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 3^rd 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 5^th, as did Nebraska Juniors 18 Black, which lost to All Iowa Attack 25-19, 25-19 in the quarterfinals. River City Juniors 181 finished 9^th, 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 5^th

River City Juniors 131 – tied for 5^th

VCNebraska 13 Black – 10^th

River City Juniors 132 – 16^th

River City Juniors 121 – 18^th

14 Club (20 teams)

Nebraska Elite 14 Nexus – 2^nd

VCNebraska 14 Elite – tied for 3^rd

Nebraska Elite 14 Havoc – tied for 3^rd

VCNebraska 14 Black – tied for 7^th

VCNebraska 14 Blue – 11^th

Nebraska Juniors 14 Red – 12^th

VCNebraska 14 White – 13^th

Nebraska West 14’s – 14^th

River City 141 – 18^th

15-16 Open (17 teams)

VCNebraska 15 Elite – tied for 5^th

Nebraska Juniors 16 Black – 9^th

River City Juniors 161 – 10^th

Nebraska Juniors 15 Black – 11^th

Nebraska Juniors 16 Red – 12^th

VCNebraska 16 Elite – 14^th

15 Club (24 teams)

VCNebraska 15 Black – 8^th

VCNebraska 15 Blue – tied for 9^th

Nebraska Elite 15 Fuego – tied for 9^th

River City 151 – tied for 11^th

TeamMagic 151 Qwest 13^th

VCNebraska 15 White – 19^th

River City Juniors 152 – 23^rd

16 Club (12 teams)

VCNebraska 16 Black – 3^rd

Nebraska Juniors 14 Black – 5^th

River City Juniors 162 – 7^th

VCNebraska 16 Blue – 10^th

17-18 Open (25 teams)

Nebraska Juniors 17 Black – tied for 3^rd

Nebraska Juniors 18 Black – tied for 5^th

Nebraska Elite 18 Freak Show – tied for 5^th

River City Juniors 181 – 9^th

River City Juniors 171 – tied for 11^th

Nebraska Juniors 17 Red – 16^th

VCNebraska 18 Elite – 18^th

River City Juniors 182 – 19^th

Nebraska Juniors 18 Red – 24^th

17 Club (16 teams)

Club Legacy 17 ROX – tied for 7^th

River City Juniors 172 – tied for 7^th

VCNebraska 17 Black – 11^th