USAV Nationals: Breaking Down First Day of 17 Open

<p>17s action has begun in Las Vegas. In a matter of days, we will find out who emerges from this talent-rich field as the best of the best.</p> <p>Two Nebraska teams will have a shot at earning this distinction in 17 Open. Premier Nebraska and Nebraska Elite are both hoping that their squads have saved their best for the very end. Everything is on the line now.</p> <p>With the opening day of 17s wrapping up, we’ve got a pretty good idea of what these two teams are bringing to the table. Of course, the following waves of matchups will only provide more clarity...and excitement.</p> <p>So, let’s recap the journey for Premier and NE Elite so far.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Premier Nebraska 17 Gold</strong></p> <p>There are no easy routes to the title in the stacked 17 Open division, and I think Premier’s pool demonstrates this well. Every team in 17 Gold’s group has some top-tier talent.</p> <p>Premier arrived Thursday morning to a stiff test from Academy. After both sides scrapped to set victories, Premier pulled ahead in the tiebreaker to get in the win column early in Vegas.</p> <p>But, as I said, there are no "breaks" or leisurely matches in this tournament. Premier’s next two challengers were WAVE and TAV. Despite close battles throughout, Premier would drop these latter two Thursday matches. 17 Gold’s opportunity to bounce back comes Friday morning against NKYVC and Northern Lights to close out this round of pool play.</p> <p>17 Gold has already gotten big performances from a lot of the usual suspects. [player_tooltip player_id="58781" first="Madi" last="Woodin"] has done a great job of expertly distributing the ball to talented hitters like [player_tooltip player_id="37555" first="Maddie" last="MacTaggart"] and [player_tooltip player_id="58785" first="Kealy" last="Kiviniemi"]. [player_tooltip player_id="58782" first="Shaylee" last="Myers"] continues to provide a hammer of a swing on the left side to go along with her comfortability playing six rotations.</p> <p>The middles have been producing, too, with [player_tooltip player_id="37536" first="Emma" last="O’Neill"] and [player_tooltip player_id="58798" first="Sadie" last="Millard"] anchoring the attack at that position. Millard’s incredible foot speed allows her to cover a lot of ground and put up stout blocks from pin to pin.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Nebraska Elite 17 Alpha</strong></p> <p>17 Alpha has already shown that they’re going to be serious contenders in this division.</p> <p>Nebraska Elite faced a formidable foe in Madfrog to begin the tournament, but 17 Alpha was far from intimidated. Rather, they posted a comfortable two-set victory to prove that they meant business. The good times kept rolling as NE Elite faced OT later that morning. Another sweep quickly put 17 Alpha in prime position at 2-0.</p> [caption id="attachment_140271" align="alignleft" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-140271" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-26-at-8.12.51-PM-crop-1415x929-1619486274-300x197.png" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Kiviniemi[/caption] <p>In the final match of the day, NE Elite dropped its first set of the competition against Tstreet. That didn’t deter this team, though. A great display of resiliency and a three-set triumph put 17 Alpha atop its pool by Thursday’s end.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="58811" first="Katie" last="Galligan"] had an exceptional command of the libero spot on Thursday. She and [player_tooltip player_id="58776" first="Bailey" last="Helzer"] were able to drop dimes in serve receive whenever it was needed. That allowed [player_tooltip player_id="37531" first="Abby" last="Schomers"] to get in a rhythm, and she did a great job of dishing to her strong hitters. [player_tooltip player_id="135106" first="Meg" last="Raabe"] and [player_tooltip player_id="37532" first="Ava" last="Heyne"] continue to make huge contributions on the pins for this team.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>With this talented corps of athletes representing Nebraska, one team from the Cornhusker State might just have a championship moment coming.</p>