Both the Nemaha Central and Royal Valley volleyball teams competed at the 3A State Tournament in Hutchinson on Friday night with the Thunder advancing while the Panthers were sent home. 

Nemaha Central finished the day 2-1 in pool play with wins over Beloit (27-25, 25-17) and Royal Valley (25-21, 25-22) but lost to Halstead (21-25, 23-25). Halstead finished atop the pool with the Thunder finishing runner-up. 

The Thunder are back at state for the first time in two years as they made the state title match in 2022 but lost in straight sets to Heritage Christian to finish runner-up. 

Royal Valley went 0-3 in pool play with the loss to Nemaha Central, Halstead (15-25, 21-25), and Beloit (22-25, 23-25). Hoisington and Neodesha were the top two finishes out of the other pool so the semifinals are set for Saturday afternoon at Hutchinson Sports Arena. 

It was only the third time in school history that Royal Valley made it to the state tournament. The last time the Panthers were there was in 2019 when they won the state title. 

Panthers have their season come to an end with a record of 32-13. 

Nemaha Central will face Hoisington while Halstead will face Neodesha with those matchups at 1:00 PM. The two winners will play for the state title while the two losers will play for third place. 

We'll have coverage of both Nemaha Central matchups live on 103.9 KNZA.