PAPILLION – It’s that time of year when weird and creepy things happen, and that’s exactly the kind of feel this year’s Metro Conference Tournament feels like as Papillion-LaVista and Omaha Marian advanced to the championship match this evening.
In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if Lindsay Lohan and Jaime Lee Curtis show up to Papillion-LaVista High School for the championship match Thursday night, because the match definitely has a body-switching, “Freaky Friday” feel about it.
Not only did the same two teams play for the conference title a year ago, but there is a very eerie role-reversal thing going on in the 2015 version of the match compared to the 2014 match. Consider:
- When the two teams played for the 2014 title, it was the fifth time the two teams had faced each other. Thursday night’s match will be the fifth time the two teams have played each other this year.
- In 2014, Papillion-LaVista dominated the regular season and beat Omaha Marian in all four matches prior to beating the Crusaders again in the tournament final. This year, it is Marian which was dominated Class A and has defeated Papillion-LaVista in all four previous matches.
- Last year, Papillion-LaVista entered the final ranked #1 and Marian was #3. This year? You guess it – Marian is #1 and Papillion-LaVista #3.
- Last year, Omaha Marian was just getting one of its best players back from a major knee injury prior to the conference tournament. This year Papillion-LaVista lost one of its best players to a major knee injury prior to the conference tournament.
The stage was set for a rematch after Omaha Marian defeated Bellevue West 2-0 in its quarterfinal match and the Crusaders then defeated Millard West by an identical 2-0 score in the semifinals. Millard West reached the semifinals with a 2-0 win over Millard South in the quarterfinals.
Papillion-LaVista, meanwhile, swept Omaha Westside in the quarterfinals then staged a late rally to sweep Papillion-LaVista South 2-0 in the semifinals, winning the second set 26-24. Earlier, Papillion-LaVista South defeated Millard North 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
