Asics President’s Day Classic Results Roundup

<p>It was a wild, busy President’s Day weekend.</p> <p>Of course, I was caught up in the flurry of activity surrounding Triple Crown NIT in Kansas City. At the same time, though, we had plenty of other important events going on around the region that I knew I wanted to write about when all the dust settled.</p> <p>So, I’ve taken some time to review film and results from the Asics President’s Day Classic in Omaha. This feature presents a good opportunity to return to my Nebraska roots and check in on some teams from the Cornhusker State. And, as you’ll soon see, plenty of teams from outside of Nebraska found success, too.</p> <p>Here’s a roundup of the Asics President’s Day Classic.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Nebraska’s Top Performers</strong></p> <p>Let’s hit those home-standing Nebraska teams first.</p> <p>The 18 Open division belonged to Nebraska Juniors 18 Black, as this talented, physical team won every match it played en route to the title. I continue to be astounded by the quality of volleyball that this group puts out every time they see the floor.</p> <p>We had another Nebraska 18s champion at the President’s Day Classic with Nebraska ONE 18 Black claiming 18 Club. [player_tooltip player_id="103848" first="Savannah" last="Shelburne"]’s savvy setting goes a long way toward helping this team succeed.</p> [caption id="attachment_118968" align="alignright" width="396"]<img class=" wp-image-118968" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/12/Kayla-Eggiman.jpg" alt="" width="396" height="264" /> Eggiman[/caption] <p>Premier Nebraska 16 Silver pushed through a nail-biting journey to claim the 16 Club championship last weekend. This is a team that I’ll be featuring soon, but keep an eye on players like [player_tooltip player_id="122824" first="Kayla" last="Eggiman"] and [player_tooltip player_id="183955" first="Anabel" last="Seaman"] from this team. A division title on President’s Day weekend is a great boost.</p> <p>I’d be remiss not to mention some other Nebraska teams that, although they didn’t win a division championship, showed some serious skill in Omaha last weekend. Premier Nebraska 17 Black, for example, put together a handful of dominant performances and claimed second place in 17 Open. The same description applies to Nebraska Elite 18 Omega, as their sole loss on the weekend came in the 18 Open championship match against Nebraska Juniors.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>The "Outsiders"</strong></p> <p>Now, let’s give some props to the big winners from outside the Cornhusker State.</p> <p>In fact, let’s start <em>way</em> outside Nebraska with the winners of 16 Open, AthenaVB 16 Gold from Oregon! It’s certainly not an easy trek from Beaverton to Omaha, but this team made it worth the while with a championship in this competitive division.</p> <p>17 Open was owned by Iowa PowerPlex 17U Elite Black, which didn’t drop a match all weekend. Names like Olivia Lombardi and Lily Dykstra are certainly recognizable to Iowa volleyball enthusiasts, and they played a pivotal role in putting PowerPlex on top in Omaha.</p> <p>Minnesota is worthy of mention here, too. Mizuno Northern Lights 17-B emerged victorious in 17 Club, while Synergy 15-1 took a hotly contested race in 15 Open. I continue to be amazed by the depth that’s consistently put on display by this state.</p>