Recap of USAV & AAU National Championships
The 2014 club volleyball season came to an end today for teams in Nebraska with the conclusion of the USAV National Championships in Minneapolis.
As a result, the final Nebraska Prep Volleyball club team rankings have been posted.
When talking about the USAV & AAU tournaments, it is very important to delineate between the divisions in order to truly understand what the results mean. This easiest thing to do is compare the divisions of club play to divisions in college.
If you are competing in an Open division (either AAU or USAV), consider that like being NCAA Division I. If you are competing in USA or National (USAV) or Premier (AAU), consider that like being NCAA Division II. If you are playing American or Patriot (USAV) or Club or Classic (AAU) that is like being NCAA Division III or NAIA.
By looking at the divisions this way, it can help you better understand the caliber of the competition. However, it is important to note that there are some outstanding NCAA Division II, III or NAIA teams that absolutely could beat some NCAA Division I teams. Likewise, there are some outstanding teams competing in lower levels at the national championships that could compete fairly well in the Open division.
However, the true difference lies at the depth of the quality teams in each division. In Open division, there is never a free lunch. As you work your way into lower divisions, the more hit-and-miss the quality of teams.
Here is a little bit of what we learned from the results of both the AAU & USAV National Championships.
Nebraska Impact 141 Banzai may have wanted to do better than a 29th-place finish out of 32 teams in the 14 Open division in Minneapolis, but the team should be commended for tackling the challenge of playing against the best competition in the nation. It is our hope Banzai continues to seek out this level of competition in the future because it makes the team and its players better and ultimately raises the bar for volleyball in Nebraska.
In all, Nebraska Elite had the best showing in Minneapolis of Nebraska clubs, with three of its four teams reaching the gold bracket in their respective divisions – led by Revolution 151s tied for 3rd place in 15 National, and 141 Havoc (14 American) and 131 Thunder (13 National) each tying for 5th place in their respective divisions.
Nebraska ONE also had a nice showing with its 11 Shockerz team placing 5th in the 11 Patriot division and its 171 Lone Wolf team – featuring University of Nebraska recruit Tiani Reeves of Gothenburg – finishing tied for 5th in the 17 Patriot division.
Club Legacy ROX 131 was the only other Nebraska team to reach the gold bracket in its division in Minneapolis and finished tied for 5th in 13 American.
At the AAU National Championships in Orlando, Nebraska Juniors, Nebraska Elite and River City Juniors each had impressive showings.
In the 18 Open division, Nebraska Juniors 181 finished tied for 7th in the nation and University of Nebraska recruit Olivia Boender of Waverly was named to the AAU All-Tournament Team for 18 Open.
Nebraska Juniors also got championship-bracket performances from its 171 team, which finished tied for 9th overall and its 161 team fell just short of the championship bracket, but finished 11th overall.
River City Juniors got a 12th-place finish from its 181 team in the 18 Premier division and also a 3rd-place finish from its 171 team in the 17 Premier division. Gessica Gdowski – a UNO recruit from Fremont – and Omaha Westside’s Lauren Salerno were each named the the AAU 17 Premier All-Tournament Team. River City’s 161 team finished tied for 9th in the 16 Club division.
Nebraska Elite’s 171 KO team with Ohio State recruit Megan Wickey and Northwest Missouri State recruit Maddy Bruder finished 19th in the 17 Open division while its 161 Stealth team placed 25th in the 16 Open division. VCNebraska sent four teams to AAU Nationals, highlighted by a 15th-place finish from its 15 Elite team in 15 Club division and a 23rd-place finish from its 14 Black team in the 14 Club division.
Below is a listing of how all the Nebraska club teams finished in their respective national championships in order of age (oldest-to-youngest) and level of competition (most competitive-to-least competitive).
18s
Nebraska Juniors 181 – tied for 7th – 18 Open – AAU
River City Juniors 181 – 12th – 18 Premier – AAU
Premier 18 Gold – 9th – 18 USA – USAV
Premier 18 Black – tied for 31st – 18 National – USAV
Nebraska Impact 181 – tied for 35th – 18 National – USAV
River City Juniors 181 – 69th – 18 Club – AAU
Omaha Wave 181 – tied for 31st – 18 American – USAV
17s
Nebraska Juniors 171 – tied for 9th – 17 Open – AAU
Nebraska Elite 171 KO – 19th – 17 Open – AAU
Nebraska Juniors 172 – 50th – 17 Open – AAU
River City Juniors 171 – 3rd – 17 Premier – AAU
Premier 17 Gold – tied for 19th – 17 National – USAV
Nebraska Impact 171 – 38th – 17 American – USAV
Nebraska ONE Lone Wolf – 5th – 17 Patriot – USAV
16s
Nebraska Juniors 161 – tied for 11th – 16 Open – AAU
Nebraska Elite 161 Stealth – 25th – 16 Open – AAU
Nebraska Juniors 162 – tied for 75th – 16 Open – AAU
Premier 16 Gold – 9th – 16 National – USAV
Nebraska ONE 16 Charge – tied for 11th – 16 American – USAV
River City Juniors 161 – tied for 9th – 16 Club – AAU
VCNebraska 16 Elite – tied for 51st – 16 Club – AAU
River City Juniors 162 – 107th – 16 Club – AAU
15s
Nebraska Juniors 151 – tied for 18th – 15 Open – AAU
Nebraska Elite 151 Revolution – tied for 3rd – 15 National – USAV
Nebraska Juniors 152 – tied for 49th – 15 Premier – AAU
Premier 15 Gold – tied for 11th – 15 American – USAV
VCNebraska 15 Elite – tied for 15th – 15 Club – AAU
River City Juniors 151 – tied for 41st – 15 Club – AAU
River City Juniors 152 – tied for 45th – 15 Club – AAU
VCNebraska 15 Black – tied for 98th – 15 Club – AAU
Nebraska ONE 15 Fury – 9th – 15 Patriot – USAV
14s
Nebraska Impact 141 Banzai – 29th – 14 Open – USAV
Premier 14 Gold – 30th – 14 National – USAV
Nebraska Elite 141 Havoc – 5th – 14 American – USAV
VCNebraska 14 Black – tied for 23rd – 14 Club – AAU
River City Juniors 142 – tied for 30th – 14 Club – AAU
River City Juniors 141 – tied for 51st – 14 Club – AAU
13s
Nebraska Elite 131 Thunder – tied for 5th – 13 National – USAV
Premier 13 Gold – 10th – 13 National – USAV
Nebraska ONE 13 Titanium – 18th – 13 American – USAV
River City Juniors 131 – tied for 77th – 13 Club – AAU
12s
Premier 12 Gold – tied for 23rd – 12 National – USAV
Club Legacy 12 ROX – tied for 5th – 12 American – USAV
Premier 12 Black – tied for 23rd – 12 American – USAV
Nebraska Elite 121 Fusion – 25th – 12 American – USAV
River City Juniors 121 – tied for 5th – 12 Club – AAU
11s
Nebraska ONE 11 Shockerz – tied for 5th – 11 Patriot – USAV