Potter-Dix headed to state championship

When the Potter-Dix volleyball team takes to the court Thursday night in Lincoln in the state tournament, the Lady Coyotes will pit their 27-3 overall record against Sandhills-Thedford, a team that has gone 32-0 this year and has only lost three sets during the entire season.

In short, it is going to be a fight for the No. 6 seed Lady Coyotes.

For head coach Sarah Dvorak, the key to getting a victory against the No. 3 Lady Knights is solid play and mental toughness.

"I think both teams are going to come out aggressive," Dvorak said. "It's obvious there are going to be nerves on both sides, but this is state tournament, so we will come out strong in that first set."

Dvorak said that another main factor will be the determination her team puts forth after the first set.

"We can't ever give up or stop trying," Dvorak said. "We have to shake off any mental or playing mistakes. One factor will be to get around their blockers because they are a tall team. If we can get blocks, while getting around theirs, we'll do fine."

On paper, the teams are virtually even – though Potter-Dix is far more capable of taking matches into deep third or fourth sets, depending on the format of the match, for the win.

Of the 27 wins tallied up by the Lady Coyotes, four came in matches where Potter-Dix had to battle teams that could put up individual game victories, though not win the match.

Neither team has been forced to play a fifth game in any match this season.

A curious statistic – one that could make the difference for the Lady Coyotes – is that of digs. Potter-Dix has recorded 1,667 so far this year, compared to just 871 for Sandhills.

When it comes to blocking, Dvorak may turn to Alexus Rozelle. The junior leads the Lady Coyotes with 57 total blocks and she has also recorded 196 kills at the net.

At the line, Lanie Thies could be the go-to player for service aces. So far this season she has racked up 46 points as the server, while also leading the team in setups with an astonishing 632 assists.

The leader for the Lady Coyotes at digging and receiving is senior Regyn Hicks, with 363 and 251, respectively.

The two teams are also close statistically when it comes to common opponents. Potter-Dix maintains a 2-1 record and Sandhills holds onto a 3-0 record in games against Stapleton and Paxton.

On the road, Potter-Dix has been exceptional with a 17-2 record, falling only to Kimball and Paxton.

Another telling statistic is the average number of wins each team has put up per game. Sandhills leads with 2.3 wins per match, though Potter-Dix only trails by a tenth of a percentage point at 2.2 wins in each match.

In the stats where Sandhills leads – kills, blocks, aces and assists – the differences between the two teams is so minimal as to be almost irrelevant.

Potter-Dix earned its berth at the state championship by defeating Crawford, 3-1, last Thursday.

The first-round state championship match is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT at Lincoln East High School.

If the Lady Coyotes win, it will send them into the second round on Saturday to face either No. 2 seed Exeter-Milligan or No.7 seed St. Francis.

The match on Friday is scheduled for Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln at 11 a.m. CDT.

Another win would lead to a championship appearance on Saturday at Devaney Sports Center on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. The championship match is scheduled for 9 a.m. CDT.