Class C1 volleyball: Concordia Omaha tops Bishop Neumann

Class C1's top two teams just played, and the result flipped the order. Concordia Omaha beat Bishop Neumann 2-1 at a triangular hosted by Columbus Lakeview on Oct. 20. It was Bishop Neumann's first loss of the season. Concordia (32-2) now leads C1 on NSAA wildcard points at 46.765, and Bishop Neumann (30-1) is right behind at 46.258.

Records and points are from NSAA wildcard standings through Tuesday, Oct. 20 (page updated Oct. 22). Poll ranks are from the Hurrdat Sports coaches poll of Oct. 19, so its records run a match or two behind. NSAA has not posted brackets yet.

How Class C1 gets to state

C1's 54 teams are grouped into four geographic regions. Three regions have 16 or 17 teams, and each splits into three sub-districts by serpentine on wildcard points. The fourth region, with five teams, is one sub-district by itself (NSAA manual, p. 16). That makes 10 sub-districts.

The 10 sub-district winners and the six non-winners with the best averages make a 16-team district final bracket on Saturday, Oct. 31. The higher seed hosts, and the eight winners go to state (manual, p. 22). NSAA hasn't posted the C1 sub-district assignments yet.

The contenders

Concordia Omaha (32-2, 46.765) lost to Scotus Central Catholic 3-2 on Sept. 1 and to Kearney Catholic 2-1 on Oct. 8. It's No. 2 in the Hurrdat Sports coaches poll, which came out before it beat Bishop Neumann.

Bishop Neumann (30-1, 46.258) is No. 1 in the poll. It beat Pierce 2-0 on Sept. 5 and Kearney Catholic 2-1 at the Centennial Conference tournament on Oct. 10.

Pierce (26-3, 45.379) is No. 3 in points and the poll. It lost to Bishop Neumann, to Class C2's Elkhorn Valley and to C2's Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, and it beat Malcolm 2-0 on Oct. 3.

Milford (25-3, 45.357) and Malcolm (22-4, 45.346) are just 0.011 apart at Nos. 4 and 5. Malcolm beat Milford 2-1 on Sept. 15. Milford has beaten C2 points leader Thayer Central twice.

Kearney Catholic (25-6, 44.677) is No. 6 in points and No. 4 in the poll. It's the team that beat Concordia, and it beat Aurora (23-10, No. 7) twice and Malcolm once.

The bubble for the district final

Six at-large spots in the district final go by average, so the teams from No. 8 to No. 14 are worth watching. Valentine (24-6, 43.767), Douglas County West (21-8, 43.724), Norfolk Catholic (20-8, 43.679), Lincoln Lutheran (17-13, 43.633), Central City (20-8, 43.250), Ord (18-10, 43.179) and Ogallala (19-10, 43.172) are separated by less than 0.6 points.

Lincoln Lutheran is No. 8 in the poll despite 13 losses. It beat Milford 2-0 on Sept. 12, and it beat D1 points and poll leader Amherst. Norfolk Catholic and Lincoln Christian (18-13, 42.774, No. 17 in points) are new to the top 10, while Central City and St. Paul dropped out.

State

The Class C1 first round is Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 1 and 3 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The final is Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Devaney Sports Center. The full schedule and qualifying rules are in our state volleyball guide.

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