Athlete of the Week: North Star’s Elsie Schmidt

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — On Wednesday, Lincoln North Star volleyball rounded out their regular season with a 3-1 win over Elkhorn South, winning their third consecutive district title.

The victory also enshrined the team into program history, being the first group to reach the state playoffs in three seasons in a row.

“We feel confident with the group we have knowing that like we do feel like we have as good a shot as anybody if we’re playing our brand of volleyball that we can go out and win,” Gators’ head coach Jeremiah Kroll said.

Recording 15 sweeps during the regular season, this North Star roster is filled with talent all across the court. But one senior, Elsie Schmidt, was a key to the Gators’ success.

“It feels great to win the district championship,” Schmidt said. “And it just feels great that we did it as a team and we did it so well.”

During the team’s regular season, the outside hitter led the team with a career-high 323 kills, averaging almost four per set, and logging 22 blocks and 171 digs.

Schmidt, who is currently committed to playing college volleyball at Lock Haven University, believes that her current competition is helping prepare her for collegiate play.

“I definitely think that the competition that we go through here will definitely prepare me to go to college,” Schmidt said. “Some of the teams that we’re seeing here are at the competitive level of a college team. So, I definitely think I’m ready to go to my next level and play there.”

The highly touted outside hitter will look to guide the Gator’s to the championship match for the second consecutive season, falling to Papillion La Vista South in three sets last year. The team’s first playoff test will be against a good Lincoln Southwest team on Wednesday. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.