OMAHA – At last year’s Millard North Invitational, Omaha Skutt got out of the gates sluggishly, losing two of its first four matches, before going on to win the championship. There was no sluggish start – or losses – for the Skyhawks this year on the first day of the tournament.
Omaha Skutt, 9-1 and ranked #1 in Class B, opened the tournament with a 25-8, 25-15 win over Class A #9 Grand Island and then took a 25-4, 25-14 win over Kearney before completing pool play with a 22-25, 25-19, 25-20 win over Class A #10 Millard North.
By going 3-0, Omaha Skutt won Pool A while Millard North finished second with wins over Grand Island (25-12, 25-19) and Kearney (25-18, 25-16). Grand Island topped Kearney 25-10, 25-20 to finish third in the pool.
For Millard North, Sophia Siciunas had 10 kills in the loss to Omaha Skutt while Elisa Bauman had eight against Grand Island and Jayden Thies had six against Kearney.
In Pool B, Lincoln East pulled the only upset on Friday with a 25-16, 22-25, 25-23 win over Millard West. The Wildcats, however, bounced back with a 25-18, 25-10 win over Millard South and 25-23, 25-17 win over Lincoln North Star to win the pool. North Star was able to capture second with a 20-25, 25-13, 25-16 win over Lincoln East and a 25-16, 25-10 sweep of Millard South.
Lincoln East was able to hold on for third place in the pool with a 23-25, 25-20, 26-24 win over Millard South.
Bracket play is set to being at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Here is the schedule:
Millard North Invitational Quarterfinals
9 a.m. – Omaha Skutt (9-1) vs. Millard South (2-8)
9 a.m. – Grand Island (3-3) vs. Lincoln North Star (4-4)
10 a.m. – Millard North (6-4) vs. Lincoln East (6-4)
10 a.m. – Kearney (2-3) vs. Millard West (5-2)
11 a.m. – Omaha Skutt/Millard South winner vs. Grand Island/Lincoln North Star winner
11 a.m. – Millard North/Lincoln East winner vs. Kearney/Millard West winner
1:30 p.m. – Championship match