With volleyball expectations so high at Papillion-La Vista South, the top-ranked Titans were fired up for their season opener Thursday night against visiting Omaha Burke.

Maybe a little too fired up.

Papio South struggled to win the first set but eventually worked things out, sweeping the No. 10 Bulldogs 27-25, 25-13, 25-18. The Titans entered the match ranked No. 1 in the Nebraska Top 10 and No. 5 nationally by prepvolleyball.com.

“We were a little shaky at the start,'' Papio South coach Gwen Egbert said. “I think maybe we were a little too ‘up', because we were making too many mistakes.''

Burke, coming off a 27-win season, showed no sign of nerves at the start of the match. The Bulldogs led 22-19 and 23-21 late in the first set before the Titans battled back.

The score was tied at 24 and 25 before sophomore Amber Rolfzen smashed a pair of kills to close out the set for Papio South. The Nebraska recruit led the Titans with eight kills in that opening set and a team-high 15 for the match.

“The first set wasn't too good for us,'' Amber Rolfzen said. “I think we were a little too high, because we've been looking forward to the start of the season so much.''

Papio South posted a more methodical win in the second set. The Titans led 9-4 and 18-8 before eventually winning it on another kill by Rolfzen.

The Bulldogs stayed close early in the third set, but Papio South's superior height eventually took its toll. The Titans went with 6-foot-3 (Amber Rolfzen), 6-3 (her twin sister Kadie) and 6-2 (senior Lillian Schonewise) across the front line while Burke's tallest starter was 5-10.

“Their height is going to give a lot of people problems,'' Bulldogs first-year coach Rick Hughes said. “But we've got a lot of athletic kids and I was proud of the way we hung in there, especially in that first game.''

An ace by junior Lauren Poulicek ended the match, securing the first of perhaps many wins for the powerful Titans.

“Overall, this was a good start for us,'' Egbert said. “I thought everybody had their moments tonight, and I give credit to Burke for coming out and playing us tough.''

Sophomore Kelly Hunter had 12 kills and 23 set assists for the Titans while Kadie Rolfzen chipped in 11 kills. Schonewise, a University of California recruit who recently transferred to Papio South from Lawrence, Kan., had six kills in her Titans debut.

Junior Nicole Walker led Burke with 10 kills.

Both teams will return to action Friday in the 16-team Bellevue Invitational.

Om. Burke (0-1)................25 13 18

Papillion-LVS (1-0).....................27 25 25

OB (kills-aces-blocks): Marissa Johnson 1-0-0, Nicole Walker 10-0-0, Kathryn VonKerens 2-0-0, Lara Phillips 1-1-0, Emily Jensen 1-0-0, Dani Bird 5-0-0, Kelcy Sorensen 4-0-0.

PLVS: Lauren Poulicek 0-1-0, Megan Stroyek 6-0-0, Amber Rolfzen 15-2-0, Kadie Rolfzen 11-0-2, Kirsten Hudgens 1-1-0, Kelly Hunter 12-1-1, Lillian Schonewise 6-0-0, Kylee Meinzer 0-1-0, Rachel Nelson 1-0-0.

Set assists: OB, 20 (Johnson 20); PLVS 45 (Hunter 23, Hudgens 18, A. Rolfzen 3, Schonewise 1).

Contact the writer:

444-1350, mike.patterson@owh.com

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