When Emma Kwapnioski donned her Nebraska high school volleyball official’s shirt in 2021, she wasn’t thinking about her mom. Or her grandfather. Or her great-grandfather. 

Nervousness blocked any thoughts of family legacy.

“I read through the case book and rules book three times (before the match),” she recalled.

That first match of her officiating career? A freshman reserve game at Lincoln East High School.

Emma’s anxiety heading into that first match illustrated an inherited commitment to the game — dedication that extends back more than 50 years, across four generations. It’s a feat one Nebraska School Activities Association leader called “remarkable.”

During that time, the job has grown more intense. Players are more athletic, upping the pace of play. Parents are more willing to be vocal when they disagree with a call. Sportsmanship often feels in short supply. 

But for members of this Nebraska volleyball family, the desire to serve supersedes the job’s headaches.

“Giving back to the game of volleyball is something that brings me great joy and fulfillment,” said Kim Kwapnioski, Emma’s mother, who is officiating at the state tournament that started Wednesday.

The family’s volleyball roots trace back to the game’s inaugural high school season. Mike Zastera, Emma’s great-grandfather, had a passion for athletics, having played basketball at Clarkson High School before quitting school to join the Navy during World War II. 

After his service, he spent most of his free time playing, coaching and officiating sports. His decades coaching basketball and baseball at Immanuel Lutheran in Columbus led the school to name the gym after him.

When volleyball became a state-sanctioned high school sport in 1972, Zastera jumped at the opportunity. He ended up officiating at the first state tournament that year in Scottsbluff.

“Grandpa loved sports. … Fall was volleyball, winter was basketball, spring and summer were baseball and track meets,” Kim recalled. 

By the time Kim earned her officiating credentials in 1994, her father, Don Janssen, had been officiating volleyball games for more than 10 years. 

In the early years of high school volleyball, officials worked as teams. When Zastera’s partner became ill, he asked Janssen, his son-in-law and Kim’s father, to work with him. 

It was a logical match. Janssen, a veteran of the Vietnam War, was a swimmer at Columbus High School in the 1960s and later officiated at swim meets. He and Zastera played volleyball in an adult league at the YMCA in Columbus. 

“When Mike said, ‘I need someone to help officiate,’ I raised my hand,” Janssen said. “I was so nervous that first night, but I got through it.”

The two-man team traveled to nearby towns — York, Albion and Spalding — often working three and four nights a week and some weekends. When not officiating, Janssen operated a construction company in Columbus.

“We’d ref Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Then on Saturday, we’d go again to referee a tournament,” Janssen said. “On the way home … we had our own critique sessions. We discussed the rules and questioned each other on different calls and tried to improve.”

Kim wanted to carry on the family tradition. She had played volleyball for Columbus High and continued playing in college, first at Westmar College in Iowa and then Wayne State College in Nebraska.

She got certified as a referee and joined her father and grandfather’s team. The trio worked together for nine years. The arrangement allowed two of them to work a match while the third person took a break, Kim said.

On the way home, the three of them critiqued each other’s work. Although Zastera was her worst critic, Kim said he was also her biggest supporter. He even filled in for her after she gave birth to her children, two of whom were born in the fall during the height of the volleyball season. 

Although the routine was tough at times, Janssen persevered for 30 years. Health issues forced him to retire in 2012, he said.

“It was time to hang up the whistle,” he said. “It was fun to see the torch passed on.”

Zastera was one of the first people Kim called when she learned she had been chosen to officiate at the state tournament in 2007 — an honor in officiating circles. She has worked every state tournament since then. Kim still has the red and yellow penalty cards her grandfather used, and she uses his chain to measure the distance from the floor to the top of the net. 

Like her mother, Emma spent much of her childhood in gymnasiums. Although she played volleyball through the eighth grade, she switched to softball in high school. By then, the family had moved to Norfolk.

Emma went on to earn degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa State before landing at the University of Nebraska Foundation, where she works as the director of development for the College of Law.

After settling in Lincoln, Emma’s mother and grandfather started applying gentle pressure in an effort to persuade her to take up officiating.

“It took a couple of years of convincing,” said Emma, now in her fourth year as a volleyball ref. She hopes to one day follow in her mother’s footsteps and officiate at the high school state tournament.

To become certified, aspiring officials must attend a rules meeting and achieve an 80% or better on an exam. To officiate at state tournaments, they are required to have five years of experience, officiate eight varsity matches a year, take an open- and closed-book test and attend a rules meeting. 

Having quality officials working volleyball matches is vitally important, said K.C. Belitz, volleyball coach at Columbus Lakeview High School. 

“Officials’ eyes have to move, and they have to process quickly,” he said. “There’s no question … the officiating crew is the third part of the competition. If we’re not all doing our job, (the athletes) are not having a good experience.”

Belitz, who has coached at Lakeview for 28 years, worked with all four generations of officials in the family. He called their officiating lineage “pretty unique” in the world of Nebraska high schools sports officiating.

Nate Neuhaus with the NSAA agrees.

“It’s pretty remarkable that a family is involved,” said Neuhaus, an assistant director who oversees officials.

Both Belitz and Neuhaus said officiating is more challenging today than it used to be.

Surveys conducted by the NSAA point to the challenges officials face across sports. In a 2024 survey, nearly 84% of respondents said there was a problem with sportsmanship. About 57% of officials said they had been verbally or physically assaulted. Nearly 64% said they had considered not officiating in the future.

“This is a service-oriented position that allows students to participate in sports,” Neuhaus said. “They need to have a love of sports … because they are giving up their personal time.”

Kim, who works as a field representative for U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, is especially giving of her time. Along with officiating, she serves on the board of the Nebraska High School Officials Association and helps train future officials for the NSAA.

“Kim wants to help others. … She’s dedicated a lot of time to helping new officials,” said Jeff Stauss, NSAA director of volleyball.

Kim said any time she can make a positive impact in the volleyball community, she is all for it. That can include some constructive critiquing for the most junior official in the family, said Emma, Kim’s daughter. 

Officials no longer work in pairs, but Kim and Emma have worked matches together, including recently at the Crossroads Conference Tournament in York.

“It’s easier to work with Mom,” Emma said. “I give her a look or she gives me a look. Plus, I get honest feedback … in a kind way.”

In spite of the challenges, Kim and Emma love what they do.

“When I get into the gym, it feels like bricks are thrown off my shoulders,” Kim said. “It’s an awesome opportunity.”