Nebraska Elite 18 Yang Wins 18 American Championship at January Thaw
OMAHA – The stakes are usually high and the room for error very low when you’re playing in a USAV Qualifier in the American Division because it’s a winner-takes-all situation with only one team walking away with a bid. That…
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Continue ReadingOMAHA – The stakes are usually high and the room for error very low when you’re playing in a USAV Qualifier in the American Division because it’s a winner-takes-all situation with only one team walking away with a bid.
That was the case this past weekend at the January Thaw 18s USAV Qualifier at the CHI Health Center in Omaha where 22 teams from across the nation competed for the one bid. Ultimately, it was a team from right in Omaha that won the title.
Nebraska Elite 18 Yang capped a perfect 8-0 weekend with a 25-16, 18-25, 15-7 win over Summit Volleyball Club 18-1 to win he tournament and earn the bid to the USAV 18s National Championships to compete in the American Division. However, Nebraska Elite 18 Yang opted to decline the bid to nationals and therefore the bid went to Summit Volleyball Club.
It’s the second-straight year that a Nebraska Elite team has won the 18 American Division title at the January Thaw Qualifier.
Nebraska Elite 18 Yang went 3-0 in pool play on both Friday and Saturday to advance to the championship bracket on Sunday, Yang dropped just one set in the three matches each day.
In the championship bracket, however, Nebraska Elite 18 Yang was pushed to three sets in both the semifinals and championship. In the semifinals, Elite 18 Yang Mizuno Northern Lights 18-B by a score of 25-21, 11-25, 15-10.
Members of the Nebraska Elite 18 Yang team are:
Elizabeth Rupprecht (Bennington)
Lauren Maciejewski (Millard North)
Riley Miller (Omaha Marian)
Kelsey Olson (Millard South)
Grace Jensen (Bennington)
Morgan Lihs (Clarinda, Iowa)
Paige Holdsworth (Millard North)
Marissa Koch (Omaha Westside)
Jordan Bowen (Omaha Westside)
Lauren Walenz (Millard South)
Below is a list of how every team from Nebraska finished in the 18s USAV Qualifier portion of the January Thaw tournament.
18 Open
Nebraska Elite 18 Ying – Tied for 11th place
Premier 18 Gold – Tied for 15th place
18 USA
Premier 18 Black – 13th place
18 American
Nebraska Elite 18 Yang – 1st place
Banzai VBC 18s – 13th place
Omaha Volleyball Club – tied for 15th place