Nebraska's 17s Excel in Wave 3 of AAU Nationals

What a run for this group.   While we've been diving headfirst into our coverage of Nebraska's 15s standouts from Wave 2, our focus has also been shifting toward the 17s in Wave 3. That group has just wrapped up in Orlando, and we're left with so much to talk about from this group.   Let's start with a wholesale look at results. There are a lot of highlights and positives here, so it feels like a particularly good place to start with Nebraska's 17s squads. Here's the rundown!     [program_tooltip program_id='428743' first='VCNebraska' last=''] 17 Black Climbs to Title Match   No Nebraska team in Wave 3 made more headlines than [program_tooltip program_id='428743' first='VCNebraska' last=''] 17 Black.   We were already planning to talk a lot about the VCN 17 Black roster heading into the offseason, but that's even more true now that 17 Black has notched a runner-up finish in the 17 Club division at AAU Nationals. Perhaps the stat of the tournament is 17 Black's journey to get to that championship match: 13 consecutive match victories.   Runs like that are rare at the club level given that few events have the match volume of AAU Nationals. But to win 13 matches in a row at any stage is impressive, and that's what 17 Black pulled off to steal the show in Orlando.   The winning streak included five consecutive sweeps from the beginning of Round 2 and into Round 3. It was an impressive show of consistency after VCN 17 Black narrowly won a three-set thriller in extra points over Illini Elite to end Day 1. The next three-set slugfest would come against Stars at the end of Day 3, and 17 Black prevailed in that one, too.   These high-pressure situations may have conditioned 17 Black for the road ahead in bracket play. After sweeping through its challenge match to reach Gold, the path forward got tense. 17 Black went back and forth with Altitude in the bracket opener before eventually pulling away to win in three. The tiebreaker trend carried into the next round against FaR Out, where VCN found another breakthrough and a 15-13 win in the third. On to the semifinals.   We saw a little less drama when 17 Black reached the final four. A clean sweep of Northern Revival put VCN in the title match.   Fittingly, VCN 17 Black was set to spar with 1st Alliance 17 Black, a team that also carried an unblemished record into the final. Only one team could prevail, and 1st Alliance narrowly escaped with a three-set victory.   There's a lot more to say about these players, and we have a lot of time to do it. For now, this is our way of acknowledging the incredible late-season surge we've seen from VCN 17 Black. It evokes memories of the Show Me Qualifier, where the team was also in Gold and on the cusp of a bid.   2024s are still on the rise.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1642934683108364288?s=20 </div></figure>     Great Showing for the Open Teams   Let's check in with Nebraska's three 17 Open teams at AAUs, all of which posted winning records after a long gauntlet of competition.   [program_tooltip program_id='428743' first='VCNebraska' last=''] 17 Elite is the highest-placing Nebraska team in the division, and that comes off the heels of six consecutive sweeps through the first two rounds. That's dominance. Though the team stumbled against great teams like Mintonette, EXCEL, and eventual champion OTVA, this was a validating weekend for 17 Elite.   We'll remember so many of the intense battles that VCN 17 Elite faced this year. Like 17 Black, Show Me was one of those nail-biting weekends. January's iteration of NLQ also leaves lasting memories.   Nebraska Elite 17 Top Gun is not far behind 17 Elite in the final Open standings. We can talk about another hot start here, as Nebraska Elite won its first four matches of AAUs with two of those coming in three-set fashion. The 16-14 win over Top Select on the wave's final day was a big highlight.   This Top Gun group is stacked with players who seem ready to make an impact at the next level. We'll have more on that soon, but there's some serious potential here. We've known that for a while.   Finally, we give a nod to Nebraska Juniors 17 Black, which finished an 8-4 overall record in Orlando. And few teams played more volleyball than 17 Black, with a whopping nine of those twelve matches going to three sets--including all six matches in the first two rounds! That's some hard work.   Small-town talents dominate this Nebraska Juniors roster. It's the kind of team that will likely produce plenty of headlines as seniors this fall, and I can't wait to cover it.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1617181940540383237?s=20 </div></figure>     Other Teams of Note   A couple more shoutouts!   Nebraska Juniors flexed its 17U depth with Nebraska Juniors 17 Red having a solid outing in the 17 Club division. The same themes apply between 17 Black and 17 Red: we'll keep returning to these names in the fall.   And a nod to [program_tooltip program_id='429192' first='MVP' last='United'] 17 Red for its efforts in the 17 Premier field. While it's technically a roster loaded with players outside the Cornhusker State, it's Great Plains Region designation means we'll always keep a close eye on the team's progression.

What a run for this group.