2016 Midwest Volleyball Showcase Coming Oct. 8 to Sokol Arena
Berk Brown founded Nebraska Prep Volleyball in 2013. He has won 19 awards for his journalistic work during his career, including awards from both the Nebraska Press Association and Minnesota Newspaper Association. In the early 2000s he was a regular contributor for ESPN.com. He has covered, coached and been involved in volleyball for the past 24 years. You can reach him at Berk@NebraskaPrepVolleyball.com.
They say that imitation is the finest form of flattery. For those that were at Creighton University’s D.J. Sokol Arena on Sept. 26, 2012, to watch the top three high school volleyball teams in the nation compete in a triangular, you certainly understand the desire to want to recreate that event – or at least try to come close.
I sat in Sokol Arena that evening with my youngest daughter watching the triangular between Papillion-LaVista South, Louisville Assumption and Torrey Pines. Then energy in the arena that night was off the charts. And the volleyball that was being played – dear Lord – was at a level so far beyond what 99.9% of high school volleyball looks like.
Berk BrownFor three years that memory has been poking at me – almost daring me to try and make something similar happen. And, so, it’s with a great deal of excitement that I “officially” announce the worst-kept secret in Nebraska high school volleyball – the 2016 Midwest Volleyball Showcase on Saturday, Oct. 8, at the very same D.J. Sokol Arena that was rocking with high school volleyball almost exactly four years earlier.
I’m fully aware that we may never see anything like what we saw in 2012 again in our lifetime. That Papillion-LaVista South team was a once in a generation – or two – team in this state. John Tawa, founder of the national website PrepVolleyball.com (which is completely unrelated to NebraskaPrepVolleyball.com) deserves the thanks of our entire state for making that evening happen four years ago by bringing in two other national powerhouses.
In my opinion – even though we likely will never see a team like the 2012 Titans again – we shouldn’t have to wait for that once-in-a-lifetime team to come around to have a huge event that celebrates the high level of high school volleyball in this state. It’s something that should be celebrated every year. And that’s exactly what we are going to do. Make this an annual event.
Before I get to the schedule of matches for the day, there are a few other people that need to be talked about because they are truly the people that made this event happen.
I first floated this idea to Papillion-LaVista High School volleyball coach Kristen Lebeda-Svehla and athletic director Jason Ryan late in 2015 and we first met to discuss it, I believe, in December of 2015. There are several reasons for reaching out to Kristen and Jason, but the most important being that I have incredible respect for them personally and professionally. Not only are they two of the very best in the state at what they do, but also they are high character people with a strong belief in providing great opportunities for their athletes, teams and school. They embraced this idea from the very beginning and have been the driving forces behind this.
Coach Lebeda-Svehla deserves all the credit for getting Olathe Northwest of Kansas City to come up for the event. Ryan moved everything along smoothly from an administrative standpoint.
Administrators and coaches from all school involved have embraced the idea for this event from the very beginning. There is something to be said for coaches who are willing to play anyone, anywhere, any time if they think it’s good for the sport. This event has nothing but first-class coaches and programs and I’m personally honored to have been able to work with them to make this happen.
Here is the schedule for Oct. 8. All matches will be best-of-5.
10:30 a.m. – Omaha Northwest vs. Freeman
Noon – Omaha Skutt vs. Olathe Northwest
1:30 p.m. – Grand Island Northwest vs. Millard West
3:00 p.m. – Papillion-LaVista vs. Olathe Northwest
4:30 p.m. – Papillion-LaVista South vs. Kearney Catholic
Tickets will be sold at Sokol Arena the day of the matches and are good for the entire day. Prices will be $8 for adults and $5 for students. For those of you wondering, no, there is not a Husker football game that day.
It was important when setting up this event to come up with unique match-ups you wouldn’t see anywhere else. In Nebraska, redundancy in volleyball schedules is an issue. It’s not uncommon for teams to play each other multiple times a year, and in some cases even four or five times in a given year. And, frankly, I just think it’s cool to put Class A schools up against smaller schools. As I mentioned before, kudos to all these coaches for having the moxie to be willing to play anyone.
Here are a few thoughts about each of the matches.
I think Omaha Northwest could be one of the stories of the year. At one point last season the Huskies were 22-9 before losing their final two games of the Metro Conference Tournament and being upset in the first round of districts. This year, everyone returns. It has been 34 years since Omaha Northwest made it to state – and the Huskies are as poised as they have ever been to break that streak this year. Freeman is coming up from Class C-2 to take on a Class A school. The Falcons have been one of the most consistently success small-school programs in the state, having been to four consecutive state tournaments, including a state title in 2014.
Part of the reason why Olathe Northwest was not only willing to come to Omaha to play, but wanted to play two matches, is because nobody in the Kansas City area would schedule the Ravens. If that doesn’t tell you how good they are, I don’t know what will. The Ravens went 42-3 last year and were ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation last year by PrepVolleyball. Olathe Northwest does lose setter Tess Reid – who went to Loyola Maramount, but returns all of its attackers, including 6-foot-2 middle Tyanna Omazic, who is committed to Illinois. Olathe Northwest will take on both Omaha Skutt and Papillion-LaVista during the event. The two Nebraska schools stand a very good chance at being the top-ranked teams in Class B and A, respectively, in the preseason poll. And, it wouldn’t surprise me if each of the three teams were ranked among the top 30-40 teams in the nation at the time they play each other.
Class B power Grand Island Northwest has been to state every year since 2001 and has won three state titles and played in the championship match another six times. This is a program that deserves to play on a big stage and Northwest will be a threat yet again this year to win a state title. With Millard West, you have one of the top teams in Class A and a program that coach Erin Byrd has turned into a consistent title contender, as the Wildcats have been to state five straight years and reached the title match in 2013. Prior to that streak, the Wildcats had only been to state twice and never won a match.
In my mind, one of the most entertaining matches will be the last one between Class A Papillion-LaVista South and Class C-1 Kearney Catholic. Papillion-LaVista South played for the Class A title five straight years from 2008-2012, winning the last three. The Titans own a record of 14-4 in the state tournament. Kearney Catholic might be Class C-1, but they are big time. The Stars have won four straight Class C-1 state titles and have been in the state championship match six consecutive years. Both teams will be title contenders in their respective classes again this year and this has all the makings of a great match.
Please look for more information about the 2016 Midwest Volleyball Showcase in the coming weeks and months.