No. 2 Torrey Pines will take on No. 3 Assumption and No. 1 Papillion-LaVista South on the same night in one of the most highly anticipated high school volleyball events in history.
File photo by Jann Hendry
Nothing to date in the annals of high school volleyball has been on a grander scale than the Wednesday triangular that brings together the top three teams in the United States.
Sure there are major tournaments across the country, but never before have the top three teams been in the same gym on the same night on opposing sides of the net.
That changes Wednesday when No. 1
Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), No. 2
Torrey Pines (San Diego) and No. 3
Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) go head-to-head at Creighton University's Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb.
Besides the historic matchup of top-three teams, the Nfinity Battle on the Plains is also aimed at setting a national high school volleyball match attendance record in the 2,500-seat arena.
The lineup is set with unbeaten Torrey Pines (8-0) facing once-beaten Assumption (25-1) at 6 p.m., followed by Assumption taking on 15-0 Papio at 7:15 p.m., and concluding with Papio squaring off against Torrey Pines at 8:30 p.m.
The event is so highly anticipated that LaVista South's
Amber Rolfzen admitted she "might get nervous ... and that never happens."
Amber Rolfzen and Papillion-La Vista South look to extend their 97-match winning streak.
File photo by Sam Soliday
That's saying something since Rolfzen, her twin sister,
Kadie, and teammate
Kelly Hunter were members of the U.S. Women's Junior National team and have played in big venues before. The University of Nebraska-bound trio is also a key reason the Titans have won 97 straight games, going 41-0 in each of the last two seasons, and 15-0 so far this season.
The Titans have dominated Nebraska volleyball so thoroughly that they have lost just 10 of their last 240 games without losing a match in that span.
For Papillion-LaVista South, a pair of wins against top out-of-state competition would justify its place atop the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Rankings.
"You can't be national champions playing an exclusive Nebraska/Iowa schedule," said John Tawa, who owns Volleyball Prep Magazine and is the promoter of the event. "Fortunately, Titan coach Gwen Egbert, who is my friend, knows that."
A little over a year ago, Tawa set plans in motion for Wednesday's triangular.
"It started with Papillion," he said. "Because while the Titans can travel, the school board does not let them. They needed to play better competition for us to consider them for the national championship."
That meant the venue needed to be in Nebraska, so nearby Creighton University was selected with a goal of setting a national high school volleyball attendance record.
All that remained was getting a pair of teams that would help create a national audience with national implications.
Tawa said he knew Assumption would be loaded and would play anyone anytime if they could fit it into their schedule, so he approached Assumption coach Ron Kordes.
"Last year at Vegas, Torrey Pines coach Brennan Dean heard me talking to (Kordes) about it and wanted in," said Tawa. "I knew he would have a powerhouse team if healthy this year."
Assumption has won 16 Kentucky state titles since 1992 and has lost just six matches in its last 114.
Assumption looks to avenge its only loss of the season against Torrey Pines.
File photo by Jann Hendry
One of those losses occurred a little over a week ago, in the finals of the prestigious 48-team Durango Invitational in Las Vegas, when Torrey Pines dispatched the Rockets to win the title and end Assumption's 50-match winning streak. Torrey Pines features eight, possibly nine, D-1 level players, including 6-foot-6
Jennie Frager.
Combined, the three teams have lost just once in 2012. Each team's roster is filled with players who will be at D-1 colleges next year.
Despite carrying a perfect record into the match, Dean still considers his Torrey Pines team an underdog.
"By no means are we the favorite," he said. "Obviously the (Rolfzen) twins and playing in Nebraska will be a daunting task to manage and for us to keep under control. But this is a pretty exciting opportunity going to a large arena for these high school athletes and playing some extremely competitive teams."
Dean said the event will help his team grow and prepare for its ultimate goal.
"It will help us deal with the away game and lack of local support, so when we make our playoff run we'll have more experience to help us be more prepared," said Dean.
Assumption's Ron Kordes has taken his teams to major tournaments from coast to coast, but said this is a "one-of-a-kind" event, noting the school approved it as a one-time thing.
"It's a great experience for our players to get this opportunity," said Kordes. "People of Omaha are volleyball crazy and very appreciative of good volleyball. This is exciting."
LaVista-South coach Gwen Egbert said playing Assumption and Torrey Pines will be among the biggest out-of-state challenges ever for her program. She said this event will eclipse previous matches with top-ranked St. James Academy (Lexeta, Kan.) and Western Christian (Hull, Iowa).
LaVista-South is nearing the Nebraska record for consecutive wins, currently held by Scotus (Columbus) at 115, but Assumption and Torrey Pines are standing in the way.
"We never talk about it (the streak)," said Egbert. "Our total focus is to improve every single day. If I was worried about wins and losses, we wouldn't be playing Torrey Pines and Assumption. But we want to play the best and want our kids to grow and play their best.
"It can't be all about winning. We're trying to build people, build people skills," she said. "In life, you aren't going to win all the time. This is a lifetime experience."
No matter who wins, Wednesday's historic Battle on the Plains expects to be a great experience for all involved with high school volleyball.
