Boys Travel to Indianapolis in Hopes For Bids
We had some boy’s action last weekend as some traveled to Indianapolis for the Boys Winter Championships. This was a qualifier event with teams hoping to earn a bid for nationals. In the 18 Division, Mavs 18 Red had a successful weekend. Day 1 saw them go undefeated, including a three-set win to end the day over Spike Milwaukee. Day 2 saw them rake up four victories and put themselves in position for a bid entering the championship round. They faced off with FVP 18 Blue in the gold bracket. Both sets were close with FVP taking the first -21 and Mavs getting the second -22. The third was a battle that saw FVP take it 15-12. FVP would eventually win the whole tournament. Mavs finished third and earned a USA bid to Nationals.
Also in the USA Division, HPSTL had two teams competing in 18 Orange and 18 White. Orange went 2-1 on their first day to keep them in contention for a bid but would follow to go 1-2 on the second day. White went the same route as Orange, going 2-1 then 1-2. Orange would finish the weekend 4-4 and White 3-4.
One Missouri team played in the 18 open division, HPSTL 18 Royal. They would get the 5 seed and with three-team pools, would go 2-0 on day 1. Day 2 placed them in four-team pods with the second seed MVC 18 Brian. Both teams were undefeated facing off, with MVC taking the match in three sets. On day three, they would win their opening match in the gold bracket before dropping their semi-final against OCVC. With 5 bids in play, they earned their bid to Nationals.
In the 17s USA division, three teams from the Show-Me State competed. Two HPSTL teams and Mavs 17 Red. HPSTL Orange would get the 3rd overall seed and go 3-0 on day 1. Mavs were the 6 seed and each team in the pool would go 1-1 with Mavs getting 2nd in the pool. HPSTL White finished second in their pool, going 2-1. On the second day, Orange would again have a successful day in pool action finishing 2-0. Mavs would struggle on day 2 and go 0-3. Three teams in pool 2 would finish 2-1 but HPSTL White would get the tiebreaker and advance to the gold bracket. On championship Monday, White would drop their opening match. Orange wouldn’t drop a match capturing the championship and earning a bid.
Like in the 18 open division, only one team would play open in 17s and that team was second overall seed HPSTL 17 Royal. They went 2-1 on the first day of pool action, dropping a match to Cinci Attack. They would repeat a 2-1 record on day 2 but it would be good enough to advance to the gold bracket. Match 1 was a thriller as they would win the third set 19-17 over Aspire. The next match was another close one that saw them defeat Adversity to advance to the championship match to face MVC 17 Jake. MVC would become the champion after a sweep, -20, -22. Royal would earn an open bid.
16 USA featured five Missouri/Kansas boys programs. The highest seed was HPSTL 16 Orange who would win their pool going 3-0 on the day. Right behind them and seeded 7th was Mavs 16 Red. They were also in the same pool, where the Mavs would finish second going 2-1. HPSTL 16 White caught the unlucky break in their pool. They had a solid day going 2-1, but two other teams finished with the same record and White would drop to 3rd in the pool. HPSTL 16 Gray would also finish third, going 1-2. Rockwood 16 would go 0-3 in pool play to finish last. Both Mavs and Orange were the only teams in contention of earning a bid heading into day 2 but both teams would finish 1-2 and knock them out of the running.
In 16 Open, 16 Royal of HPSTL looked to keep the open streak alive for their program and did so going 3-0 on the first day of competition. After being re-pooled for day 2, they ran into a tough Academy 16 Adidas team to finish 2nd. Their hopes for an open bid remained by advancing to the gold bracket. With four bids in play, one win and they’re in. The first set saw them lose to 603 Volleyball. They were now in a must-win situation and they gave their all winning a lengthy 35-33. That set took a lot out of them as they would drop the final set 15-7 and just miss on earning an open bid.