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It was another overpowering season for Papillion-La Vista South, which once again dominates the All-Nebraska volleyball team.

Three Titans — twin sisters Kadie and Amber Rolfzen and Kelly Hunter — repeat as first-team selections. That trio helped Papio South finish undefeated for the second straight year, secure the school's second Class A crown and earn a No. 1 rating from two national websites.

The Rolfzens are three-time members of the first team, while Hunter is a two-time first-teamer. All three juniors have orally committed to Nebraska.

While she changed schools this season, Lauren Sieckmann also makes the All-Nebraska first team for the third straight year. The fourth Husker recruit on the first team, she made the squad as a sophomore and junior at Omaha Marian and as a senior at Elkhorn South.

Newcomers to the first team this year are Cassie Effken of Lincoln Pius X, Katie Brand of Grand Island Central Catholic and Kate Elman of Marian. Effken moves up from last year's second team while Brand was a third-team selection last season.

On the second team are Nicole Walker of Omaha Burke, Janaya Fox of Bellevue East, Katie Hughes of Seward, Lauren Smith of Lincoln Pius X, Alyssa Frauendorfer of Humphrey, Jordan Chohon of Columbus Scotus and Bria Rasmussen of Grand Island.

Third-team selections are Lexi Elman and Maggie Heim of Marian, Michaela Schimmer of Grand Island Northwest, Lauran Hellbusch of Scotus, Christina Silver of Grand Island, Michaela Mestl of Kearney Catholic and Lea Sack of Pius.

Selections for the All-Nebraska and all-class teams are based on observations by World-Herald staff writers and nominations by coaches.

Kadie Rolfzen

The 6-foot-3 outside hitter reached the 400-kill mark for the third straight year. She had 443 as a freshman, 405 as a sophomore and 402 as a junior.

She led the 37-0 Titans in five offensive categories — kills, hitting efficiency (.440), aces (53), blocks (36) and digs (382).

"Every player on our team had a role," Papio South coach Gwen Egbert said. "Hers was to be a presence out there and be as consistent as possible."

Egbert points to one of the Titans' toughest matches of the season as proof of how much Rolfzen meant to the team. Against nationally ranked St. James Academy of Lenexa, Kan., Rolfzen got off to a slow start but finished with 18 kills as the Titans rallied for the five-set win.

"We lost the first set and Kadie knew that she wasn't playing well," Egbert said. "But she got refocused and finished with a bunch of kills and digs for us that night."

Rolfzen also had a solid state tournament with 21 kills in a first-round match against Millard West, 17 in a semifinal win over Marian and 15 in the championship match against Burke.

"She plays hard, and she works to motivate the other players," Egbert said. "I'm glad she's on our side."

Amber Rolfzen

The other half of the hard-hitting Rolfzen combination, Amber also had an outstanding season for the Titans. She finished with 312 kills, 52 blocks and 289 digs.

"The thing I saw from Amber this season is that she played harder for a longer period of time," Egbert said. "She was pushing herself hard every point and really getting after it."

Like her sister, Amber also excelled when Papio South needed her the most. She had 24 kills in the victory over St. James Academy and 27 kills in three state tourney matches.

Egbert said Amber also has made herself more of a complete player.

"She's always hit the ball hard and been a great blocker," Egbert said. "But she moved the ball around more offensively and has worked hard on her defense and serving."

The coach said the improvement Amber made helped the Titans become even more dominant than the undefeated team of 2010.

"We didn't lose too many sets last year (five) but a lot of teams were scoring 20 points against us," she said. "You didn't see that very often this season."

Kelly Hunter

The combination hitter and setter posed a double threat for Papio South. She finished the season with 190 kills and 677 assists.

"I think the biggest improvement Kelly made was to her setting," Egbert said. "She put the ball in the same spot more consistently."

Hunter, who had 136 more assists than in 2010, also worked to make sure opponents couldn't predict where that set-up pass was going.

"It wasn't just about our outside hitters," Egbert said. "Our middle attack was there this year, and Kelly worked hard on that."

Egbert also complimented Hunter on her defense.

"She was able to dig more balls and keep more points alive," the coach said. "Kelly contributes to the team in a lot of ways."

One of Hunter's best matches came in a state tournament semifinal against Marian. She had 18 assists, 13 kills and eight digs in the three-set sweep.

Egbert said the return of all three first-team selections gives the Titans a solid nucleus in their quest for a three-peat.

"To be able to repeat as champions felt good because I know we played well all season," she said. "We responded to the challenge, and we'll have another challenge ahead next season."

Lauren Sieckmann

The desire to graduate early and get a jump on her career at Nebraska led to Sieckmann's transfer from Marian to Elkhorn South for her senior year.

But a change in scenery didn't diminish her game as she once again put up big numbers. The 5-11 setter led the Storm in kills with 428 while helping 28-6 Elkhorn South nail down its first Class B state tournament berth.

Sieckmann also helped the Storm in other ways with 209 assists, 62 aces and 32 blocks.

"She obviously took us to a different level," Elkhorn South coach Briana Ritter said. "And you would have never known she was a newcomer on our team because she fit in right from the start."

Ritter said an early-season tournament at Grand Island Central Catholic showed her what Sieckmann could do. The Storm defeated the host Crusaders — the defending Class C-1 champion — along with Class B power Grand Island Northwest.

"That proved what kind of impact player she could be," the coach said. "She elevated the play of our whole team."

Ritter said she has no doubt that Sieckmann will be able to make a contribution with the Huskers.

"I think she still has a lot of room for growth at NU," Ritter said. "Lauren is only going to get better."

