Nebraska Elite 15 Revolution Coach Andrew Wehrli: “I Knew We Were Going to Do Something Special”

<p>ORLANDO - Apparently Nebraska Elite 15 Revolution coach Andrew Wehrli knew something nobody else did as his team began play in the 15 Open Division of the AAU National Championship in Orlando. </p> <p>Revolution, which came into the tournament as the #12 overall seed, played its best volleyball of the year when it mattered most and reached the national championship match before falling to Sports Performance 15 Elite (the same group that won the 14 Open national title last year) in the finals. Revolution's second-place finish is the best finish by a Nebraska team in an Open Division at a national championship tournament since 2015, when Nebraska Elite 16 Vici won it all in Orlando.</p> <p>Revolution's run to the championship match may have surprised many, but not Wehrli.</p> <p>"I knew we were going to do something special in Orlando," the Omaha Duchesne head coach said. "Ww had a month of really great practices leading up to it. I'm really proud of this group of kids. It was fun to see the way they battled all tournament. They fought for each other. This is a testament of teamwork. Every player contributed on and off the court."</p> <p>After winning its first six matches of the tournament, Revolution ended the second day with a 25-21, 25-15 to Adidas K2, but still advanced on because of its previous victories. On Tuesday evening, everything clicked for Revolution as it rolled national power Northern Lights 151 25-23, 25-14 to earn a spot in the championship quarterfinals. Elite Revolution continued its magical run with a gutsy 17-25, 25-20, 15-13 comeback win over KIVA 15 Red and then turned around and immediately faced another national power in Munciana and held on for a 25-21, 23-25, 15-12 win to punch its ticket to the national championship match, which was televised live on ESPN3.</p> <p>In the championship match, Revolution took a 13-11 lead against Sports Performance 15 Elite on a block by Gretna's Avery Kallman, but then the outside hitters for Sports Performance got hot and the Chicago-based club finished out the set on a 14-4 run to take the opening stanza 25-17. </p> <p>Nebraska Elite 15 Revolution got off to a strong start in the second set and went up 6-5 on a combo block by Allison Petty of Council Bluffs St. Albert and Millard West's Molly Jenkin and Petty followed with an ace serve to make it 7-5. It looked like Petry was going to get another ace to put Revolution up 8-5, but Sports Performance libero Alexis Rodriguez - a Nebraska recruit - made an incredible diving/sliding save that spun back over the net and dropped just inside the line for a point, and that seemed to turn the momentum back to Sports Performance. </p> <p>Sports Performance would build its lead to 13-10 in the second set but Revolution rallied and was able to tie it at 14-14 on a kill by Kallman and an ace from Ellie Miller. A kill by Jenkin would put Revolution up 16-15, but Sports Performance slowly pulled away to win the second set 25-21 and claim the national title. </p> <p>The following players comprised the Nebraska Elite 15 Revolution team:</p> <p>Allie Gray, setter, Skutt Catholic<br /> Rylee Gray, MH, Elkhorn South<br /> Riley Hartman, OH, Bennington<br /> Molly Jenkin, MH, Millard West<br /> Avery Kallman, RS, Gretna<br /> Shayla McCormick, OH, Skutt Catholic<br /> Ellie Miller, DS, Omaha Marian<br /> Allison Petry, OH, Council Bluffs St. Albert<br /> Brilee Wieseler, Libero, Skutt Catholic</p> <p>Also competing in the 15 Open Division at the AAU National Championships were three other teams from Nebraska.</p> <p>VCNebraska 15 Elite finished in a tie for 21st place after going 6-4 in the tournament. Nebraska ONE 15 Shockerz took 27th place after winning its final three matches in a row. Nebraska Juniors 151 finished in a tie for 40th place, which included a win over Summit 15 Blue on the final day.</p> <p>In the 15 Premier Division in Orlando, VCNebraska 15 Black finished in a tie for 81st place after going 5-5 in the tournament. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>