5-Star Performer: O’Neill powers SEM volleyball to Class D1 state title

LINCOLN, Neb. (KSNB) - Mikah O’Neill was a force at the NSAA State Volleyball Tournament.

The senior middle for Sumner-Eddyvill-Miller helped the Mustangs cruise through the Class D1 bracket as the No. 6 seed. It culminated into a state championship appearance, which inevitably blossomed into the program’s first state title since 1981.

O’Neill had 33 kills in the state championship match and 83 for the entire tournament, tops in the entire state regardless of classification.

“I feel like I needed to get that game and that momentum started, knowing, ‘Hey, girls, we can do this,’” O’Neill said Saturday after the state title win. “Then finding those spots and telling my teammates, ‘Hey, go to this spot I promise it’s going to work.’ We took that and just took it to our advantage. I had amazing setters who set me the ball and gave me it to hit those spots. It was just great.”

“She is just a baller,” SEM volleyball coach Tammy Kenton added. “She just loves the game and when you love the game and you’re willing to listen and place the ball, it’s just very well-deserving.”

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