LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – With 2025 NCAA Volleyball Championships in Kansas City this season, many Nebraska fans made plans ahead time given the driving distance to Lincoln. The Huskers lost in the regional final at home yet many fans still attended the final four.

“We just want to watch high-quality volleyball, grow the sport, and it’s a competitive sport, and there’s still four very good teams here,” Elizabeth Wright, a life-long Nebraska Volleyball fan, said.

Hundreds of Husker faithful dawned their red Nebraska gear as they entered the T Mobile Center on Thursday night with their team not playing. When asked about which team Nebraska fans would support, the majority of interviewees said Texas A&M.

“Part of me wants to watch Texas A&M win just because they beat us, and if they win, it gives us a little validation that we lost to the best team,” Karla Huneke, a Grand Island native and Nebraska Volleyball fan, said.

Overall, the surprise of Nebraska not making the NCAA Volleyball Championship didn’t impact Nebraskans from attending the final four.

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DICKINSON — A 70-year-old Dickinson man

charged with murder in 2024

was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years in prison after the charges against him were dropped to manslaughter. According to court documents, he will only be in custody for about four and a half more years.

Nine years were suspended from Jeffrey Powell’s sentence along with 532 days or about one and a half years for time already served.

Barring future developments, Powell will be incarcerated at the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for

the death of 59-year-old Christopher Volney Ische

for about four and a half more years.

That’s just months more than the four-year minimum sentence, according to the Stark County State’s Attorney Amanda Engelstad.

The initial incident happened on July 3, 2024. Police said the shooting, which resulted in Ische’s death, happened around 7 p.m. in a residential neighborhood in Dickinson after a verbal altercation. Police also said Powell had stayed on the scene of the shooting and talked with officers.

At the time of Powell’s arrest, police said they presumed Ische’s death was an isolated incident. He has been held at Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center (SWMCCC) since the incident with a $2 million bond.

Powell

was initially charged with a Class AA felony

, which could carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. On Tuesday, Dec. 16, Powell was found guilty of manslaughter of an adult victim, which is a Class B felony.

Powell pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge.

Engelstad said to The Press that the difference in charges was based on evidence presented in the trial and was an “appropriate resolution.”

Different sentencing rules applied to Powell, however, because of how North Dakota law interprets the use of a firearm in cases like this.

During the trial, the court found that Powell was a dangerous special offender pursuant to NDCC 12.1-32-09. This portion of North Dakota law allows the court to sentence above normal charges. In Powell’s case, a class B felony typically carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. With the dangerous special offender finding, the sentence can be a maximum of 20 years.

Engelstad said the State had argued for a sentence of 20 years.

“I’m disappointed in the outcome,” said Engelstad.

Additional terms of Powell’s sentence include five years’ supervised probation, along with no contact with the family of the deceased for the same length of time.

If Powell does not violate these terms, his probation will end in 2035. He is scheduled to be released from custody June 23, 2030.

A total of $775 in fees for Powell’s case, including criminal administration, facility admin and victim witness fees, were waived. He may be required to pay restitution. The State’s Attorney’s office has 60 days from the date of judgment to file an affidavit of restitution.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kylee Kitts scored 13 points, Jaloni Cambridge added 11 and No. 21 Ohio State rolled past Norfolk State 79-45 on Thursday night for its eighth straight win.

Dasha Biriuk added 10 points for Ohio State, which is 10-1 overall and 7-0 at home.

Kitts was 6 of 12 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks. Cambridge was 4-of-8 shooting and had eight rebounds and two steals.

Cambridge scored seven points in the first quarter as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 20-10 lead and built a 43-21 halftime advantage. Kitts and Cambridge each scored nine first-half points.

Ohio State outrebounded Norfolk State 55-32 and scored 21 points off 17 turnovers.

Jasha Clinton scored 18 points to lead Norfolk State (5-9). Ciara Bailey had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next

Norfolk State plays at Elon on Sunday.

Ohio State hosts Western Michigan on Mondahy.

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