Spread out across their side of the court, the Blair volleyball team watched as the final point of Tuesday's match was scored.
The Bears watched through the net and then reacted, coming together for a group embrace as they celebrated a 3-0 sweep of Nebraska City on Senior Night. The 26-24, 25-17, 25-23 victory had those 12th-graders — Carley Damme, Emma Cada, Ella Ross, Morgan Potts and Hailey Baker — smiling as they were congratulated by their families afterward.
“We really focused on the basics and kept our fire,” Potts said.
“It was our first win at home, too, which made it even better,” Ross added.
The Bears improved to 5-20 with the sweep, while Nebraska City fell to 10-19.
“I'm so proud of these girls,” said Baker, who was inactive for the match. “Even though I can't play, I was still with them and I was cheering them all the whole time. I'm just super proud of everyone and how they all did. I don't know, I'm full of happiness and excitement.”
BHS trailed 23-18 late during the first set and 20-12 in the third, but won both with coaches Brandi Nicholson, Tayler Haeker, Becca Mellema and Melissa Templar celebrating each point along with their team.
“The energy just really helped,” Ross said. “That was the big thing.”
In the first, a Damme attack pulled the Bears within 23-19 and in the right direction. Cada and sophomore Schuyler Roewert combined for a block on the next point before three-straight, unforced Nebraska City errors evened the score at 23-all.
The Pioneers pulled back ahead by a point before Blair scored three straight, notching the final when Cada's last swing of the set went unreturned. The senior outside hitter was forceful and accurate throughout the match, delivering big points when her squad needed them no matter where she was on the floor.
“My teammates have hyped me up and that's really given me all of my confidence, especially the people in the back row while I'm swinging,” Cada said. “I think that's really what's given me the confidence to swing when they tell me exactly where to hit.”
The Bears took the momentum earned over the last eight points of the first set and turned it into and eight-point victory in the second. They built what turned out to be an insurmountable lead early during a 9-0 streak with freshman Reece Ewoldt serving.
The third didn't start as well for Nicholson's team, however, as BHS fell behind 8-2. Swings by Cada and Damme kept the home team in it, but the set appeared to be in hand for Nebraska City as it went ahead 20-12.
“It just doesn't even faze us. If we go down, we just get right back up,” Cada said. “It's all mindset.”
Ross delivered the first point of the rally with a tap over the net. From there, Cada's block and eventual kill pulled Blair within 21-19.
Sophomore Ellia Klanderud won a battle at the net to pull the Bears within one and eventually provided the attack that tied the third set at 23-23. The winning points then came as, first, Potts and Roewert threw up a successful block and then Megan McKeon's match-point serve went unreturned.
“I think we just wanted it more,” Damme said, explaining her team's late-season drive. “We kept with them and made them make the mistakes.”
The win was Blair's fourth in its last five matches, while Nebraska City dropped its third-straight.
“We're starting to work more as a team and be cohesive,” Damme added. “That was kind of our problem in the beginning. We weren't playing together, but now we're definitely, like, bonded together and we're playing well together.”
The end result was a celebratory moment on Senior Night.
“This will be a memory I won't forget, you know?” Potts said.
The BHS squad went onto play its final regular season match Thursday at Omaha Christian Academy before Tuesday's B-5 Subdistrict Tournament. The Bears host their first postseason game at 6 p.m.
