Omaha Skutt volleyball sets record with 7th straight state title
OMAHA, Neb. (BVM) — It was Oct. 9 and the six-time defending state champion Omaha Skutt SkyHawks had just gone 1-3 in their own volleyball tournament, with all three close losses coming against teams ranked among the top 25 in the country. Skutt head coach Renee Saunders felt like something was off and she couldn’t help but wonder whether this team would be able to reach the same level of success as the previous six.
“I was like, ‘Man, are we gonna get this team there?” Saunders said. “That was kind of that moment. I think every October it happens. It never fails. It’s always like something’s not clicking like I expect; it’s not there yet.”
Whatever it was the SkyHawks needed to start clicking, they found it after that Saturday in early October. Skutt didn’t lose a match the rest of the season and Saunders’ concerns were quelled as her team ran off 12 straight victories to make state history. With a four-set victory over Norris on Nov. 6, the SkyHawks became the only Nebraska high school volleyball program to ever win seven consecutive state championships, breaking the record of six they had previously shared with Shickley (1987-92) and Bellevue West (1992-97).
“I still can’t believe it,” Saunders said. “It’s absolutely surreal. I remember when I was in high school and Bellevue West was on their run and so I saw another team (win six) and I never thought in a million years I would be a part of a program that did it. For me, it’s very humbling to walk in the gym and see those banners up with seven in a row.”
Every season presents its own challenges and this one was no different for the SkyHawks even though the end result was much the same as the previous six. One of the biggest challenges was filling the void left by seven graduated seniors, including the All-American tandem of Allie Gray and Lindsay Krause. But even with star setter Gray now at Arizona State and Krause at Nebraska after setting numerous school records, Skutt was by no means devoid of talent. For Saunders, it was simply a matter of getting the most out of the talent she had coming back.
“I knew we had great kids behind that class but a lot of them were taking on different roles or they had different responsibilities,” Saunders said. My goal was to maximize each of our kids’ abilities and maximize our team. I used that kind of as my guide throughout the whole year. … And I knew that we would have a lot of growth because everybody was so new but this team was fun. This was a really, really fun team to coach and help get to that point.”
By the end of the season, it was the SkyHawks’ balance that helped bring them back to the point of becoming state champs. With senior Abigail Schomers stepping into the lead setter role and running the offense, four players had over 200 kills, including junior Ivy Leuck (283) and seniors Ava Heyne (261) and Grace Kremer (212), all of whom helped take the opponent’s attention away from junior Michigan recruit Morgan Burke, who led the way with a team-high 432 kills while also contributing the second-most digs (339).
“Last year we had good balance as well but we knew that if it was crunch time we could get the ball to Lindsay and there was a good chance she was going to terminate,” Saunders said. “This year, Morgan Burke stepped up as one of those kids that if it’s crunch time, give her the ball and she could terminate. By the end of the season, we had four or five kids doing that. I really think that the balance that we had made a huge difference.”
The SkyHawks also had an unwavering focus down the stretch which helped them overcome that little bit of early-October adversity. And like many great dynasties, Skutt seems to know how to flip the switch when it matters the most, and that’s what happened when the postseason arrived.
“When it comes to the postseason these kids just get so excited,” Saunders said. “They’re like a different team. … They were super focused, they were super fun and they were super excited. It was almost like they had a breath of fresh air breathed into them.”
With seven straight Class B state titles under their belts, the SkyHawks stand alone with a state record that will be hard for any other school to imagine breaking — especially since Skutt might not be done adding on. Saunders doesn’t feel as much pressure now that the SkyHawks aren’t chasing history and instead everyone will be chasing their record for years to come. But that doesn’t mean the coach hasn’t already been thinking about what it’s going to take to win it all again in 2022.
“It’s my job to get my team to that point so of course it’s crossed my mind,” Saunders said. “I thought No. 6 and No. 5 were probably the most stressful because we had Lindsay and AG and we had a great team and it was almost like people just expected us to win whereas this year I don’t think they expected us to win because we lost all those people. Next year I don’t feel any stress either because the record has already been broken. Now it’s just a matter of can we keep it going.”
