CIS 18 Blue Earns USAV Nationals Bid in Kansas City
Mission accomplished. Out of all the Midwest club teams that I could feature after the results at Kansas City’s MLK Challenge, Club Ignit Select 18 Blue has to be at the top of the list. Naturally, I was excited to…
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Continue ReadingMission accomplished.
Out of all the Midwest club teams that I could feature after the results at Kansas City’s MLK Challenge, Club Ignit Select 18 Blue has to be at the top of the list. Naturally, I was excited to see Ignit perform in 2022 after I got to visit their gym last December for the Prep Dig Iowa Top 250 Expo. 18 Blue has already given me more reason for enthusiasm.
So, let’s briefly recap their journey through the MLK Challenge. We’re going to be talking about some athletes who have been big names around the Iowa prep scene for a long time. It’s only fitting that their club careers will wrap up on the Nationals stage.
Round One
Competition in the 18 USA division began in pools of six. CIS 18 Blue had five worthy opponents to get through before their bracket fate was decided.
Ignit made their Saturday slate look like a breeze. The team picked up three consecutive sweeps and never let any of their opponents reach 20 points in any set. Credit for this accomplishment can be spread to a lot of different players, too. Chloe Largent Chloe Largent 6'1" | RS AC/GC | 2022 State IA was a persistent scoring threat at the opposite position and showed that she can take some assertive swings from the backcourt in zone one. Lauren Carter Lauren Carter 5'11" | S Winterset | 2022 State #43 Nation IA also deserves props for the way she distributed to her hitters with some nice pace. Ava Reynolds Ava Reynolds 5'11" | OH Ankeny | 2022 State #155 Nation IA and Faith DeRonde Faith DeRonde 5'10" | OH Oskaloosa | 2022 State #165 Nation IA were two players who flourished on the pins as the offense got rolling.
Matchups with VCNebraska and TIV awaited on Sunday, and 18 Blue ended up with similar success. The team faced its stiffed test of the event thus far as they went the distance with VCN, but scrappy play helped Ignit triumph in the tiebreaker set. Lexi Stephens Lexi Stephens 5'4" | DS/L Ankeny | 2022 State IA was a crucial component of that gritty backcourt, while Carly Puffer Carly Puffer 6'0" | MB Wilton | 2022 State IA and Abigail Brenizer Abigail Brenizer OH Norwalk | 2022 State IA helped hold things down in the middle. There was some nice variety at both of these spots, as well; Kendall Anderson Kendall Anderson 5'7" | OH Bondurant-Farrar | 2022 State IA played solid defense in middle-back, and Emma Cross Emma Cross 5'10" | OH Des Moines Christian | 2022 State IA is another opposite who made big plays in all six rotations.
After two days of play, CIS 18 Blue claimed a 5-0 record and had a shot at gold.
Into the Bracket
18 Blue was slotted into a challenge match with an in-state competitor: CIA 18 Black.
Again, though, Ignit kept up their forward momentum and swept through the challenge round to advance to the Gold Bracket. The win put CIS into the 18 USA semifinals, where one more win would guarantee a Nationals bid and a trip to the MLK Challenge championship match in the division.
Their semifinal opponent was TIV, a team that Ignit had already defeated in pool play. CIS fell in the first set, however, and would have to string together two straight. They did exactly that. A 25-17 bounceback in the second was followed by a late third-set comeback to win and advance. The Nationals bid was earned.
A tough battle in the MLK Challenge championship went to Ozark Juniors, but Club Ignit Select now gets to shift toward the big picture: growing and improving for Nationals. This team has been through a lot, and this is a great way to start 2022.