Another major club volleyball tournament, another national championship for a team from Nebraska.
The River City Juniors Navy squad recently captured the 16 Club division at the 51st AAU Junior National Championships in Orlando, Florida. The 4,600-team event is billed as the world’s largest volleyball tourney.
The team went 14-0 in its 158-team division and won 28 of 30 sets. The Navy squad swept Peak Performance from Oklahoma City in the best-of-three final to take home the championship in the highest division.
“Nebraska teams have gone down there and had great showings,” coach Deb Grafentin said. “These are hard-working kids who love to play.”
The Nebraska team had a close call in a semifinal but prevailed 21-25, 25-23, 15-9. That led to the final where the squad had another tight match before posting the 26-24, 25-22 victory.
“Most of our players are multi-sport athletes,” Grafentin said. “I think that helps …