Weekend Rewind: Better Late Than Never
We had some quality action around the state this weekend from both the Gateway and Heart of American (HOA) regions. These regions kicked off their “league” play and there were some strong performances. A couple of weeks ago we shared…
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Continue ReadingWe had some quality action around the state this weekend from both the Gateway and Heart of American (HOA) regions. These regions kicked off their “league” play and there were some strong performances. A couple of weeks ago we shared some 16u teams to keep an eye on. You can find the first article here. The second article here.
16s Power League HOA
HOA had their 16 Power League Qualifier last weekend in Wichita, Kansas. The format looks different this year where they didn’t complete a tournament for bidding purposes. Each pool winner automatically qualifies for the sixteen team power league. Normally, each pool winner would then play a bracket round but this year each pool winner just played once additional game. The remaining pool finishers were placed in pods where each winner would advance to join the other eight teams.
Adidas Dynasty, PVA, KC Power, Mavs KC, and Topeka Impact were all times we highlighted as the cream of the crop in this age division and they lived up to the billing Sunday.
Dynasty 16 Black went 8-0 in sets on the day to grab one of the top spots. Right behind them were KC Power with an 8-0 day. One of the other teams to finish at the top was not Mavs KC 16-1, but the Mavs KC 16-2 team. PVA rounded out this grouping dropping one set on the day.
The next group of teams were the before mentioned Topeka Impact and Mavs KC 16-1 team. Mavs 816 16-1 and 417 Juniors 16-1 had impressive days to clinch a spot in Power League going 3-1 in matches on the afternoon.
The remaining teams to qualify were: Dynasty 16-3, Air Capital Aces, Invasion 16-1, Invasion 16-2, Kansas Volleyball 16-1, Mavs 16-4, Club North 16-1, Shockwave 16-1
15s shine in St. Louis
The 15’s started their Gateway League last weekend. We didn’t do 15 club previews because we didn’t follow this group in the 14s division and of course the shorter season didn’t help. One thing we did notice while compiling the Class of 2024 rankings that the Rockwood 15 Elite team could be something special They didn’t disappoint getting off to a 6-0 start. They didn’t just win but dominated the competition. The closes set they had was 25-18 versus Missouri Juniors 15-1. We expect them to continue to run through the Gateway League and look forward to seeing them in action over President’s Day weekend.
Speaking of Missouri Juniors, it was surprising to see the HOA team in the Gateway League but they showed up and looked extremely strong on the day. The Rockwood match was their only setback on the day as they would finish 5-1. They ended up going three sets in three of those wins. HP South Premier joined Missouri Juniors with a 5-1 day. Their one loss came to a strong HPSTL 15 Royal team. They were impressive throughout the day and will use this momentum going forward.
A couple of other teams in the 15s division who looked strong were HPSTL 15 Royal and HTH 15-1. They both went 5-1, with HTH knocking off 15 Royal in two closely contested battles 25-23, 26-24. The sole defeat for HTH came at the hands of HPSTL Orange.