Big Winners from the Bellevue West Invitational
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The Bellevue West Invitational has been providing excitement for decades. This year was no different. I got a chance to pace around the corridors of Bellevue West High School and get a look at several top-tier teams from Nebraska and…
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Continue ReadingThe Bellevue West Invitational has been providing excitement for decades. This year was no different.
I got a chance to pace around the corridors of Bellevue West High School and get a look at several top-tier teams from Nebraska and beyond. They were all right there in the same building. That opportunity doesn’t come around often, but this event always seems to deliver.
Now, with all those great squads in one place, we were bound to see some standouts over the weekend. Certain groups of players took the opportunity to make their presence known on opening week. Some teams surprised us with new-look rosters that looked really sharp from the very beginning. We’re going to talk about those storylines today.
Here are some of the big winners from the Bellevue West Invite.
New Additions
It was incredible to see how many transfers are already thriving in their new environments.
A busy offseason culminated in several transfers that could be seen for the first time with their new teams at the Bellevue West Invitational. Right away, you could see that these new additions would make a big impact on the invitational and the season ahead.
Unsurprisingly, Alanna Bankston Alanna Bankston 6'1" | MB Millard West | 2023 State #68 Nation NE and Evan Glade Evan Glade 5'11" | OH Millard West | 2023 State NE played a huge part in Millard West’s impressive runner-up finish at the event. Bankston showed a wicked arm on the right, and Glade was just as effective on the left. Having these reliable pin hitters will be a huge boost to the great group of ball control players that the Wildcats already had.
Paisley Douglas Paisley Douglas 5'5" | DS/L Omaha Skutt Catholic | 2024 State #123 Nation NE held down the libero spot for six-time defending champs Skutt Catholic. That’s a lot of pressure, but the former Wahoo Neumann product handled it well.
Another impactful new player in a powerhouse program was Mia Tvrdy Mia Tvrdy 6'0" | MB Papillion-La Vista | 2024 State #35 Nation NE . The sophomore middles deadly slide fit right into the Monarchs’ offense. It just worked. Perhaps that’s because Tvrdy is now taking sets from her club setter, Reagan Hickey Reagan Hickey 5'8" | S Papillion-La Vista | 2024 State NE .
Then, of course, there’s Omaha Westside. This team made added Destiny Ndam-Simpson Destiny Ndam-Simpson 6'1" | OH Omaha Westside | 2023 State #37 Nation NE and Audrey Behrens Audrey Behrens 5'6" | S Omaha Westside | 2023 State NE in the offseason, and that quickly translated to a championship bracket appearance in the Bellevue West Invite. It’s a fantastic showing for a team that still has so much more time to gel and improve.
Mia Tvrdy Mia Tvrdy 6'0" | MB Papillion-La Vista | 2024 State #35 Nation NE is bringing that killer slide to the @PLHS_Volleyball lineup this year. Look out 😳 pic.twitter.com/rLsGP3BeDZ
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) August 28, 2021
New Lineups
While we’re still talking about “newness,” we could give some recognition to the unfamiliar lineups that saw success over the weekend.
We start by going back to Papillion-La Vista, a team that had a lot of talent to replace from last year’s team. The Monarchs aren’t going anywhere. Morgan Glaser Morgan Glaser 6'0" | OH Papillion-La Vista | 2024 State NE had a stellar showing on the left side throughout the weekend. Anna Sis Anna Sis 5'11" | OH Papillion-La Vista | 2023 State NE was also impactful in her expanded role.
The new-look Omaha Skutt looked great, too. Abby Schomers Abby Schomers 6'0" | S Skutt Catholic | 2022 State #94 Nation NE has seamlessly taken control of this offense from the setter spot. The SkyHawks will continue to great pin production from players like Ava Heyne Ava Heyne 6'1" | OH Skutt Catholic | 2022 State NE and Morgan Burke Morgan Burke 5'10" | S Skutt Catholic | 2023 State #132 Nation NE . Never rule out another title run from this team.
The Favorites
People will always have their opinions about which teams are title favorites in each class. Eventually, you talk to enough people that a consensus begins to emerge. It was hard not to go into this Bellevue West Invitational without some expectations or preconceived notions.
In the end, the popular title favorites came out on top.
It starts with the champions of the event, Papillion-La Vista South. The Titans were simply spectacular from beginning to end. Ava LeGrand Ava LeGrand 5'11" | S Papillion-LaVista South | 2022 State #46 Nation NE and Madi Sheets have no shortage of talented hitters to feed in that two-setter system. Lauren Medeck Lauren Medeck 5'10" | OH Papillion-La Vista South | 2024 State #31 Nation NE continues to raise her level of play, and fellow left-side hitter Stella Adeyemi Stella Adeyemi 5'9" | OH Papillion-LaVista South | 2023 State #95 Nation NE is right there with her.
Of course, Millard West was right behind the Titans and locked up the silver medal. The Wildcats will undoubtedly be a formidable obstacle to Papillion-La Vista South’s title pursuit. Let’s get a rematch between these two.
We’ll have more on the Bellevue West Invite and beyond in the days to come!