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Look out state: Eagles will attack
at Lincoln Southwest
Little kids with more than a little "fight" caught Jessi Thalheim's attention long before she started leading her alma mater's volleyball team.
"They were ornery then and they are ornery now," the second-year coach said in a good way about her state-qualifying Eagle spikers. "I loved coaching them in grade school camps when I was playing."
"And it definitely helps them," she added. "They hate it when someone gets the better of them and are going to do their darndest to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Fans from across Nebraska can check out the feisty Eagles (25-4 record) during Thursday's C-2 state quarterfinal match with Doniphan-Trumbull (25-7) at Lincoln Southwest High School.
Thalheim even uses one of America's favorite words when she describes the Southern Valley team: diversity.
"They (Doniphan-Trumbull) have been to state more than us, but I think we have a more diverse attack at the net," she said. "We have more players to go to, a little more diversity."
Check out the diverse reasons that have formed this district champion team:
Sisters who stand side-by-side throughout a great "fight".senior four-year varsity setter Savanna Quinn and first-year starting sophomore libero Sawyer Quinn.
"It really is fun to work together on the court side-by-side," Thalehim confirmed. "They are both very motivated. We want to get gold on Saturday."
A freshman starter who never gets shy when big moments arrive.
Freshman Lauryn Samuelson was a manager on Southern Valley's state tournament team two years ago.
Now she's managing to be the Eagles' top blocker and one of their best hitters.
"She got a sense of what was going on at state two years ago," Thalheim observed. "Now she's a huge force at middle hitter. I'm pretty sure she's leading our team in blocks."
How about the closest Eagle to be a "go-to girl" who served five aces against Cambridge last weekend?
Junior Cassie Bose clobbered nine kills against those rival Trojans, securing Southern Valley's Class C-2 state spot.
The Eagles won in three sets over this C-2 Top 10 opponent -- but it was nothing like their subdistrict title sweep of Cambridge (24-10) earlier last week.
Saturday's final two sets were both decided by only two points.
"And we were down like 11-5 or 11-6 in the first set. It was a fight the entire night," Thalheim proclaimed. "They (Cambridge) changed up their attack and we had to adjust."
"Cassie came through for us," J.T. explained. "Not just with getting nine kills, but also getting them at the end of the game when we really needed them."
Juniors Becca Lennemann and Kylee Woodring have become two more clutch Eagle performers all season.
"Becca has become a really polished player," Thalheim said. "She helps complete our attack. Kylee doesn't get a lot of kills, but again, she gets them it seems when we need them to change momentum."
Senior Tia Norman and sophomore Maggie Bose finished Southern Valley's diverse assortment of top players.
However, the attack really comes back to four-year starting setter Savanna Quinn.
Savanna was one of the few returning starters from Southern Valley's state-qualifying team two years ago.
She helped both the Eagles and new coach Thalheim work through a 14-14 rebuilding season last fall.
"The foundation was put down then," Thalheim confirmed. "Savana's always a big part of it. She sees the court like no one else -- it's a beautiful thing. She just has a world of volleyball knowledge."
Now Savana and the Eagles will get a chance to perform better than their first-round defeat against Crofton in 2014.
Crofton brings the No. 2 seed to state this week, yet C-2 has proven that higher seeds really don't mean much.
Just look at Saturday's district finals: No. 4 Ponca, No. 5 Howells-Dodge and No. 7 Hemingford all fell short of making state this week.
Instead, the field features surprises like No. 10 Centura, No. 12 Hastings St. Cecilia and No. 13 Hartington Cedar Catholic.
"Our goal really is to get to Saturday and play for the gold trophy," Thalheim said. "Saying it is wide open seems true considering all the upsets last Saturday."
"They didn't play badly two years, Crofton just played great," she added. "Now that's what we want to do this week. Play great at state."
Southern Valley and Doniphan -Trumbull are set to begin their best of five state opener at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The winner will meet either No. 1 Diller-Odell (31-3) or Hartington CC (19-12) in a 1 p.m. semifinal on Friday.
Crofton (24-4) takes on Hastings St. Cecilia (20-14).
Stanton (28-8) challenges Centura (20-10) on the other side of C-2's state bracket.
The championship match is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday at Lincoln's Pinnacle Bank Arena.
"It was some kind of fight last week," Thalheim concluded. "The same kind of fight we expect this week in Lincoln."