Intriguing Match-ups: Med City Cup I
There will be over 100 teams battling for the top spot in the 7th annual Med-City Cup. Named the Med-City Cup for its location in the same town as the world-renowned Mayo Clinic; hundreds of players will return to Rochester, MN on April 7th and 8th and 14th and 15th. Here are some intriguing match-ups we hope to see and predictions for the first weekend:
18’s Division: While most of the tournament will be held at the National Volleyball Center and Century High School, the 18’s will be facing off at Rochester Community and Technical College. This venue is the perfect place for many of these soon-to-be college players to showcase their skill. These matches will not disappoint as the 17’s and 18’s teams from Iowa, Wisconsin, Twin Cities, and Rochester area teams take the court. We anticipate long rallies and matches to be decided in the third set. Our top 3 picks:
Southern Select 18-1: This team took first in the Med City Cup last year. They have a reputation for putting together a solid team of local Rochester players who combine to fine-tune their skills before heading off to play in college.
Iowa Rockets 18R: An impressive line-up with all eleven seniors committed to great colleges, many division one. Among them Kami Knutson, a setter/right side, who will be attending Winona State. Also, two players are taking their talent to Western Illinois and two to Southeast Missouri.
SMV 17-1’s: Another team with a tall, athletic setter, Abbey Bigelow, who has has committed to play at University of North Dakota, will lead her powerful offense against the top 18’s players.
Intriguing match-ups: With so much talent in this division, no team can be overlooked. We expect there will likely be many matches played within clubs as they make their way to the gold bracket. For example, Stewie 18’s and 17’s both have strong teams. Likewise, Impact has three teams entered and may end up eliminating one another.
16’s Division: This division will be filled with great talent and teams ready to play. With many teams entering the tournament for the first time, there will be a lot of new match-ups and we excited to watch them challenge our top 3 picks:
KEVC 16-1 : They’re 5’11” setter, Makayla Snow, runs fast-paced offense that is fun to watch. Having finished 3rd at Big City Luau, they will be one of the top contenders.
V-Hawk Extreme Adidas 16: With a slightly shorter line-up, they demonstrate scrappy defense and strong play in the middle. They recently placed 7th at the Badger Region Championships going against some of Wisconsin’s top clubs.
Stewie 16 Blue: This team will challenge bigger competition with their tough serves.
Intriguing match-ups: Flight 16-U from Janesville, Iowa is the top seed in pool E and will challenge strong local teams. Woodbury will also bring 2 teams along with three from the Hammerheads club. These teams from the Twin Cities areas are never over-looked because they are used to facing strong competition.
15’s Division: Although this age group has the fewest registered, these teams will get the chance to compete for the title against their peers. Many tournaments do not have a 15’s division and they are used to facing off against the 16’s teams. Our top 3 picks:
Hammerheads 15-1 SMV 15-1 Silver Winona JO 15U
Intriguing match-ups: KEVC, or Kandi Elite is a newer club gaining momentum based out of Kandiyohi County. With their strong coaching style and the element of surprise we can’t wait to watch them. Likewise, SMV 14-1 Black has claimed a spot in this bracket. They barely beat SMV 15-1 in three sets the last time they met and can’t be counted out.
Med City Cup II will take place the following weekend for 12’s, 13’s and 14’s and will have a lot of young talent.