LINCOLN - The Knights find a way to keep on winning!

Norfolk Catholic (24-4) returned to Pinnacle Bank Arena after missing the trip to state in 2023 and faced a doozy of a first round matchup.

The Knights, 4th in seeding, prepared for the 5th seeded Yutan Chieftains (28-1) in the first round at state. The Chieftains had only dropped five sets all season long entering the match.

Norfolk Catholic set the tone early, as Sidona Wattier led the offense out of the gate. The Knights pulled away late in the first set 25-19.

Yutan bounced back quickly in set two, spreading the attack between Mylee Tichota and Gabi Tederman.

Yutan pulled ahead and fought off a Norfolk Catholic rally to even the match with a 25-22 win.

The Knights regained momentum in set three, starting strong and holding off the Chieftains with some great defense set up by Danielle Carney and Hayden Brummer. The Knights won 25-22.

Set four continued the trend of "hot starts", as Yutan came right back and led for most of the way, en route to a 25-22 victory in the fourth.

It all came down to set five, where both squads traded punches early. Norfolk Catholic got on a little bit of a run and stretched the run into a 15-9 win over Yutan.

Sidonia Wattier and Ava Wemhoff led the Knight's offense, tallying 13 kills each. Hayden Brummer added 6 kills and 7 blocks.

The Chieftains were led by Mylee Tichota (16 kills) and Gabi Tederman (18 kills), with Amelia Dieckman adding in 9 kills.

This was just the second loss of the season for Yutan and it ended the Chieftains season, as the Knights move on to a date with the Lincoln Lutheran Warriors at 1 pm on Friday.