The Blair volleyball team entered postseason play having won five of its last six matches.
The Bears' B-5 Subdistrict Tournament competition, meanwhile, entered Tuesday with 3-18 and 2-18 records.
Coach Brandi Nicholson's team knew it could win at home and advance to the District Finals round if it played its game.
“The girls were pumped, honestly,” the coach said. “They wanted to win. They wanted to move on.”
And BHS (7-20 overall) did, earning a 3-0 sweep against Schuyler (4-19) 25-10, 25-15 and 25-13.
“They took care of business,” Nicholson said. “I think they played well. I think they were having some fun out there.”
The Bears executed their plays and communicated their way through the 15-point first set victory with Joslyn Policky's final swing scoring match point. The freshman also notched a pair of service aces during the set, while Schuyler Roewert and Carley Damme added a noteworthy block at the 13-6 mark.
In the second, BHS' Ella Ross scored a kill off of the top of the net to make the score 12-3. She added another kill before Addy Nilges' pushed the score to 16-5.
Senior Emma Cada finished off the 10-point second set victory with a kill.
Roewert then scored two of Blair's first four points of the third. Cada's kill pushed the lead to 7-2 before Damme won at the net for 14-7 advantage.
Morgan Potts and Roewert added point-scoring swings as the set rolled on before Cada again closed out the Bears' victory. The 3-0 win advances the senior's team into the district final round where 16 remaining Class B teams compete for eight state tournament spots. Though matchups were not officially announced as of press time, Blair was expected to play No. 1 Omaha Skutt on Saturday. The Skyhawks were, famously, ranked No. 1 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association/USA Today earlier this season.
“The girls are setting goals for themselves,” Nicholson said of the potential matchup against Skutt. “They said, 'We're just going to do our best.'”
The coach, meanwhile, is also pleased to continue on with the Bears' volleyball season after Tuesday night.
“I'm excited just to not be done,” she said. “We keep going.”
