timeout. Cambridge was able to even it at 14-14 and then again at 19-19. Cambridge took the 21-19 lead, which forced the Mustangs to call a timeout. The Mustangs evened the set at 21-21 and then aced a serve from Ellie Scoville, which forced Cambridge to call a timeout. Then, as in the first set, the two squads traded blows, tied at 23-23, until Cambridge capitalized on errors to take the set, 30-28, and even the match at 1-1.
In set three, the Trojans came out swinging and took an early 5-0 lead. The Mustangs pulled within two, 5-3, but Cambridge pulled away 16-8. The Trojans kept the pressure on, cruised to a 25-14 win, and took a 2-1 lead.
In set four, it was back and forth until 4-4. After that, SEM took the 8-5 lead and stretched it to 12-7. Cambridge called a timeout to try and regroup. The Trojans evened the set at 15-15, and the two went back and forth again. When Cambridge took the 19-18 lead, SEM called a timeout. The Mustangs evened the set at 20-20, and then the Trojans found the floor and capitalized on errors to take the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
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We caught up with Mallory Springer and Annabelle Taylor before the match. Interviews are brought to you by Acme Printing Company.
For SEM, Taryn Arbuthnot had 33 kills, 14 digs, and three blocks; Jaycelyn Hoos had eight kills, 19 assists, and 13 digs; Kyle Jones had seven kills, five assists, 17 digs, and two blocks; Avery Harder had six assists and three digs; Mia Scoville had 13 assists and eight digs; Ellie Scoville had three digs and two blocks; and Lily Hrasky had 20 digs.
For Cambridge, they hit .216% as a team and held SEM to .097%. Brooklyn Holtze had 29 kills hitting .243%, 19 assists, and 14 digs; Joslyn Holtze had 13 kills, four assists, seven digs, and two blocks; Mallory Springer had 12 kills, 28 assists, six aces, and 23 digs; Elisabeth Kubik had four assists and 17 digs; Kolbryn Clason had six digs and two blocks; and Annabelle Taylor hit a perfect 1.000% with four kills on four swings, 13 digs, and one block to win the match.
We caught up with Joslyn Holtze after the match. Interviews are brought to you by Acme Printing Company.
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Check out our highlights from the match. Highlights are brought to you by Prairie Girl Candle Company.
Previewing Saturday's Matches
#4 Dundy County Stratton will face #2 SEM in the Class D2 Consolation Match. This match will be played at Lincoln East High School at 11:00 AM CT. This will be a rematch from September 20th, where the Tigers swept the Mustangs, 2-0, at the North Platte Community College Invite.
#3 Cambridge will face #1 Wynot in the Class D2 Championship Match at the Bob Devaney Sports Center at 9:00 AM CT. The Trojans have qualified for state for their fifth consecutive year and their second time in the Championship match. Cambridge finished 2nd in 2023 to Overton in Class D2. In 2023, Cambridge defeated Wynot 3-1 to punch their ticket to the championship match, and the Blue Devils finished 3rd over Meridian.
We will provide coverage for both matches tomorrow, and as soon as we wrap things up at the Bob, we will head to the consolation match. Let's get rested up for a big day of volleyball!
