While there will be a lot of great volleyball being played at various locations this weekend, what I find most intriguing is what will be going on at the Omaha South Invitational.
The South Invitational will feature seven metro-area teams as well as – drum roll please – Class C-2 #5 Guardian Angels Central Catholic from West Point. Guardian Angels will be the first Class C-2 team to face a Class A opponent this season and indications are that the Bluejays have a legitimate shot at winning it all.
Do you realize that Class C-1 teams this year have a combined record of 8-1 against Class A foes this year? Over the course of the season, Columbus Scotus has defeated Class A #9 North Platte; DC West, Ogallala and Kearney Catholic have each beaten Norfolk; Ogallala has split the two matches it has played with North Platte and Omaha Concordia and Wahoo each beat South Sioux City. Just last night, Gothenburg beat Kearney 2-0.
Also in the favor of Guardian Angels is that of the seven metro-area teams in the tournament, only Omaha North has a winning record at 11-6. Omaha Benson (9-9), Omaha Central (9-16), Omaha South (5-13), Omaha Northwest (4-15), Omaha Roncalli (4-12) and Omaha Bryan (0-18) round-out the field.
If I had to make a prediction, I would make Omaha Central the slight favorite over Guardian Angels to win the tournament. Regardless, it’s always fun to see what happens when a school like Guardian Angels (with an enrollment of 86) takes on a school like Omaha Central – enrollment of 1,955.