LINCOLN – For the most part, everything went as expected during the pool play portion of the Lincoln Northeast Invitational on Friday as the top eight seeds all advanced to Saturday’s championship bracket.
Omaha Marian, Papillion-LaVista South and North Platte all went undefeated in three pool play matches Friday night to win their respective pools. Elkhorn South, which fell 23-25, 25-20, 25-15 to Papillion-LaVista South in pool play, earned the fourth seed in the championship bracket as the best performing second-place team in pool play.
Omaha Westside looks like it might be starting to find some rhythm midway through the season as the Warriors hung tough with North Platte in a 25-22, 25-19 loss and then knocked off Lincoln Pius X 25-22, 25-20 to go with a win over Norfolk. Westside will tangle with Elkhorn South in what should be a very interesting first-round match-up tomorrow with the winner likely to get Omaha Marian in the semifinals.
If the seeds hold true in tomorrow’s first round, it also will product another Papillion-LaVista South match against North Platte. The Titans have been something of a nemesis for North Platte the last two years. Between this year and last year, the Bulldogs have lost just eight matches, with four of those coming against the Titans. In fact, North Platte has not defeated Papio South since Oct. 2, 2004 – exactly 11 years ago today.
Lincoln Northeast Invitational Gold Bracket
All Matches on Saturday
Quarterfinals
9 a.m. – Omaha Marian vs. Lincoln Pius X
9 a.m. – Elkhorn South vs. Omaha Westside
9 a.m. – Papillion-LaVista South vs. Lincoln Southeast
9 a.m. – North Platte vs. Lincoln Northeast
Semifinals
10:15 a.m. – Omaha Marian/Lincoln Pius X winner vs. Elkhorn South/Omaha Westside winner
11:30 a.m. – Papillion-LaVista South/Lincoln Southeast winner vs. North Platte/Lincoln Northeast winner
Championship
2:15 p.m. – Semifinal winners.
Silver Bracket Round Robin Tournament Teams
Kearney, Millard South, Fremont, Norfolk.