East football, West volleyball get wins in Saturday's West Nebraska All-Star Games (2024)

It might have been an exhibition, but it didn't seem to affect the amount of pad-popping on Saturday afternoon.

Both defenses dominated play as East held on for a 17-14 win to extend its streak to four games in the West Nebraska All-Star football game at Bearcat Stadium in Scottsbluff.

"It definitely was a physical game," said Mitchell's Nick Kuxhausen, who coached the West squad. "Both sides wanted to win it, you could tell it. Hopefully it's a game these kids remember and it definitely was a great game as a spectator."

There was a different kind of hitting later in the afternoon as West had 52 kills as a team and beat East in four of the five scheduled sets in the All-Star Game matchup at the Cougar Palace on the Western Nebraska Community College campus.

Scores were 25-15. 25-9, 27-29, 25-22, 15-8 as West won for the second time in the past three years.

"I think we did a great job communicating and playing with immaculate energy," said Ogallala's Marlee Ervin, who was named West's MVP and is headed to play volleyball at Southern Utah University. "We played together as a team and most importantly, we all had fun together."

Here is a look at some of the highlights from the two games:

Play of the Day

McCook's Brett Fraker gave the East squad the momentum and the lead back in a blink of an eye. After Chase County's Cooper Dillon's 11-yard run put West ahead 14-10 with 2 minutes, 8 seconds left in the third quarter, Fraker took the ensuing kickoff back 75 yards for the score.

He fielded the kick on a bounce, started up the middle then cut to his left and broke down the left sideline. He crossed midfield and West a chance at him at around their 30 but he managed to stay inbounds and race the rest of the way for the score.

"I saw a wide-open lane and thought, 'Yep, I'm going to take it," said Fraker, who is going to compete in jumping events and possibly the decathlon with the South Dakota State men's track program. "I got a good block from one of my guys back in McCook, just like we used to do it. I kept my balance and it was wide (open) green for me. It was beautiful.

"I wasn't planning on getting the ball," said Fraker, who also rushed for 52 yards in the game. "I thought he was going to kick it a lot further but (the ball) bounced right in my lap."

Call of the day

Ogallala's Jayden Curtis kicked a 22-yard field goal that tied the game at 17-17 with just over four minutes left in regulation. But East was called for running into the kicker on the play, and West took the penalty and the points off the board.

With the ball moved to just inside the East 3 on the penalty, west went for the win and Sidney's Luke Holly, who rushed for 53 yards, was stopped short of the end zone.

"Credit to the East. They made a good play and we didn't get it," Kuxhausen said . "You can look at (the call( 50-50. We could have easily taken the field goal and hoped to go into overtime. But in a game like this, you want to take that chance. And in any game, if we have two-and-a-half yards with a chance to win, we're going to take it."

Set of the Day

West rolled in the second set to take a 2-0 lead, but it appeared that East was going to get back into the match in the third game.

East took a 23-16 lead before West, behind the serving of Gering's Alex Gonzalez-Orozco, rallied to take the lead.

East then fought off two match points before taking a one-point lead. West then held off two game points, but was unsuccessful on a third.

Still, Gering's Amanda Cochran, who coached the West squad, liked what she saw from her players— not just in the set, but throughout the match overall.

Bayard's Danika Hassel led the West squad with 14 kills, while Chadron's Jaelynne McCartney and Scottsbluff's Ella Foote had 22 and 19 assists, respectively.

Gonzalez-Orozco had a team-high 16 digs.

"It was a lot of mental toughness through (the day)," Cochran said. "And even in the set we lost, (the players) just said, 'OK, we're still going.' They were in it (mentally). They were here to win. They are all super competitive kids."

End of a volleyball career?

Sidney's Karsyn Leeling is heading to Nebraska to continue her track career, but does it mean she is done with volleyball.

Or, could she even potentially try out for the Huskers at some point?

"I would love to because I have a passion (for volleyball)," said Leeling, who had eight kills and 13 digs in Saturday's game. "But in order to do that, I would probably have to learn a lot, get a lot better and train."

It might be more likely she just continues the sport at a club or intramural level in Lincoln.

"I definitely see (volleyball) still in my future," she said. "I just don't know if it will be at the Division I level."