17 and 18 Open Gold Pools Set at Northern Lights Qualifier
It’s been a thrilling couple of days covering 17 and 18 Open here at the Northern Lights Qualifier. The only thing that would make it better is if I could be in five (or ten, or fifteen) places at once…
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Continue ReadingIt’s been a thrilling couple of days covering 17 and 18 Open here at the Northern Lights Qualifier. The only thing that would make it better is if I could be in five (or ten, or fifteen) places at once to cover every division going on at the same time. For those in the other divisions or age groups, we’re surely going to see you soon.
Championship Monday is upon us after a Sunday filled with drama, intense emotion, and incredible volleyball.
Let’s take a look at the Gold pools that will decide a champion and a Nationals bid.
18 Open
You could write a whole verse, chapter, and novel about everything that unfolded Sunday in 18 Open. Alas, time is of the essence.
When the dust settled, the Gold Pool 1 triad for Monday became Club V 18 Ren Reed, Premier Nebraska 18 Gold, and Vital 18-1 Gold.
These three went through a lot on Sunday. Club V 18 Ren Reed rallied from an early three-set loss to Front Range by taking two hotly contested matches against VCUnited and Metro. This Utah team is a resilient bunch.
Premier Nebraska 18 Gold found itself in a must-win situation after a rather unforgettable two-set loss to Northern Lights. An 18-16 triumph in the third set against HJV got the job done.
Like Premier, Vital 18-1 Gold overcame some unusual circumstances of their own to win their pool. This team just continues their march through the field, and no one can overlook them anymore.
Well, it’s been quite a day in 18 Open.
After a wacky ending with a long delay, Vital 18-1 Gold takes another win! pic.twitter.com/zW5cLQb68w
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) January 30, 2022
Now, the other side of 18 Open: FC Elite 18 Elite, Mizuno Northern Lights 18-1, and VC United 18-1 Elite.
FC Elite 18 Elite didn’t want any of that Sunday drama. They won all three of their matches on the day and look like the red-hot team we expected.
Northern Lights 18-1 used a hard-fought three-set victory against KC Power to break through into Gold. An eventful day yielded positive results.
Finally, VC United 18-1 Elite’s physicality and toughness have lifted them into the final round. This is one team that has seemed to settle in as the weekend progressed.
17 Open
Time to tackle that big field of 17 Open teams. I mention the division’s size because it changes the format a bit. Four teams are in these pools, and one Gold pool match for each team was already played to ensure we get every match in. So, we’ll talk about opening Gold results here, too.
Pool 1 in 17 Open consists of MN Select 17-1, Dynasty 17 Black, OT 17 J John, and Premier Nebraska 17 Gold.
MN Select 17-1 really found their stride in Sunday pools, picking up three straight wins and cementing their place in Gold. This is just what this group is capable of.
Dynasty 17 Black had similar Sunday success and picked up every second-round pool win in sweep fashion. Their match against Skyline was a particularly hard-hitting affair that just narrowly went in Dynasty’s favor.
Very business-like approach for @dynastyvbc 17 Black so far. More quick offense and lethal scoring. pic.twitter.com/O7nX8hTY4T
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) January 30, 2022
OT 17 J John had an incredibly busy Sunday, going to three sets in every match they played! After being defeated by HJV 17 Elite, the Florida squad regrouped against UPVBC to make the field.
Premier Nebraska 17 Gold overcame adversity of their own after encountering the buzzsaw that is 1st Alliance. A gritty three-set triumph over Sky High was just enough to see a path to Gold.
Pool 2 now! This group has 1st Alliance VBC 17 Gold, HJV 17 Elite, Skyline 17 Royal, and MAVS KC 17-1.
How many superlatives can you use to describe 1st Alliance VBC 17 Gold? No team managed to hand them their first set loss of the tournament after three more matches on Sunday. That’s dominance.
HJV 17 Elite found their groove in Sunday pools, but it didn’t come easy. A 19-17 win in the third-set against OT was quite an escape.
A Texas tandem is formed between HJV and Skyline 17 Royal. This physical squad used commanding wins over MAVS 816 and SynergyForce to lock themselves in.
And, despite finishing Sunday pools with a very narrow defeat to MN Select, MAVS KC 17-1 got in on the heels of wins over ID Crush and Nebraska Elite.
Then, as mentioned earlier, all eight of these teams would see the court one more time Sunday evening for a matchup in the newly minted Gold pools.
First on the floor were OT 17 J John and Minnesota Select 17-1. The teams traded sets before OT’s brute force at the net helped them win the deciding third.
The next three matches featured clear breakaway winners. Premier Nebraska 17 Gold had one of their most complete performances of the tournament to best Dynasty, and 1st Alliance continued their massive set win streak with a 2-0 win over Skyline. Finally, in the night cap, MAVS KC 17-1 used their quick offense to take down HJV.
So, that’s the story so far. The last chapter will be written on Monday.
A wild rally ends the 17 Open Sunday finale! MAVS KC 17-1 wins it.
Let’s do this one more time tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/APqrK9raLd
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) January 31, 2022