Another major volleyball club tournament, another national championship for a team from Nebraska.
The River City Juniors Navy team recently won the 16 Club Division at the 51st AAU Junior National Championships in Orlando, Florida. The 4,600-team event is considered the largest volleyball tournament in the world.
The team finished 14-0 in its division of 158 teams, winning 28 of 30 sets. The Navy squad swept Oklahoma City’s Peak Performance in the best-of-three final to claim the championship title in the highest division.
“The Nebraska teams have been there and have done great,” said coach Deb Grafentin. “They are hard-working kids who love to play.”
The Nebraska team had a close match in the semifinals but prevailed 21-25, 25-23 and 15-9. That led to the finals where the team had another close match before claiming the win 26-24 and 25-22.
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“Most of our players are multi-sport athletes,” Grafentin said. “I think that helps when you really have to dig deep.”
The coach added that she was more happy for her players.
“One day later, I realized what they had achieved,” Grafentin said. “Becoming national champion in any sport is so difficult.”
She said that while waiting for the awards ceremony, the players asked when the coach thought the team could achieve that goal.
“I told them at the trial training,” said Grafentin. “I could already see the potential of this group.”
The coach said that team chemistry played a big part in winning the title.
“The girls worked hard and supported our strategy,” said Grafentin. “If every player participates, you can take your game to a new level.”
Grafentin was joined by Aimee Noel and Sara Ryan. Navy Squad members Tre’Sor Porter and Faith Wiechman were named to the All-Tournament team, while libero Emeline Myers was named tournament MVP.
It was the second consecutive year that a River City Juniors team won a national title at the AAU event. The U13 team won its age group for the first time in 2023, besting 180 teams in its division.
Navy winning team and their high schools
Emma Ammon, Blair; Mariah Dutcher, Om. Gross; Maggie Fiene, Conestoga; Ella Frandson, Millard West; Jazmin Garcia-Alvarez, Om. South; Sienna Miller, Om. Gross; Emeline Myers, Millard South; Tre’Sor Porter, Millard North; Elsie Ryan, Papillion-La Vista; Faith Wiechman, Papillion-La Vista; Violet Woehler, Millard South.
