The Parkview Christian Patriots won a five-set thriller over Nebraska Lutheran thanks to Megan Fuchser's 18 kills, 21 digs and four ace serves; Kayla Henzel's 18 digs, five ace serves and 14 assists; and Brandie Luce's 14 kills, 14 assists, 15 digs, three ace blocks and four ace serves.

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Cedar Bluffs 3, Parkview Christian 0: Megan Fuchser had 10 digs, four blocks and nine kills to lead Parkview. Brandie Luce had a team-high seven assists for the Patriots.

The third week of the season has come and gone. There were some more shake ups among some of the top teams in the lower classifications while most of the larger schools remained relatively unchanged in the Sept. 19 NebVolleyball/Jones Insurance Agency, Inc. Rankings for each classification.

Class A
(Ranking, Team, Record, Last Week's ranking)
1. Papillion-LaVista South (9-0) 1
2. Omaha Burke (13-2) 2
3. Omaha Marian (10-4) 3
4. Grand Island (14-1) 5
5. Lincoln Southwest (14-2) 4
6. Bellevue East (11-3) 6
7. Papillion-LaVista (6-6) 7
8. Lincoln Northeast (9-6) NR
9. Omaha Benson (12-2) 10
10. Bellevue West (10-9) NR

Contenders: Millard West, Omaha Westside, Millard North, Kearney, Lincoln North Star

There were many big matches during the second week of the high school season that have shook up some of the NebVolleyball/Jones Insurance Agency, Inc. Rankings for each classification.

Class A
(Ranking, Team, Record, Last Week's ranking)
1. Papillion-LaVista South (7-0) 1
2. Omaha Burke (12-1) 3
3. Omaha Marian (5-3) 2
4. Lincoln Southwest (6-1) 4
5. Grand Island (9-0) 7
6. Bellevue East (10-3) 5
7. Papillion-LaVista (4-3) 6
8. Millard West (6-5) 9
9. Lincoln North Star (6-5) 8
10. Omaha Benson (9-2) NR

Click to view on Lincoln Journal Star.

Lincoln Northeast 3, Fremont 0: Toni Tupper had a match-high 14 kills for Northeast. Natalie Bohac added 13 kills for the Rockets.

Lincoln Pius X 3, Omaha Mercy 0: Cassie Effken and Scarlett Howerter each had 10 kills and Allison Zastrow had 27 assists for Pius X.

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Parkview Christian 2, East Butler 0: Brandie Luce had six kills and nine assists. Megan Fuchser had five kills and six assists. Alyssa Borski and Carleigh Schuman both had three ace serves.

Parkview Christian 2, Omaha Brownell-Talbot 0: Megan Fuchser had nine kills and nine digs. Carleigh Schuman had eight digs and five aces. Alaina Henzel had three ace serves. Kayla Henzel had nine assists. Brandie Luce finished with seven assists, six kills and six digs.

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.

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When she was younger, Sarah Mertens had a passion for soccer, performed ballet and played the piano.
But with her mom being a former Nebraska volleyball player and the current Parkview Christian coach and her older sister, Bethany, playing in high school, volleyball eventually wound up winning out.

"I ended up loving volleyball a lot," said Mertens, a 5-foot-10 senior standout who's led Parkview to its first Frontier Conference Tournament championship and a 16-11 record heading into district play next week.

Click to view story in Lincoln Journal Star

FIRTH - Courtney VanGroningen has a couple of state records on her volleyball resume but one glaring absence before Thursday.

The Sterling senior holds Class D-2 state record for kills in a season (554 in 2008) and kills in one match (50 in 2008). Now, for the first time in her career, she'll get to play in the state volleyball tournament next week in Grand Island.

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Coach: Rachel Culwell
2010 record: 14-17
Returning letter winners: Nataleigh Korte, 5-9, Sr., L; Mycah Ward, 5-8, Sr., OH; Becca Gronewold, 5-9, Sr., RS; Alayna Kavanaugh, 5-10, Jr., S; Dani Anderson, 5-8, Jr., S; Michaela Bubak, 5-11, Jr., MB; Esther Kelly, 5-8, Jr., L; Jenna Humphrey, 6-0, So., OH. Others to watch: Taylor Workman, 6-1, Jr., MB; Anne Chapin, 5-10, Jr.
Outlook: The ingredients are there to develop into a potential top 10 team in C-1. Humphrey and Workman, a starter at Lincoln Southeast last season, provide a tall and powerful 1-2 punch at the net. Kavanaugh and Anderson are experienced setters, and both Bubak and Ward saw meaningful playing time a year ago.