18 USA in Nebraska and Ohio

We had to break up our coverage due to the number of teams in play last weekend. Just like with the open division, there was success found in the USA divisions for Missouri 18u teams. We will start in Omaha where two teams walked away with bids. As we shared in the 18 open recap, we have been working hard to cover teams within the Gateway and Heart of America regions. We will continue to do such but will primarily focus our attention for the most part on players in the state of Missouri moving forward. Northern Lights 18 USA Dynasty 18 Black - 2nd Place - 7-2 Overall Record It has to be a great feeling to get your bid out of the way in the first qualifier. Dynasty 18 Black accomplished this task with a strong weekend going 7-2 in the USA Division. They started the qualifier on a 5 match winning streak, going undefeated on the first day by sweeping all three opponents in commanding fashion. The second day saw them finish 2-1, losing only to Mizuno Northern Lights 18-2. The second-place finish in pool play sent them to the gold bracket. The first match would prove to be huge, as a victory would assure them a bid once Michio 18 National clinched their spot in the semi-finals. Michio was the lone team entering the qualifier with a bid earned, doing so the week prior. Dynasty would win a three-set showdown with Oklahoma Peak, walking away with a 15-13 victory. After securing their bid they faced off with local foe Mizuno Club North 18 IB and defeated them in three. The championship match was against the before mentioned Michio team, who would double qualify but walking away with the championship in a sweep. Missouri players that played extremely well for Dynasty include setter [player_tooltip player_id="41765" first="Lily" last="Letchworth"]. We’ve mentioned before but she will be a strong pick up for a program looking for an aggressive playmaker with great decision-making abilities. She continued to show this weekend why she’s one of the top setters still available in the state. MB Lauren Halverson (College of the Holy Cross) looked good in the matches I saw live. She gets off the ground quickly and was effective. Libero [player_tooltip player_id="116393" first="Kayla" last="Smocks"] (Ottawa) was key defensively for Dynasty, making plays and passing with precision. Mizuno Club North 18 IB - 3rd Place - 5-3 Overall Record I had the opportunity to catch a couple of their matches live and they are an impressive bunch. [player_tooltip player_id="116395" first="Hannah" last="Graves"] (Rockhurst) play along the net stood out, as she was a force offensively and defensively on their run to capturing a bid. They went 2-1 on the first two days to advance into the gold bracket, including a loss on day 2 to eventual champion Michio. In the gold bracket, they had to match up with another Kansas City team, in Invasion 18 Black. As we shared in the Dynasty recap, a first-round victory would prove to be huge as it would give them one of the three available bids. In a close match, Club North would prevail -21, -22. They would then lose to Dynasty 18 Black. Club North has quite a few uncommitted players who stood out. S/OH [player_tooltip player_id="118842" first="Aly" last="Anderson"] continues to look comfortable in the setter role. During the high school season, she primarily hits but transitioned into a setter during the club season over the last couple of years. She moves well and makes good decisions. She is still capable of scoring on the pin as well. OH [player_tooltip player_id="118883" first="Helena" last="Eubanks"] is another smart pin who mixes up her shots to find the floor. She is still growing into a six rotation player but is effective as a scorer. Libero Blair Taylor was one of my favorite plays to keep an eye on. She was all over the floor digging balls and covering swings. Invasion 18 Black - 5th Place - 5-2 Overall Record Invasion was a win away from grabbing a berth to the national championships this April in Columbus, OH. They dropped their first match of the tourney to Team Kiwi, before racking off five consecutive wins. Even with the 1st match defeat, they would place first in their pool. They would run the table on the second day to put join the other 7 teams in the gold bracket. We shared in the Club North recap, they would suffer defeat in the first round of the playoffs. Uncommitted MB Tamia McClunie looked good in the match we checked in on. She appears to have her bounce back. Another player a team should want to snatch off the market is OH [player_tooltip player_id="116388" first="Kendall" last="Boone"]. Her confidence as a scorer is on another level right now. THR33 Volleyball 18-1 - 15th Place - 2-5 Overall Record THR33 got off to a fast start, going 2-1 on the first day which was good enough for a second-place finish. They would stay in contention for a bid heading into pool play on the second day. Day 2 wasn’t as kind to them as they would face off with two teams who would eventually end up in the semi-finals. They were defeated by tournament champion Michio to start the day. Later they would lose at the hands of Iowa Select and Mizuno Club North. Their final match would end in defeat to Adversity 18 Black in the first round of Bronze Bracket play. We watched a couple of matches on Baller TV to get a glimpse of this team. Setter Samantha Thompson (William Jewell) was productive. The southpaw is a leader and has a motor. Libero McKinzie Thompson was all over the court. I liked the play of OH [player_tooltip player_id="118835" first="Morgan" last="LeBlanc"]. She handles herself comfortably in the back row and can score on the pin. Junior MB Katelyn Crossland will be a player to keep our eyes on during the season. She is long and hits with power. Bids: Dynasty 18 Black, Mizuno Club North 18 IB, Mizuno Northern Lights 18-2 Ohio Valley 18s Qualifier USA Division Rockwood Thunder 18 Navy - 8th place - 5-3 Overall Record Like with their top team, 18 Navy traveled to Ohio in search of a nationals bid in the USA Division. The tournament featured 19 teams in hopes of securing their postseason plans. Rockwood took care of business on the opening day, going 3-0 and moving into gold pool action. The second day proved to be more difficult as they would go 1-2 in pool play and send them to the Bronze pool and out of contention for one of the bids at stake. They would split their finals matches defeating Paramount and losing to a team they previously defeated in Mintonette M.82. Setter [player_tooltip player_id="116391" first="Olivia" last="Meier"] (Harding) was a standout in the matches we watched back. She has great ball placement and I really loved her backsets. OH [player_tooltip player_id="101692" first="Taylor" last="Gentemann"] (Lindenwood) swung well. Belle Monaco (Missouri S&T) was effective behind the service line and had some good rips from the back row. MB Maureen Matthews caught our eye as well. Libero [player_tooltip player_id="101679" first="Alexis" last="Basler"] (Drury) was covering ground and making plays, as has become the norm.