Cassie Effken

Teaming with 6-4 Creighton recruit Lauren Smith and 6-foot Drake recruit Scarlett Howerter, the 6-2 Effken gave the Class B champion Thunderbolts an imposing front line.

Effken led Pius in kills (341), hitting efficiency (.448) and blocks (83).

"She's been our stalwart for three years," Thunderbolts coach Jake Moore said. "She came up big for us time after time."

While she had 81 fewer kills than the previous season, Moore said there was a reason for that.

"We were more evenly balanced as a team and opponents had to respect a lot of our players," he said. "We spread it around more this season."

At the state tournament, Effken had a match-high 14 kills in a first-round win over Beatrice and a team-high 12 in a semifinal victory over Elkhorn South. In the championship against Grand Island Northwest, the Drake recruit had 14 more kills to give her 40 for the tourney.

"Cassie not only was a solid player for us, she was an important leader," Moore said. "She led by example in practices and in matches, and every good team needs someone like that."

Katie Brand

The Kansas State recruit helped Grand Island Central Catholic reach the state tournament for the 26th time, though the Crusaders fell short of their 10th title.

The 6-1 Brand was an important member of the 2010 championship team, but many of those players graduated. Entering this season, she was the steadying presence for a young team that still managed to finish 31-4.

"Katie was our driving force," longtime coach Sharon Zavala said. "For us to be successful this season, we needed to be creative and get Katie as many touches as we could."

Brand led the team in kills with 387 kills and assists with 501. She had 57 kills and 59 assists in three state tourney matches.

Zavala, the state leader in career victories, said Brand is one of the best players she has coached.

"She's definitely the most versatile player that I've ever had, and the most developed skills-wise," she said. "She can hit, she can set, she can play defense. She just did it all for us."

Kate Elman

Marian's libero was a big reason why the Crusaders went back to the state tournament for the 26th time, reaching the Class A semifinals before losing to Papillion-La Vista South.

Elman, a Creighton recruit, had 554 digs this season. She averaged 4.61 per set and also had 45 aces and 100 assists.

"Her anticipation and her high volleyball IQ made her an important part of our team," Marian coach Rochelle Rohlfs said. "She had this ability of knowing where the ball was going before it was hit."

Rohlfs added that playing the unsung role of libero was never a problem for Elman, who always brought her "A" game.

"She practiced hard and she played hard, and she held her teammates accountable," Rohlfs said. "She raised the bar of our whole team."

Pius coach Jake Moore paid Elman a compliment after the Crusaders played the Thunderbolts during the regular season.

"He commented on how hard it was to beat her," Rohlfs said. "Jake said they couldn't find a way to miss her."

Contact the writer:

402-444-1350, mike.patterson@owh.com

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FIRST TEAM
Amber Rolfzen, Papillion-LVS, hitter, 6-3, junior
Kadie Rolfzen, Papillion-LVS, hitter, 6-3, junior
Kelly Hunter, Papillion-LVS, setter, 5-11, junior
Lauren Sieckmann, Elkhorn South, setter, 5-11, senior
Cassie Effken, Lincoln Pius X, middle, 6-2, senior
Katie Brand, Grand Island CC, setter/hitter, 6-1, senior
Kate Elman, Om. Marian, libero, 5-6, senior

SECOND TEAM
Nicole Walker , Om. Burke, hitter
5-9, senior, The Wyoming recruit finished the season with 340 kills while leading the school to its first-ever state tournament victory.
Janaya Fox, Bellevue East, hitter
6-1, senior, The Northwest Missouri recruit led Class A in kills with 605 and had 449 digs while leading her team to the state tourney.
Katie Hughes, Seward, hitter
5-11, senior, She finished the season with 529 kills and ended her Bluejays volleyball career with 1,120 kills and 1,130 digs.
Lauren Smith, Lincoln Pius X, middle
6-4, senior, The Creighton recruit had 295 kills and 66 blocks to help the Thunderbolts win the Class B state title.
Alyssa Frauendorfer, Humphrey, hitter
6-0, junior, The 6-foot junior had 441 kills, including 31 in the Class D-1 final, as the Bulldogs went unbeaten.
Jordan Chohon, Columbus Scotus, setter
5-11, senior, She had 792 assists and 108 kills to help the Shamrocks finish off a perfect season while claiming their 15th title.
Bria Rasmussen, Grand Island, libero
5-9, senior, She had 565 digs to help the Islanders reach the state tournament for the 16th time.

THIRD TEAM
Michaela Schimmer, Grand Island NW, hitter/setter
6-1, senior, She led the team in kills, hitting percentage, assists and aces for the Class B runner-up.
Lauran Hellbusch, Columbus Scotus, hitter
5-9, junior, She led the Class C-1 champion Shamrocks in kills with 376 and also had 51 aces.
Lexi Elman, Om. Marian, hitter
5-11, junior, , e came back from an injury to finish with 407 kills for the Crusaders.
Christina Silver, Grand Island, hitter
5-9, senior, She pounded 424 kills and had 338 digs to help the Islanders reach the state tourney.
Michaela Mestl, Kearney Catholic, hitter
5-6, junior, She had 297 kills, 321 digs and 58 aces for the Stars, who reached the Class C-1 final.
Maggie Heim, Om. Marian, setter/hitter
5-11, junior, The Ohio State recruit had 280 kills and dished out almost 500 assists for the Crusaders.
Lea Sack, Lincoln Pius X, libero
5-7, senior, She had 460 digs, 74 assists and 46 aces for the Class B champion Thunderbolts.