Five Storylines To Watch Heading Into the MLK 18s Qualifier in Kansas City
MLK weekend is always the start of big-time club tournaments and is now the opening weekend of clubs chasing bids to USAV 18 Nationals which will be the first weekend of May in Reno/Lake Tahoe. Plenty of teams will have…
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Continue ReadingMLK weekend is always the start of big-time club tournaments and is now the opening weekend of clubs chasing bids to USAV 18 Nationals which will be the first weekend of May in Reno/Lake Tahoe. Plenty of teams will have their eyes on the prize in Kansas City which will feature some of the top athletes and teams in the country, looking to claim that early bid. Here are a few storylines to watch heading into the weekend with play starting Saturday morning and concluding Monday afternoon.
Teams Looking To Qualify Open…Again
MAVS, KC Power, Premier Nebraska, and Six Pack are coming off of bids to 17 Open level in 2019, but only one bid is up for grabs this weekend. MAVS went 8-1 at USAV Nationals, finishing in a tie for 5th place with their only loss coming in the first round of Gold to COAST out of California. All of these teams have some familiarity with each other, often meeting in key Day 2 and Day 3 qualifiers where bids are up for grabs and usually comes down to a key crossover. Six Pack defeated KC Power at nationals last year to finish in the top 15.
MAVS 18 Open Favorites
Wait setting for MAVSSome of the top players in this country are on this MAVS squad with some Kansas commits in Caroline Crawford, Kim Whetstone, and Caroline Bien. Kendra Wait is one of the best athletes you’ll find and will quarterback the offense. Wait was most recently named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Kansas. Wait is out of the Class of 2021 and will head to Creighton following her high school and club career. With the power from MAVS they will still be facing teams who have athletes committed to top programs in the country and the beginning of the season is always a time for upsets to happen.
Watch Out For Adrenaline 18 Austin
Adrenaline will be coming out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and has plenty of athletes returning on the Eastern Iowa Xtreme 18’s team that won a 2019 USAV 17 National Division title. Rylee Fay (Missouri State), Emily Strauss (Kirkwood), Delaney Rice (St. Louis), Sydney Dennis (Iowa), and uncommitted 2021 middle/right side Natalie Welch. This team will have the athleticism, physicality, and ball control to compete with some of the top squads out of the Midwest. The addition of 2021 outside Lauren Schrock, an Iowa commit with a big arm will have the ability to score big points in crucial situations.
Premier 18 Gold Going For Gold
Premier out of the Omaha area is always one of the top clubs no matter what division or tournament. The Gold team for the 18s this year is scattered with top talent that is heading to various NCAA Division 1 schools and top Division 2 programs. Megan Skovsende is an electric pin who is from one of the top high school programs in the country in Skutt Catholic out of Omaha and will stay close to home heading to Creighton as will McKenna Rush who will go to Nebraska-Omaha. Other Division 1 commits going to NCAA Tournament Teams from this past season are Isabel Lukens (Southeast Missouri) and Kenedy Schaecher (Northern Colorado). Nebraska is home to some of the top D2 programs in the country where Sophie Hendrix will head to Wayne State and Ibinye Green to Nebraska-Kearney.
Six Pack out of Cedar Falls, IA looks to return to OpenIowa Clubs Splitting Between Two Qualifiers
Iowa clubs have always produced top teams throughout the Midwest. This weekend is a tale of two qualifiers. Six Pack is a perennial power as is CIA who will also be competing in the Open Division while other clubs will be heading East to the Chicago Girls Championships for another 18s Qualifier such as Iowa Rockets 18R, Club Ignit Select , and IPVA. Here is a quick breakdown for Iowa clubs and what Qualifier they will be heading to this weekend.
Kansas City – CIA, Six Pack, CR Surge, Iowa Rockets 18-1, Ohana, and Adrenaline
Chicago – Iowa Rockets 18R, Iowa Select, IPVA, Club Ignit Select