Big Winners from Nebraska’s Week 5 Tournaments
We just finished a busy volleyball weekend across Nebraska. Let’s talk about that. Fall weekends are always a chance for high school squads to come together to compete in tournaments. Week 5 of the regular season just wrapped up, and…
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Continue ReadingWe just finished a busy volleyball weekend across Nebraska. Let’s talk about that.
Fall weekends are always a chance for high school squads to come together to compete in tournaments. Week 5 of the regular season just wrapped up, and it was a week concluded by a variety of intriguing events. Consider this the complete roundup.
So, here are a few teams who made the most of last weekend’s events.
Lincoln Southwest
The Silver Hawks are still rolling.
After coming up just short of a championship at the LPS Classic, Lincoln Southwest came into the following weekend’s tournament looking for a little redemption. That chance came at the annual Allison Weston Invite hosted by Papillion-La Vista.
Lincoln Southwest’s championship breakthrough at this event would not come easily. A back-and-forth battle with the host Monarchs put the Silver Hawks in an early hole after they dropped the first set in deuce fashion. This experienced Southwest team was undeterred and took control of the second and third sets to defeat Papio and move on to the Gold bracket.
Round-robin madness ensued the next day between Southwest, Omaha Westside, and Papillion-La Vista South. Another tight battle ensued between the Silver Hawks and the Warriors, and Southwest faced another wave of adversity on the event’s second day. Westside managed to prevail in the three-set thriller behind an incredible comeback to start Gold play.
Even with this setback, the Silver Hawks still had an opportunity to see the tournament title after Papio South notched a 2-0 sweep over Westside. Southwest understood the assignment and delivered. A triumphant 2-0 win over the Titans capped off this wild, high-level round-robin and gave the tournament title to the Silver Hawks.
Elkhorn North
The Wolves are a popular pick for this year’s Class B championship race, so it should be no surprise that the Wolves found some tournament success.
Elkhorn North made the hop down to Lincoln for the Piux X Invitational last weekend, and there’s no doubt that the trip was fruitful. The Wolves defeated Norris, Millard North, and the host Thunderbolts to capture the event title with an unblemished record.
It’s only fitting that Elkhorn North’s matchup with Norris went to a three-set tiebreaker. It evokes memories of the five-set thriller in last year’s Class B semifinals, and these two programs are firmly in the state title hunt once again. Last weekend’s meeting might just be a precursor to another instant classic later this year.
Malcolm
It’s hard to pick one Class C1 frontrunner right now, and it’s becoming even more complicated with the top teams winning so many matches. Malcolm is now firmly in that top group.
The Clippers are 19-1 after last weekend’s triumphs over Adams Central, Gering, and Centura at the Adams Central Invite. Malcolm needed a tiebreaking third set to take down the home team, but it was otherwise smooth sailing for the Clippers (yes, this mascot pun was intended).
Class C1’s big picture just gets more compelling. Malcolm is hanging out at the top of the wildcard leaderboard with fellow powerhouses Gothenburg, North Bend Central, Minden, and GICC, among others. The journey is just getting started.
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller
We’re now venturing to Class D1 for our next weekend winner.
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller traveled down to the Ansley-Litchfield Invite for what ended up yielding three momentous victories for the Mustangs. Wins over Nebraska Christian, Burwell, and North Central have yielded a big wildcard point boost for Sumner-Eddyville-Miller as we approach a critical stretch of the regular season. There’s still time to mix up the D1 hierarchy, so big weekends like this are a surefire way to get noticed.
Diller-Odell
Lastly, we’ll discuss a Class D2 frontrunner that found some success across state lines.
Diller-Odell notched a quintet of wins in the Axtell Invite in Axtell, Kansas–not to be confused with the Axtell here in Nebraska. The Griffins pushed past Blue Rapids-Valley Heights, Axtell, and Linn while also adding in-state victories against Falls City Sacred Heart and Pawnee City. So, this event had a dual purpose for Diller-Odell. Bragging rights were earned against rival Nebraska teams and unfamiliar out-of-state competitors, making for quite a productive weekend.