Instant Standout Teams from Midwest Power League #2
Another weekend of Midwest Power League action is complete. Our view of Nebraska’s club landscape keeps getting clearer. The Midwest Power League remains an excellent venue to evaluate club teams from across the Great Plains Region. Nebraska clubs are honing…
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Continue ReadingAnother weekend of Midwest Power League action is complete. Our view of Nebraska’s club landscape keeps getting clearer.
The Midwest Power League remains an excellent venue to evaluate club teams from across the Great Plains Region. Nebraska clubs are honing their skills for the upcoming qualifier gauntlet, and this is a great place to do it. A few teams stood out among the rest as we returned to the UBT Sports Complex for Super Bowl Sunday volleyball.
Here are some picks for the instant standout teams from Power League #2. Be on the lookout for player features from these teams—and more—in the coming days.
Nebraska ONE 17 Black
Power League #2 was quite a display of Nebraska ONE ‘s depth, and 17 Black leads the way in that conversation.
A 17/18 Open championship appearance has put 17 Black firmly on our radar heading into the next wave of qualifiers. Three wins over Nebraska Juniors 17 Black, Nebraska Elite 16 Lokahi, and Premier Nebraska 15 Gold propelled Nebraska ONE to its division title match. The only thing that could stop this group was an older VCNebraska 18 Black squad.
Valuable experience from last month’s Northern Lights Qualifier seems to have 17 Black seasoned for the road ahead. This squad has seen final qualifier brackets before, and history might repeat itself soon.
Premier Nebraska 15 Gold
This 15 Gold squad just keeps shining on the regional stage.
We have yet to see Premier 15 Gold at a national qualifier in 2024, but few can doubt the team’s readiness for such a challenge. 15 Gold survived a gauntlet against VCNebraska 15 Elite before taking down Nebraska Juniors 17 Red in the pool play finale. Most of our live observations of 15 Gold have come while the team faces older Power League teams, so we’re anxious to see how the narrative progresses against 15s foes. Stay tuned.
Nebraska Elite 17 Mamba
How about another Nebraska Elite team finding some early-season momentum? January’s Northern Lights Qualifier was all about this club’s gains across the age spectrum, and this Power League proved it wasn’t a fluke.
17 Mamba, which was right on the edge of an Open Gold pool appearance at NLQ, kept the hot streak going by chaining three wins together last weekend. This includes two impressive bracket triumphs over Nebraska Juniors 17 Black and Nebraska ONE 18 Black. This team still has Open aspirations and the offensive balance needed to get there. On to the next one.
VCNebraska 17 Elite
Bring on another team hunting that Open bid.
VCNebraska 17 Elite’s trip to Minneapolis was comparable to their counterparts from Nebraska Elite. Flashes of brilliance put this team right on the edge of making the final group. 17 Elite is undeterred after coming so close, and this Power League showing was another step in the right direction.
The highlight of VCN’s journey was a dramatic three-set win over fellow Open competitor Nebraska ONE 17 Synergy. The day ended with another momentous win over Premier Nebraska 17 Gold. The margins between Nebraska’s top 17s teams are so slim, and this was VCN’s weekend to find a bit of separation. Expect the pendulum to keep swinging.
Club Legacy 16 Alpha
Club Legacy has some serious firepower at the 16s level. We got a glimpse of this during last year’s 15s GPR Bid Tournament, but the team has seemingly leveled up since last year. Look out.
Wins over Nebraska ONE 16 Black, Nebraska Elite 16 Nova, and Nebraska Juniors 16 Black highlighted 16 Alpha’s journey in the 16 Open division. We can now look forward to Club Legacy keeping its momentum going through President’s Day and upcoming qualifiers–including NLQ and Show Me.
Nebraska Juniors 16 Red
Nebraska Juniors was prevalent at this Power League iteration, so we have a lot of teams to choose from. We’re going with 16 Red, but look out for many of this club’s other competitors.
16 Red notched a pair of victories over Nebraska Eltie 15 Prime and Nebraska ONE 16 Lime to secure a winning record in Sunday’s action. President’s Day weekend offers an even bigger referendum on where this team stands in the stacked group of 16s competitors.