Northern Lights 18-2 Earns MN’s First Bid of the Season

<p>The MLK weekend offered up the first opportunities for U18 teams to compete for bids to the 2018 Girls Junior National Championships. Teams competed at the first two qualifiers of the season in Kansas City and Chicago. A handful of Minnesota teams participated in those events with one bid earned by the Northern Lights 18-2 and their gold medal run.</p> <p><strong>Martin Luther King Day Qualifier – Kansas City</strong></p> <p>The Northern Lights volleyball club sent four teams to Kansas City to compete as part of the three U18 divisions (Open, USA, American) offering bid opportunities. Leading the way was the NL 18-2 team, which finished with a perfect 9-0 record to claim the gold medal and one of three bids to the forthcoming 18 USA division national championships hosted by USA Volleyball. After dominating round one pool play action in dropping only one set in their first three matches, NL 18-2 found themselves seeded second heading into their round two pool. After winning their round two opening match 25-13, 25-13, the squad battled through consecutive extra game matches, eventually winning the pool with a 15-13 third set victory in their sixth match of the tournament. Round three gold bracket play saw NL 18-2 win handily with consecutive 2-0 wins in both their quarterfinal and semifinal matches. With three bids on the line, the semifinal victory secured their place at the national tournament. The gold medal match was tightly contested with NL 18-2 earning a third set 15-10 win and claiming their position at the top of the standings. The NL 18-2 squad features the following athletes:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9829" first="Arianna" last="Barrett"]</strong> (Lakeville North HS/2018); <strong>Madison Bremer</strong> (Prior Lake HS/2018);<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="9727" first="Mary" last="Campbell"]</strong> (Bethlehem Academy/2018); <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9830" first="Erin" last="Davis"]</strong> (Elk River HS, 2018); <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9735" first="Isabella" last="Erne"]</strong> (Blaine HS/2018); <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9742" first="Brynne" last="Gray"]</strong> (Northfield HS/2018); <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9713" first="Esther" last="Grussing"]</strong> (Willmar HS/2018); <strong>Alyson Murphy</strong> (Eagan HS/2018); <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="9750" first="Danielle" last="Pioske"]</strong> (Waconia HS/2018); <strong>Elizabeth Stark</strong> (Washburn HS/2018)</p> <p>Two NL teams competed in the 18 American division as their 18-Red team finished 14^th overall with a 5-3 record among 47 teams competing. NL nearly secured a second bid as their 18-Black squad was defeated in the gold medal match. With only one bid available in this division, they came up just short, finishing the tournament with an 8-2 overall record as both defeats came at the hands of the eventual champion from Iowa.</p> <p>The 18 Open division had two bids on the line. NL had one team competing in this division in their 18-1 team. With a 5-4 overall record, they finished the event in third place. Through the first two rounds NL 18-1 found themselves among the four teams that advanced to the gold championship pool. After securing a 2-1 win to open up the final round they lost a tough three set match before their final match loss to the event champion from Kansas City.</p> <p><strong>Girls Winter Volleyball Championship Qualifier - Chicago</strong></p> <p>One additional team competed for a bid at the U18 level as MN Select’s 18-1 team battled in Chicago. With a 4-3 overall record, MN Select concluded the event in 12^th place overall. Following an 0-2 start to begin round one pool play, MN Select reeled off three consecutive wins landing them in the bronze bracket. A 19-17 third set loss in the bronze bracket final match concluded their competition.</p> <p>It was a great weekend of experience for Minnesota teams and their quest for a berth to the national championships. With bid season just beginning several more bid opportunities will be up for grabs.</p>