Nebraska's Top 16s Teams from Northern Lights Qualifier #2

Welcome to the spotlight, 16s.   Last weekend's Northern Lights Qualifier was the first of a long qualifier grind for many of Nebraska's best 16s teams. We had to wait a while to see this age group take on such a high-profile event, and Minneapolis offered a good look at some of our Great Plains frontrunners.   After having our eyes glued to the results and film from NLQ, we are coming away with a group of top 16s teams to follow. Many of these squads were on the cusp of locking up bids. This could lay the foundation for a bid-earning triumph in the coming weeks, so keep these teams on your radar moving forward.   For now, it's all eyes on NLQ.     Premier Nebraska 16 Gold   So close.   We're starting with Premier 16 Gold, the Great Plains Region's top finisher in 16 Open. This squad managed to ride some wild momentum swings to be there at the end with a shot at a bid.   Day 1 started as well as 16 Gold could have hoped. Premier Nebraska backed up its #1 seed in the pool by soaring past 305, Vital, and Adrenaline to reach the next round. So far, so good.   Saturday is where things get wild. 16 Gold was placed in a tough Round 2 pool with plenty of midwestern flair. MAVS 816, MN Select, and Houston Skyline were on the docket in this one. Premier Nebraska was seeded in the #2 spot, but we all know the kind of parity these groups can produce.   And parity is what we got. Fourth-seeded MAVS 816 scored an upset over Premier Nebraska to hand the Great Plains crew its first setback of the day. Things looked even more dire for 16 Gold after a narrow three-set loss against MN Select to drop to 0-2.   However, a unique tiebreaker situation was brewing that would give 16 Gold an extra lifeline. MN Select soared to a 3-0 record to claim first place in the group. After that, though, we had a whole medley of results with Houston Skyline sweeping MAVS 816. This meant Premier Nebraska could force a three-way tie at 1-2 with a win over Houston Skyline in the finale. The caveat: that win would need to be a sweep to keep pace with Skyline in the set victory tiebreaker.   Mission accomplished. 16 Gold forged a remarkable bounce-back to sweep Houston Skyline and secure second in the pool. Welcome to the Gold group.   Sunday's final slate featured TAV 16 Black and Kairos 16 Alpha. The day started with both TAV and Premier Nebraska scoring a win over Kairos. This meant that 16 Gold would still be in the bid hunt regardless of the final result against TAV. The Texas squad swept 16 Gold, sending Premier Nebraska into the third-place match to decide the final bid.   Cue the nail-biter between 16 Gold and HJV 16 Elite. After teams exchanged the opening two sets, HJV escaped with a 15-13 win to swipe the third bid. It's a heartbreaking way for the tournament to end, but the journey is just starting for 16 Gold.   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/IMG_0975-edited.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-524715" style="width:381px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nebraska Elite 16 Lokahi competes at the 2024 Midwest Power League.</figcaption></figure>   We saw all the familiar sights that define this Premier Nebraska team. [player_tooltip player_id='275935' first='Addison' last='West'] remains a force on the outside. She is accompanied by a wealth of backcourt talent, as [player_tooltip player_id='275896' first='Kami' last='Dyrstad'] and [player_tooltip player_id='349404' first='Lily' last='Zimmerman'] were phenomenal in Minneapolis. This team will be back on the big stage before long, and we'll be there to cover it.     Nebraska Elite 16 Lokahi   How about another one of Nebraska's Open teams?   Nebraska Elite 16 Lokahi started strong and propelled itself to a ninth-place finish in Minneapolis. That placement was fueled by two Day 1 triumphs over STVA and Mizuno M1 to reach the second round of the top division. From there, 16 Lokahi posted another emphatic win over 305 and came within two points of toppling Houston Skyline in the tournament finale.   We're so excited to see this Nebraska Elite team gelling at the right time for the late-March grind. Big-time attackers like [player_tooltip player_id='276195' first='Makenzie' last='Wingett'], [player_tooltip player_id='292243' first='Cosette' last='Bartling'], and [player_tooltip player_id='276194' first='Audrey' last='Bassett'] keep stepping up for this group. The libero spot still has a ton of upside with [player_tooltip player_id='276191' first='Elena' last='Estudillo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='349420' first='McKinzie' last='Brandt'] trading the contrasting jersey.   16 Lokahi keeps building on its mid-season surge and may find itself in another Gold group before long.     Premier Nebraska 16 Black   The only Nebraska entry in 16 USA put on quite a show.   Premier Nebraska 16 Black got an early resilience test at NLQ after finishing 1-2 in its Round 1 pool. This division offered a reprieve through a three-team playoff, giving 16 Black a chance to stay in the top division despite finishing third.   This is where Premier made its clutch run. After winning the one-set playoff against Rockwood Thunder, 16 Black found the same success against Kairos. A winner-take-all bracket kept 16 Black among the best in 16 USA.   