GLPL 17/18 Super Open Recap: How Wisconsin Clubs Fared
The first weekend of GLPL is always filled with excitement, optimism, and a little bit apprehension. With a variety of lineups, players who could be out due to injury or a basketball game, and teams still finding their identity provides the first step in improvement across the board. One thing for all teams is that I’m sure they were excited to be in a different gym and playing against someone other than their own club. Here is a recap of how the Wisconsin teams fared at the 17/18 Super Open Division at the Great Lakes Power League in Aurora, IL at Sports Performance. FC Elite went 4-0 and Milwaukee Sting 17 Gold 3-1, setting up a meeting the last weekend of January in the Silver Pool.
* represents clubs from Wisconsin.
Pool A
3-0 Uno 18 Girls 18 Elite
1-2 FaR Out 17 Black
1-2 Energy 18U
1-2 *Milwaukee Sting 17 White
For Milwaukee Sting 17 White to be in a three way tie for second place was a great outcome for them. After dropping their first match in five sets, they closed out pool play with a win against Energy with a five set win and then went onto win their crossover match against Krush out of Michigan in a sweep to be in the Copper Pool at the end of the month. For being the fourth seed in the pool, to come out in this position is very positive for this team.
Pool B
*All Out Of Region Teams
Pool C
3-0 Michio Chicago 18 National
2-1 *WVA 17 Black
1-2 Cyclones 18 Black – Adidas
0-3 *Wisconsin Premier 18 Teal
Michio Chicago 18 National absolutely steamrolled their way through pool play, but WVA used a very balanced attack to finish second in the pool. Olivia Olson, setter for WVA, was distributing the ball to all hitters, giving them some one on one opportunities to score points. Cece Huhn was an extreme physical force running the slide. Wisconsin Premier 18 Teal had tough pool play, but was able to win their Silver Crossover to be in the Copper Pool with Sting 17 White at the end of the month.
Pool D
*All Out Of Region Teams
Pool E
3-0 Sky High Adidas 18 Black
2-1 Ultimate G18 Gold
1-2 Sports Performance 18 White
0-3 *Milwaukee Sting 17 Black
The 0-3 pool play record for Milwaukee Sting 17 Black is a little deceptive. 17 Black was never swept, taking a set off Sky High and went to five sets with Ultimate. The only three set match they had was in the Silver Crossover where they defeated VC United 181 Elite. That victory put them in the Copper Pool B for the next GLPL playing date. The Copper Pool will be a battle of plenty of Wisconsin Clubs providing an exciting second playing date at the end of January.
Pool F
*Out of Region Teams
Pool G
3-0 Sports Performance 18 Kahl
2-1 Fusion 17 Red
1-2 1st Alliance Silver 16 Silver
0-3 *WI Juniors 18-1
WI Juniors had a tough weekend overall going 0-3 in pool play and then losing a tough five set match in their crossover. Wi Juniors will be hosting their own tournament at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee this upcoming weekend called the Winter Classic and will get to see some of the familiar teams at GLPL.
Pool H
-Out of Region Teams
Pool I
2-1 Michio Chicago 18 Prem
2-1 Fusion 18 Black
2-1 *Capital 17 Adidas
0-3 Sky High Adidas 17 Black
Capital 17 Adidas won two five set matches, defeating Sky High 15-13 in the fifth set the first match of the day and then to finish pool play, defeating Michio Chicago 17-15 in the fifth set. The team showed incredible balance, running a 6-2 offense and distributing the ball to all positions it makes for a tough team to defend. However in the Silver Crossover match they were defeated by fellow Wisconsin club, 17 Motion Blu in three sets.
Pool J
3-0 *FC Elite 17 Navy
2-1 1st Alliance 18 Black
1-2 *Capital 18 Adidas
0-3 *Motion Volleyball 17 Blu
FC Elite was able to fight through some early adversity with an injury and having another player missing, but was still able to come out of their pool with a 3-0 record, and 4-0 overall putting them in the Silver Pool for the next playing date. Maggie Cartwright and Addison Barnes were absolutely dominant from the outside for Elite along with the solid backrow play of Kayla Kraus. Their first match against Capital 18 Adidas was a thriller going five sets and being down late in the 5th set to make a comeback. Capital Adidas 18 was 1-2 with their victory coming over Motion, but Motion was able to come back in the Silver Crossover and defeat Capital 17 Adidas. Motion is an extremely athletic team that will continue to improve throughout the season.
Pool K
2-1 *Milwaukee Sting 17 Gold
2-1 Illini Elite 18 Cardinal
1-2 *Motion Volleyball 18 Blu
1-2 Fusion 16 Red
Milwaukee Sting 17 Gold had a little hiccup to start the day losing to Fusion 16 Red, but continued to progress throughout the weekend, with a 5 set win over the number one seed Illini Elite 18 Cardinal. They will be in the Silver Pool next playing date with FC Elite who is a familiar opponent from last year at GLPL. Motion also improved throughout the weekend, winning their last two matches, including their crossover. Paige Jaeger was solid on defense as the libero providing consistent serve receive and court presence. Like the 17 Motion team, this team is incredibly athletic and has a very high ceiling for the rest of the club season.
Pool L
*Out of Region Teams
*Another team to note that had a stellar weekend was Southwest Volleyball Club (SWVBC) out of Waukesha. Although they were not competing in Super Open, they finished 6-0 in match play on the weekend. They will be competing in the American Division at the Chicago Winter Volleyball Championships.