State Tournament Predictions: Class A

Class A has probably been the most open playing field of any class throughout the entire 2017 season so far. We’ve seen so many upsets and so many changes in the top 10 every week. All of the same teams from Omaha have stayed in the top 10 consistently, but we’ve seen the emergence of some high quality Lincoln teams as well. It’s going to be an absolute battle for the 8 teams who do make it to the class A state volleyball tournament. Here’s a predictions of the 8 possible teams who could potentially be battling for a state title in November. This is NOT the official list of teams going to state, this is just a prediction of the teams who could potentially make it based on how they’re playing so far this season.   Omaha Marian Omaha Marian has been a regular at the state tournament for years, so we could see them continue that success after district brackets conclude in a few weeks. Marian has only one loss on the year, and that was to Papio South back in early September. Last year, Omaha Marian tried to go for 4 state titles in a row after winning 3 straight in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Ironically Papio South was the team to end that state championship run for them in the class A state semifinals. If Marian can continue to play consistently and win the Metro Conference, as well as their district, we could easily see them making it back to the top in class A this year.   Lincoln Southwest This year’s Lincoln Southwest Silverhawks team could potentially end up being the best team in school history. The Silverhawks are currently 20-2 after what might be the best start for them in program history. Southwest’s only 2 losses came from Omaha Marian and Millard West. The Silverhawks are definitely the favorites to win the Heartland Athletic Conference and they could make a deep run in the state tournament this year. Ironically Marian was the team who ended the Silverhawk’s season in last year’s state tournament. Lincoln Southwest has been to the state semifinals twice in their program history, but this year they want to make it further than ever before. If they can break through and make it past the semifinals of the state tournament this year, we might potentially see an epic championship match between them and Omaha Marian. The Silverhawks are out for redemption and could get another shot at Marian in the state championship match if both teams can make it that far.   Millard West Millard West has made it to the class A state volleyball tournament the last 6 years in a row. The Wildcats have been a team on everyone’s radar as well. Millard West, Omaha Marian and Lincoln Southwest have separated themselves from the rest of class A this year with the least amount of losses. Millard West beat Lincoln Southwest on Southwest’s home floor in 4 sets a few weeks ago, giving Southwest one of their only two losses of the year so far. Before that match though, the Silverhawks gave Millard West one of their only 4 losses earlier on in the season. If Millard West can stay ranked in the top 3 in ratings and in wildcard points, we could see an epic semifinal match with them and Lincoln Southwest if both teams advance out of the first round of the state tournament.   Papillion-La Vista South Last year the Papio South Titans took a commanding 2-0 lead in the state championship match. Unfortunately for them, Millard North pulled off one of the best comebacks in tournament history and came back to beat them in 5 sets. You have to believe that loss has driven this Papio South Titans team this year to get back to the state title match. Papio South has been the only team this season to beat Omaha Marian and both teams could potentially match up against each other at the state tournament. Last year Papio South upset Marian in the state semifinals and ended Marian’s chances of winning 4 state titles in a row. Even though both teams might have to play each other in Metro Conference tournament play first, the matchup at state will for sure be the match that really matters the most.   Papillion-La Vista Papillion-La Vista is another regular in the class A state volleyball tournament every year. Last year they were the #1 seed going into the tournament, but were knocked off in the semifinals by the eventual champions Millard North. This year they’ve gone back and forth with Papio South and Lincoln Pius X and even got redemption twice against Millard North this season. Papio will be a team to look out for in Metro Conference tournament play. They bounced back with their win against Lincoln Pius X on Tuesday night after losing 3 consecutive matches. The Monarchs could make a deep run at state if they continue to play to their full potential.   Lincoln Pius X Last year Lincoln got the chance to qualify 3 teams for the class A state volleyball tournament and Lincoln Pius X was one of those 3 talented teams from the capital city. There’s a lot of new faces on this year’s Thunderbolts team, but that hasn’t stopped them from staying in the top 10 ratings. All of their losses have only came from teams ranked above them in class A and some to the top teams in class B. We could definitely see the Thunderbolts host another district at home and qualify for state in back to back years.   Lincoln Southeast   Lincoln Southeast has been the upset-minded team the last couple years in district play. In 2015 they went into Lincoln North Star and upset them on their home floor for the A7 title. Last year they pulled off a thrilling 5 set upset against Lincoln Southwest in the A7 title match as well, forcing Lincoln Southwest to get the wild card to go to state. This year it might be different for the Knights. This team could potentially host one of the 7 class A districts, meaning they could qualify for state on their own home floor and not need to go to another district to get to state. With a fantastic transfer setter and a monster middle in the front row, anything is possible for this Lincoln Southeast team.   Millard North It’s kind of hard to count out the defending state champions from making it back to the class A state tournament. Last year Millard North won their first state title in 29 years and had a freshman setter lead the charge. This team also won the state title in one of the most epic comebacks in tournament history, coming from 0-2 down to beat Papio South. Despite having a back and forth season this year, they proved to us last year even a team with 11 losses can come in and win a state title. They’re coming off of a 5 set win against Millard West and could be peaking at the right time. The road to repeating has been a little rough so far, but the Mustangs are proving they have the potential to win state for the 2nd consecutive year.   Like I said before, this is NOT the official list of teams making it to state in November. This is just a list of teams who could potentially make it based on how they’ve been playing this season. We still need to look out for teams like Millard South, Kearney, as well as Lincoln Northeast who all have the potential to cause major upsets in district tournament play.