Harvest Festival Volleyball Invite Preview
Let’s get you set for another of Nebraska’s most exciting weekend tournaments of the high school season. The Harvest Festival Volleyball Invitational brings in some of the top programs from central and western Nebraska to compete in a two-day event…
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Continue ReadingLet’s get you set for another of Nebraska’s most exciting weekend tournaments of the high school season.
The Harvest Festival Volleyball Invitational brings in some of the top programs from central and western Nebraska to compete in a two-day event hosted by Gothenburg High School. It’s a Friday-Saturday format that will feature plenty of this year’s championship contenders in a variety of classes. Many of the participating players already have postseason experience.
So, let’s break down the teams we’ll see at the event. I’ll be heading down for a bit of the round-robin action, and I can’t wait to take in all the great volleyball.
West Division
You don’t often see in-season tournament pools separated by geography, but the east-west split at this event actually creates some nice balance.
Event host Gothenburg gets the #1 slot in the Harvest Festival field. The Swedes made a bit of noise in the first round of last year’s tournament against GICC. Now, this weekend’s tournament gives Gothenburg a chance to build on an 8-0 start that has propelled the program to the top of the Class C1 wildcard standings. That 2021 success was no fluke.
Chadron is making the trip from Nebraska’s panhandle to participate in this one. This is another team that hopes to represent Class C1 in the state championships this year, and the Cardinals enter the weekend with a record of 5-2. I can’t wait for the opportunity to get more in-person eyes on teams from way out west, and Chadron is about as west as it gets in the Cornhusker State.
More Class C1 royalty occupies the west group with 2021 state runner-up Kearney Catholic joining the fray. The Stars could be putting together a bit of a revenge tour after falling just short in last year’s C1 championship, and the team has started the year off right with a 7-0 mark. Kearney Catholic is used to big stages and tough opponents, so the venue at Gothenburg should be no problem for this powerhouse program.
The last entry on the west side is Ogallala, yet another team that has put together a fast start with a 7-1 overall record. That sole loss happened to be in another tournament setting against the host of this event. Is it time for a little redemption?
East Division
Quality certainly does not wane on the east side.
We’ve recently documented the successful first few weeks of 2022 for St. Paul, and the Wildcats are well-positioned to make some noise at this invite. This team could be extra motivated after taking its first loss of the year in a five-set heartbreaker against Centura, so watch out for St. Paul.
Believe it or not, Class B is getting involved at the Harvest Festival, too. York, another one of last season’s postseason participants, is on the east half of pool play and brings the same quality play we expect from the Dukes. We’re getting used to talking about teams with only one loss here, and you can add York to the list. In any case, it’s unavoidable that we’ll see some losses from teams that have done almost nothing but win so far this year.
Aurora is also on the east side, and the Huskies come into the weekend having played an incredible stretch of tough matches. It doesn’t get any easier at this invite, but Aurora can make a big jump in the wildcard race with a successful showing in Gothenburg.
Finally, we acknowledge Minden. In a sea of winning teams heading to Gothenburg this weekend, the Whippets are on another level: undefeated. Preserving that perfect record at this event would be quite an accomplishment, but Minden will be in good shape regardless of this weekend’s results. The Harvest Festival provides an excellent opportunity for talent-rich teams like Minden to keep finding some championship form.