10 Best: Bellevue West Invitational

BELLEVUE – A couple significant streaks came to a halt in the championship bracket of the Bellevue West Invitational on Saturday.

First there was Class A #7 Papillion-LaVista knocking off Class B #1 Skutt Catholic in straight sets in the semifinals to put an end to the Skyhawks’ state-best winning streak of 64 matches. Then, the Monarchs had their own winning streak snapped when Class A #4 Papillion-LaVista South halted a streak of 14-consecutive losses to its cross-town rival with a sweep of Papillion-LaVista in the championship 26-24, 25-20.

The 2017 Bellevue West Invitational title is the second in the past three years for the Titans and its fifth in the past eight years.

Class A #2 Omaha Marian defeated Skutt Catholic in straight sets to finish third in the tournament while Class A #1 Millard North swept Western Christian of Iowa in the 5th place match. Millard South and Lincoln Southeast tied for 7th.

In the consolation bracket, Sioux City Heelan defeated Lincoln Northeast to finish in 9th place.

Now, on to the 10 Best from the Bellevue West Invitational…..

Best Player in the Tournament: Taliyah Flores (Papillion-LaVista South)

If there is better player in the state, Titan coach Brad Reichmuth doesn’t know who it is. The performance Flores had over the course of the weekend makes it hard to argue with him. There certainly isn’t a better 5’8 player in the state now or in recent memory, that’s fore sure.

Best Group of Players in the Tournament: (All-Tournament Team)

S – Mara LeGrand, 5’9, Jr., (Papillion-LaVista South)

S – Brooklyn Schram, 5’11, Soph., (Papillion-LaVista)

H – Taliyah Flores, 5’8, Sr., (Papillion-LaVista South)

H – Megan Skovsende, 5’11, Soph., (Skutt Catholic)

H – Maddie Wiedenfeld, 6’1, Sr., (Omaha Marian)

H – Peyton Schendt, 6’0, Sr., (Papillion-LaVista South)

H – Emily Bressman, 5’10, Jr., (Omaha Marian)

H – Sydney Fitzgibbons, 5’11, Sr., (Papillion-LaVista)

L/DS – Leah Palensky, 5’4, Jr., (Papillion-LaVista South)

L/DS – Taylor O’Malley, 5’6, Sr., (Skutt Catholic)

Best Group of Player in the Tournament Not on First Team: (Second-Team All-Tournament)

S – Lily Heim, 6’0, Sr., (Omaha Marian)

S – Laney Saucier, 5’8, Sr., (Skutt Catholic)

H – Sarah Wing, 6’2, Sr., (Omaha Marian)

H – Lily Heyne, 6’1, Jr., (Skutt Catholic)

H – Lindsay Krause, 6’3, Fresh., (Skutt Catholic)

H – Ashtyn Veerbeek, 6’2, Sr., (Western Christian)

H – McKenna Ruch, 6’1, Soph., (Millard North)

H – Melanie Brecka, 6’0, Sr., (Lincoln Southeast)

L/DS – Carly Lindenmeyer, 5’7, Sr., (Papillion-LaVista)

L/DS – Maddie Renn, 5’3, Sr., (Lincoln Southeast)

Best Under the Radar Performance by a Setter: Cassidy Plooster (Lincoln Southeast)

Plooster, a 5’7 senior, is legit. I was impressed with her over the summer and she didn’t disappoint in her first big-time action of the season. She blocks really well for her size and unlike many setters, she plays really good defense.

Best Under the Radar Performance by an Attacker: Lauren Walenz (Millard South)

Although just 5’8, Walenz gets the most out of her size as a full-rotation libero and was the best player on the court for the Patriots over the weekend. Walenz is a gifted sand volleyball player, which makes her smart and able to place her attacks well.

Best Performance by a Freshman: Lindsay Krause (Skutt Catholic)

Krause, a Nebraska recruit, is a physical specimen on the court and her ability is off the charts. She had some really, really good moments for the Skyhawks this weekend. Once things really start clicking for Skutt and Krause – which they just simply weren’t yet this weekend – look out.

Best Performance by a Freshman Not Named Krause: Brittany Wulf (Lincoln Southeast)

The 5’10 freshman for the Knights wasn’t on my radar before this weekend but she definitely is now. While Brecka is beyond a shadow of a doubt the best player on the court for Lincoln Southeast, Wulf showed great poise, ability and consistency for the Knights and clearly has a bright future.

Best Performance by a Group of Youngsters: (All Sophomore & Freshman Tournament Team)

S – Izzy Lukens, 5’10, soph., (Millard North)

H – Lindsay Krause, 6’3, fresh., (Skutt Catholic)

H – McKenna Ruch, 6’1, soph., (Millard North)

H – Brittany Wulf, 5’10, fresh., (Lincoln Southeast)

H – Nora Sis, 5’11, fresh., (Papillion-LaVista)

H – Erica Broin, 5’10, soph., (Papillion-LaVista)

H – Megan Skovsende, 5’11, soph., (Skutt Catholic)

H – Paige Fixemer, 6’0, soph., (Millard South)

H – Maggie Madej, 5’11, soph., (Millard South)

Libero/DS – Sam Steele, 5’6, soph., (Millard South)

Best Under the Radar Performances By A Group:

S – Jaisee Stinson, 5’9, jr., (Millard South)

RS – Kelsey Olson, 5’11, jr., (Millard South)

OH – Ally Glaser, 5’9, Sr., (Papillion-LaVista)

OH – Chloe Paschal, 5’7, Soph., (Papillion-LaVista)

MB – Sydney McDermott, 6’2, Jr., (Skutt Catholic)

OH – Lindsey Allgire, 5’11, Jr., (Papillion-LaVista South)

MB – Anna Gregerson, 6’0, Jr., (Papillion-LaVista South)

MB – Moe Bianchi, 5’11, Sr., (Papillion-LaVista South)

DS – Mckenzie Michalek, 5’7, Sr., (Papillion-LaVista)

DS – Payton Moore, 5’7, Sr., (Papillion-LaVista South)

Best Thing to Look Forward To: A Wild Season in Class A

Let the chess matches begin. Papillion-LaVista South clearly learned a lot from its 3-1 loss to Omaha Marian last week and used that knowledge to craft a game plan to knock off the Crusaders. Millard North will head back to the drawing board and work on what it learned this weekend as well and you know the Monarchs are going to improve on a weekly basis moving forward. Neither of those have yet to get a look at Millard West or Lincoln Southwest, but that will happen soon enough. The big story coming out of this weekend in Bellevue is that there is parity in Class A – for now.