Other impressive performances followed in Sunday's Silver bracket against Iowa Impact and MKE Sting. An eighth-place finish is a great building block as Premier continues its journey in the division. Trickle-down scenarios may be important later on, and this squad can put itself in the hunt.   We've documented this team's firepower, and it showed up again in Minneapolis. [player_tooltip player_id='187703' first='Evynn' last='Olsen'] has a multi-dimensional role as an attacker and a defender. [player_tooltip player_id='253925' first='Kayelyn' last='Liebentritt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='518581' first='Taylor' last='Elsasser'] have also separated themselves on the pins. Everything is tied together with [player_tooltip player_id='349413' first='Maggie' last='Miller'] and [player_tooltip player_id='349407' first='Sarah' last='Faust'] thriving at setter.   This team has been to GJNC before. Let's see if a repeat is in store.     Premier Nebraska 16 Red   Here's another Premier Nebraska team that was right on the doorstep of a GJNC bid.   Check out the seven-match win streak for Premier Nebraska 16 Red. This team roared out of the gates in NLQ's 16 Liberty division by sweeping through the first two rounds of play. Not only did all of these matches end in victory, but 16 Red didn't drop a single set en route to Sunday's Gold bracket. Pure dominance.   Premier still had more to accomplish in the single-elimination bracket. All of that past success helped for seeding purposes, but these brackets are unforgiving with just two bids up for grabs.   16 Red led off with a quarterfinal sweep over Atomic to reach the final four. That was the team's seventh win, but one more opponent stood in the way of a bid. Unfortunately, ARVC halted 16 Red's run and left Premier one match short of a GJNC bid.   Despite the setback, we can't deny this team's readiness to swipe a Liberty bid. [player_tooltip player_id='349450' first='Rayna' last='Bartholet'] has been an impactful new addition at the setter spot. [player_tooltip player_id='216933' first='Jada' last='Freeland'], [player_tooltip player_id='184283' first='Alicia' last='Johansen'], and [player_tooltip player_id='518584' first='Keaton' last='Smith'] anchor a rapidly improving offense this year. We've also been impressed by the back-row duo featuring [player_tooltip player_id='349406' first='Stella' last='Neal'] and [player_tooltip player_id='349405' first='Mia' last='Dickerson'].   On to the next tournament.     Club Legacy 16 Alpha   We're giving out more props in the Liberty division.   Club Legacy 16 Alpha was tabbed as a team to watch in this division. This up-and-coming squad backed that up with a 13th-place finish while narrowly missing out on a higher Sunday bracket.   Like many successful teams on this list, Club Legacy made an early Round 1 statement with a pair of wins. That set up Saturday's action in a Round 2 pool that also included Premier 16 Red. 16 Alpha picked up its third win of the tournament in the Round 2 opener. However, a 15-13 tiebreaker loss relegated 16 Alpha to the Bronze bracket. The team kept fighting and posted two more wins over Summit and [program_tooltip program_id='428722' first='OVC' last=''] to close out the event.   Quality reps are piling up for 16 Alpha. We love watching [player_tooltip player_id='396745' first='Addison' last='Janke'] distribute the ball, and her connections with [player_tooltip player_id='396742' first='Resa' last='Milbourn'], [player_tooltip player_id='349453' first='Jetta' last='Sattem'], and [player_tooltip player_id='396736' first='Emily' last='Fulton'] keep getting stronger. The team gets a big boost from its consistent defense, which is led by Omaha Westside standout [player_tooltip player_id='396746' first='Jane' last='Kubat'].     Nebraska Elite 16 Nova   Nebraska Elite's 16s depth was on full display in Minneapolis.   16 Nova has a lot of positive momentum after a podium finish at NLQ's 16 American division. Nebraska Elite's balance and firepower overpowered nearly all its opponents in the first two rounds: a 5-0 start with zero set losses. That's an early statement   We've discussed how unforgiving bracket play can be, and that's especially true in the American division. 16 Nova was in the final group, but only one bid was up for grabs. A win over MAVS 816 sent Nebraska Elite to the quarterfinals, and the momentum didn't stop there. MAVS 816 was quickly dispatched to reach the semis. Nebraska Elite was ultimately stalled by STVA in the final four, but a third-place finish is a great way to roll into next week's challenge.   Under-the-radar 2026s are all over this 16 Nova roster. [player_tooltip player_id='518595' first='Justina' last='Cronin'] is having a big year at libero alongside fellow DS [player_tooltip player_id='349452' first='Sadie' last='Menicucci']. [player_tooltip player_id='349451' first='Reese' last='Blankenau'], [player_tooltip player_id='518593' first='Abby' last='Kaup'], and [player_tooltip player_id='349449' first='Reese' last='Stradal'] are terminating at a high level in the frontcourt.   NLQ is in the books, but the ripple effects from these results will be felt weeks into the future. See you at the next one.

Welcome to the spotlight, 16s.