Nebraska Elite 14 Nexus Pulls Upset, Places 2nd at Midwest JVA Challenge


DES MOINES – It wasn’t a surprise that a 14s team from Nebraska Elite was playing for the 14s championship in the 2015 Midwest JVA Challenge last Sunday. The fact it was Elite 14 Nexus – the #8-ranked 14s team according to Nebraska Prep Volleyball – was a little bit of a shocker.
Elite 14 Nexus knocked off top-ranked Elite 14 Havoc 25-23, 24-26, 15-8 in the semifinals before falling 25-20, 19-25, 15-3 in the championship match to Iowa Rockets 14 Red. The second-place finish by Nexus was the best showing among all Nebraska teams in the tournament.
Nexus won its first three matches in pool play on Saturday with straight-set wins over VCNebraska 14 White, Adrenaline 14 ROX and Kokoro 142 to reach the Gold Bracket quarterfinals on Sunday.
After a convincing 25-12, 25-14 win over Pentagon 14 ROX, Nexus pulled the upset over its fellow club team in an emotionally charged match. Despite falling in the championship match, Nexus was the only team to take a set from Iowa Rockets 14 Red on the weekend.
The showcase division of the tournament was the 17-18 Open division, which featured some of the top teams and players in the nation. EI Xtreme 18 Elite won the championship with a 26-24, 23-25, 15-8 victory over All Iowa Attack 18 Red. Gatorade National Player of the Year and Nebraska recruit Mikaela Foecke owned the third set for EI Xtreme and had an ace block and monster kill of an overpass for the final two points of the match.
All Iowa Attack, led by Creighton recruits Jaali Winters and Megan Bellanger, had actually defeated EI Xtreme in two sets in a crossover match on Saturday.
Nebraska Juniors 17 Black finished tied for 3rd in the division after winning a heart-pounding 21-25, 25-21, 17-15 match over Nebraska Elite 18 Freak Show in the quarterfinals. Nebraska Juniors 17 Black then dropped a 12-25, 25-21, 15-9 decision to All Iowa Attack in the semifinals.
Elite Freak Show finished tied for 5th, as did Nebraska Juniors 18 Black, which lost to All Iowa Attack 25-19, 25-19 in the quarterfinals. River City Juniors 181 finished 9th, with its only loss coming in a 25-23, 21-25, 20-18 loss to Wildcat Juniors 18 Black in a challenge match for the Gold Bracket on Sunday morning.
Below is a full list of how Nebraska teams did at the 2015 Midwest JVA Challenge, going from youngest to oldest and from most competitive divisions to least competitive.
2015 Midwest JVA Challenge
13 Club (18 teams)
VCNebraska 13 Elite – tied for 5th
River City Juniors 131 – tied for 5th
VCNebraska 13 Black – 10th
River City Juniors 132 – 16th
River City Juniors 121 – 18th
14 Club (20 teams)
Nebraska Elite 14 Nexus – 2nd
VCNebraska 14 Elite – tied for 3rd
Nebraska Elite 14 Havoc – tied for 3rd
VCNebraska 14 Black – tied for 7th
VCNebraska 14 Blue – 11th
Nebraska Juniors 14 Red – 12th
VCNebraska 14 White – 13th
Nebraska West 14’s – 14th
River City 141 – 18th
15-16 Open (17 teams)
VCNebraska 15 Elite – tied for 5th
Nebraska Juniors 16 Black – 9th
River City Juniors 161 – 10th
Nebraska Juniors 15 Black – 11th
Nebraska Juniors 16 Red – 12th
VCNebraska 16 Elite – 14th
15 Club (24 teams)
VCNebraska 15 Black – 8th
VCNebraska 15 Blue – tied for 9th
Nebraska Elite 15 Fuego – tied for 9th
River City 151 – tied for 11th
TeamMagic 151 Qwest 13th
VCNebraska 15 White – 19th
River City Juniors 152 – 23rd
16 Club (12 teams)
VCNebraska 16 Black – 3rd
Nebraska Juniors 14 Black – 5th
River City Juniors 162 – 7th
VCNebraska 16 Blue – 10th
17-18 Open (25 teams)
Nebraska Juniors 17 Black – tied for 3rd
Nebraska Juniors 18 Black – tied for 5th
Nebraska Elite 18 Freak Show – tied for 5th
River City Juniors 181 – 9th
River City Juniors 171 – tied for 11th
Nebraska Juniors 17 Red – 16th
VCNebraska 18 Elite – 18th
River City Juniors 182 – 19th
Nebraska Juniors 18 Red – 24th
17 Club (16 teams)
Club Legacy 17 ROX – tied for 7th
River City Juniors 172 – tied for 7th
VCNebraska 17 Black – 11th