Salt Lake City Showdown Results Roundup

Another action-packed USAV qualifier is in the books! Salt Lake City hosted some of the top club programs from the West Coast, Rocky Mountains, and far beyond. For me, it was a chance to get another look at some teams that I've been able to watch already this year. New talents were also discovered, and we'll cover some of those throughout the week. Most importantly, we have a new group of teams that have secured their bids to Nationals later this year. So, before we get into all the standout players from the Salt Lake City Showdown, let's take a moment to recap all the big winners from the event.   18s 18 Open had a large contingent of teams that looked like championship competitors. There was one major frontrunner throughout the weekend, though, as COAST 18-1 rolled through the opening two rounds of pools without dropping a set. They then clinched their berth in the 18 Open championship after getting past Arizona Storm and in-state rival WAVE. The other side of the 18 Open bid race was claimed by Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar J. Long Beach was part of a wild Gold pool in which each team finished 1-1 with the same 3-3 record in sets. The tiebreaker on points scored sent Rockstar to the title, where they promptly handed COAST 18-1 its first loss of the tournament in a three-set thriller. <ul> <li>Some dominant winners characterized a couple of other 18s divisions at the event. Sunshine 18 Westside claimed an 18 USA title after dropping one set all weekend, and Spiketown VBC 18-1 accomplished the same feat in 18 American.</li> </ul>   17s Much like 18 Open, parity was a prevailing theme in 17 Open. In Gold Pool #1 of this division, no team emerged unscathed. COAST 17-1, Club V 17 Ren Reed, and AZ Revolution 17 Premier exchanged blows and ended up with 2-1 records with a bid on the line. In the end, home-standing Club V took the tiebreaker by an incredibly narrow margin. The second Gold pool belonged to one of the most impressive teams of the entire tournament: Alamo 17 Premier. These Texans took Salt Lake City by storm and found themselves in the 17 Open championship match with an undefeated record. In the finale, though, Club V put together an inspired performance and claimed the title for the Utah faithful. <ul> <li>Tstreet 17-Naseri looked spectacular en route to a 17 USA title. This California squad is playing their best volleyball at the right time and will surely be one to watch at Nationals this summer.</li> </ul>   16s [caption id="attachment_185470" align="alignright" width="445"]<img class="wp-image-185470" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/03/IMG_7304-crop-3852x2529-1647242192-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="445" height="292" /> Colorado Juniors 16-Sherri competes at Triple Crown NIT.[/caption] Among a broad field of great teams in 16 Open, one squad emerged above the rest: Colorado Juniors 16-Sherri. I was so impressed with this team's length and physicality at Triple Crown NIT, and now they've put together a complete tournament performance worthy of a Nationals bid. 16-Sherri only dropped one set on the entire weekend and has to be thrilled about that pristine 10-0 overall record. The Gold pool opposite CoJrs was another barnburner with three more 2-1 records. It was another Club V team, 16 Ren Wayne, that swiped the tiebreaker to advance to the title match. Though the strength of Colorado Juniors was tough to overcome in the championship, it was still another reason for the home fans to get excited in Salt Lake City. <ul> <li>Absolute Black 16-1 was another top performer in this age division, as an unblemished record carried them to a 16 USA title. Alamo also got another big weekend from their 16 Elite squad in the 16 American group.</li> </ul>   15s You could tell at Triple Crown NIT last month that Arizona Storm 15 Thunder was going to be a serious Nationals contender once again. They proved it in Salt Lake City. 15 Thunder joined the unbeaten ranks as they stormed to a 10-0 record and looked stellar throughout. This team's brilliant firepower at every frontcourt position will be a big headliner as they compete for another title this summer. On the other side of the Gold pool fray, Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar C continued to surge after some great showings in the first two rounds of pools. Sweeps over Madfrog, ARVC, and EXCEL put this squad in the title match, where two undefeated squads faced off. Though AZ Storm prevailed, this Long Beach team will surely be worth following moving forward. <ul> <li>OP2 15-1 came out and stormed through the 15 USA field. Salt Lake City had great championship contenders from around the country, and OP2 was a perfect example.</li> </ul>