82 Teams Ready to Start Play in World Grand Prix High School Challenge
OMAHA - While the best teams and players from around planet Earth might be in Omaha competing for the 2015 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix title, another 82 of the best high school teams from Nebraska and surrounding states are also competing in Omaha this weekend.
The World Grand Prix High School Challenge begins Thursday and runs through Saturday and is a joint venture between Creighton and UNO. This competition team camp, in essence, replaces Creighton's team competition camp and provides high school athletes the chance to play in the morning and early afternoon and watch the FIVB action in the evening.
Matches for the high school challenge will be played at CenturyLink Center, Creighton University and UNO. A total of 50 high school varsity teams will be competing and the varsity division matches will all take place at either CenturyLink or Creighton University. Another 32 junior varsity teams are competing as well, with all those matches taking place at UNO.
For the varsity portion of the competition, teams are divided into four pools (two pools of 13 and two pools of 12). Over the course of Thursday and Friday, each team will play eight matches. Teams that finish in the top two of their respective pools will reach the Grand Prix Championship pools - which will be two pools of four teams. The winner of those two pools will then play at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday at CenturyLink for the team title. The junior varsity part of the camp will run in similar fashion.
Competition in all locations begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday. Nebraska Prep Volleyball will be covering the event from CenturyLink Center on Friday and Saturday.
You can download schedules here:
Here are how the four pools are divided in the varsity portion of the camp:
Pool A (12 teams)
Bellevue East
Central (SD)
Omaha Duchesne
Elkhorn South
Gothenburg
Lincoln Southwest
Lutheran High Northeast
Millard North
Papillion-LaVista
Seward
South Sioux City
Waverly
Pool B (13 teams)
Alliance
Bennington
Cody-Kilgore
Omaha Concordia
Gretna
Kearney Catholic
Lincoln Northeast
Luverne (IA)
Omaha Marian I
Omaha Mercy
Millard South
Underwood (IA)
West Plains
Pool C (12 teams)
Ankeny (IA)
Brookings (SD)
El Dorado
Fremont
Guardian Angels CC
Lincoln East
Minden
Nebraska City
Nishnabotna
Omaha Skutt
Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson
Omaha Westside
Pool D (13 teams)
Battle Creek
Bellevue West
Omaha Burke
Omaha Central
Elkhorn
Hastings
Norris
Millard West
Lincoln Pius X
Raymond Central
Omaha Roncalli
Steven Raiders
Wisner-Pilger
