A total of 14 beach volleyball teams from Nebraska – including 13 from Nebraska Elite – took part in the USAV Junior beach Championships last weekend in Milwaukee.
While Nebraska may not be the first place you think of in terms of a hotbed for beach players given the lack of, well, beaches, the state known for producing outstanding indoor players is also starting to churn out great beach players.
According to Nebraska Elite Director of Player Development Dr. Andrew Wehrli, more than 200 players took part in the club’s beach program this summer – including many who play indoor for other clubs.
Not only is the quantity of beach players going up each year, but so is the quality. In the 16 Club division at nationals, three Nebraska teams reached the championship quarterfinals with a pair of Omaha Duchesne players – Juliana Kalil and Ellie Lammers – finishing second overall and the team of Elkhorn South’s Logan Conneally and Millard North’s Mallory Stamm taking third. The duo of Duchesne’s Emma Worthington and Millard West’s Sydney Daniels finished in a tie for fifth.
In the silver bracket in 16 Club, Olivia Bidroski and Josie Reed – both from Duchesne – tied for fifth place.
In the 16 Open division, the Omaha Marian duo of Emily Bressman and Kennedy Stormberg finished in a tie for fifth place in the silver bracket while Avery Mackling of Gretna and Ellie Rupprecht of Bennington finished in a tie for ninth place in the blue bracket.
In 18 Open, the Nebraska Elite team of Lydia Kim and Meredith Zielie finished in a tie for 5th in the copper bracket while the unattached team of Dani Prusha and Amber Wood – both from Papillion-LaVista – finished in a tie for fifth place in the bronze bracket.
In the younger age divisions, Skylar McCune and Kylie Weeks teamed to finish in a tie for fifth place in the gold bracket in 12 Open while Abby Schomers and Avan Heyne tied for ninth in the silver bracket. In the 14 Club division, Mattighan Zielie and Sofia Maciejewski tied for ninth in the silver bracket.
In the 14 Open bracket, Katie Kilzer and Emma Heglin tied for ninth in the silver bracket while the duo of Kiersten Capelle and Lauren Walenz tied for third in bronze and the team of Eve Fountain and Katilin Neely finished in a tie for fifth in bronze.
The beach season comes to an end with the Great Plains Beach Championships on August 6 at The Mark in Elkhorn. Teams can still register for the event, even if not affiliated with a specific club. For more information, or to sign-up, visit this link: Great Plains Beach Championship Registration
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