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It’s a contrast of styles between Lincoln Southeast volleyball coach Annie Rice-Healey and the players on her team.

And it’s a mix that strikes just the right balance for the second-year Knight coach.

Darren Ivy/NebVolleyball Iowa State's Tenisha Matlock makes a dig at the UNK Spring Volleyball Tournament while fellow Nebraskans Kelsey Petersen (8), Jamie Straube (14), Caitlin Mahoney (7) and Carley Jenson (1) look on.

When the NCAA Div. I Volleyball Tournament gets underway on Thursday and Friday across the country, the state of Nebraska will be well represented on the rosters of the teams that made it.

The home-state University of Nebraska-Lincoln volleyball team boasts eight Nebraska natives on its roster, but there are also at least 14 other native Nebraskans on other team's rosters that made the tournament.

Of these 22 Division I players, they hail for 20 different Nebraska high schools.

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A prematch scare — a possible sprained ankle for standout senior setter Maggie Anderson — ended up being a false alarm.

After a tighter tape job, Anderson and her Lincoln Southwest teammates played very few loose points in taking a 25-14, 25-18, 25-16 victory against Lincoln Southeast in the A-2 District volleyball championship match at Southwest on Wednesday night.

Heartland Athletic Conference

Tuesday

At GISH

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Toni Tupper pounded 14 kills and teammate Kassidy Sullivan added 12 kills, three ace blocks and 15 digs to lead Lincoln Northeast to a 25-23, 25-17, 22-25, 25-19 win against Lincoln Southeast in the consolation final of the Northeast Volleyball Invitational on Saturday.

Natalie Bohac added 11 kills for the Rockets (13-10), who earlier defeated Millard South 25-21, 30-28, 25-17 to reach the final. Setters Mattie Wenzl and Caleigh Diekmann had 21 and 19 assists, respectively, for LNE.

Friday:
NORTH COURT SOUTH COURT
4:00 Pius vs Mill South Papio South vs LSE
5:00 Kearney vs Westside Marian vs LNE
6:00 Pius vs Westside Papio South vs LNE
7:00 Kearney vs Mill South Marian vs LSE
8:00 Pius vs Kearney Papio South vs Marian
9:00 Westside vs Mill South LNE vs LSE

Saturday:
9:00 - Consolation Semifinals (both courts)
10:30 - Championship Semifinals (both bourts)
Noon - Consolation 1st/2nd & 3rd/4th place matches (both courts)
1:30 - Championship 1st/2nd & 3rd/4th place matches (both courts)
**All games on Saturday will be 3 out of 5....

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Toni Tupper put down seven kills and an ace block in the fifth set to lead Lincoln Northeast to a 25-20, 26-24, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12 volleyball win over Lincoln Southeast at LSE's Prasch Activities Center on Tuesday night.

Tupper, a 6-foot-2 sophomore outside hitter, finished with 26 kills and three ace blocks for the Rockets (5-4). She had seven kills and an ace block in the opening set.

GRAND ISLAND - Grand Island (3-0) remained undefeated on the season with a 25-12, 25-11, 22-25, 25-22 home victory over Lincoln Southeast on Tuesday night.

The difference in Tuesday's match came down to the basics of serving, passing and staying in system, Grand Island head coach Bill Root said.

"When they were out of system, we could defend them. When we were out of system, they defended us," Root said. "They beat us in the third set because of that. Right out of the gate, we were in rhythm and on the same page. I didn't think they were."

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BELLEVUE - In Class A volleyball, there's Papillion-La Vista South, and then there's parity.

That's the assessment after the 16-team Bellevue Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Bellevue West. As expected, the top-ranked and defending state champion Titans rolled to the title with six straight-set victories -- three in pool play Friday and three in the championship bracket Saturday.

Darren Ivy/NebVolleyball

One week of the 2011 season is down and there were quite a few big matches right out of the gate that help to reshape the NebVolleyball/Jones Insurance Agency, Inc. Rankings for each classification.

Games to Watch the Week of Sept. 5, 2011.