The Auburn High School gym was packed out on Thursday night as the two high school volleyball teams in Nemaha County had their annual showdown. This year, those fans were treated to a battle through five sets with Johnson-Brock coming out on top.
Auburn took control of the game early, winning the first set by a score of 25-19. Auburn’s Emery Taylor finished the night with 22 kills and 21 digs, while Heidi Gerdes added 17 kills and seven blocks. Setter Nora Jacobitz tallied 38 assists 24 digs for the Bulldogs The Lady Eagles came back in the second set, winning 25-18 to tie the game at one set apiece before going ahead two sets to one with a 25-19 win in set number three. Kasie Knippelmeyer led the way for the Lady Eagles, finishing with a game-high 26 kills. Daley Pelican added another 19 kills to the effort, while Josie Stutheit finished with 10 kills and nine blocks.
Set four was the tightest set of the night as 25 points wasn’t enough to decide a winner. It was the Bulldogs who staved off defeat for a while by taking the set by a score of 31-29. The game went into a fifth and final set, in which Johnson-Brock got ahead early and held on to win 15-11 to top the Bulldogs in Auburn in five sets.
