Complete Bid Summary from First Northern Lights Qualifier
We’re handing out bids to Nationals, and there’s truly nothing better than that. 18s and 17s vied for those coveted bids in another intense outing at the annual Northern Lights Qualifier. Here is the place where we’ll overview all the…
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Continue ReadingWe’re handing out bids to Nationals, and there’s truly nothing better than that.
18s and 17s vied for those coveted bids in another intense outing at the annual Northern Lights Qualifier. Here is the place where we’ll overview all the results and the teams who found bid-earning glory. Stay tuned throughout the week as we go into further detail on many of these top-performing teams and their players.
Deja Vu
Riddle me this: last year’s 16 Open qualifiers at NLQ were Dynasty 16 Black, A5 16-Gabe, and Premier Nebraska 16 Gold. This year, the event’s 17 Open qualifiers are Dynasty 17 Black, A5 17-Jing, and Premier Nebraska 17 Gold.
I was lucky enough to attend both of these events, and the parallelism still fascinates me as I work on post-NLQ coverage. Dynasty 17 Black was as we all remember it: a high-flying squad whose lethal combination of ball control and tempo is difficult to stop. The 2025 combo of Reese Messer and Abigail Mullen was on another level, and the team was scoring even without Nebraska commit Skyler Pierce during the opening rounds.
A5 17-Jing showed up with some new-look uniforms but a familiar brand of physicality. Kentucky-bound outside hitter Hannah Benjamin had an extraordinary weekend and never failed to find any seams in the opposing block. Mia Hood and MK Patten anchored the wall up front.
And I’ve already gone in-depth on Premier Nebraska 17 Gold here, given that it’s a team from right in my backyard. The continued evolution of 17 Gold has been so gratifying to watch, and that growth will continue right into Chicago.
If we’re looking for any more deja vu, let me remind you that these are three of the four teams that stood on the 16 Open podium at last year’s Nationals. Do it again.
18s
Local stars rose up to claim bids in 18 Open.
MN Select 18-1 and Mizuno Northern Lights 18-1 rose up on Championship Sunday to claim bids right in the heart of Minneapolis. They did it by finishing second and third in the final pool that also featured a hard-charging Iowa Rockets 18R team. Select had its familiar combination of Big Ten-bound athletes like Stella Swenson, Olivia Swenson, and Kaia Caffee, while Northern Lights got big outings from the duo of Ella Christ and Avery Rosenberg.
However, the gold hardware went to Premier Nebraska 18 Gold, which already qualified in Kansas City during MLK weekend.
Then we reach 18 USA, a division that had a ridiculous amount of parity for everyone except TAV Houston 18 Adidas. The Texas squad finished a perfect 8-0 while being the only squad in 18 USA with fewer than two losses. That’s wild.
Two bids were available in this group, and PVA 18 Elite took the last spot by finishing second. We might see both of these teams compete in Open soon.
Mizuno Club North 18Sam made a flawless run in 18 Liberty to take a bid, joining PVA and Dynasty as a KC-area team to find success here. Summit 18-Bob also snagged a bid for the home crowd.
Finally, Kairos 18 Beta emerged with an unbeaten run to claim the sole 18 American bid. I’ve seen this group in Midwest Power League settings back home in Nebraska, and it’s no surprise to see Kairos find championship success here.
17s
We already covered the wild world of 17 Open, but other 17s divisions delivered their own drama.
Iowa PowerPlex 17U Elite Black is on the board with a roaring 9-0 triumph to win 17 USA. It’s a roster stacked with athletes that I’ve enjoyed covering in my neighboring state, including Hadley Hardersen, Ava Helming, and Finley Schelhaas. This team is legit.
TAV Houston gets on the board again with a USA bid from 17 Adidas. We’ve seen this group dominate at this stage before, and a few roster changes won’t slow down the Texas squad. Alongside TAV Houston, Rockwood Thunder 17 Navy pulled through for the third bid and features several defensive standouts that we’ll follow throughout the season.
17 Liberty was an absolute gauntlet, and 417 Juniors 17-1 eventually came out on top with an unblemished record. This team has some incredible physicality that is keynoted by middle blocker Miliana Sylvester and outside hitter Reese Ricketts. We might see this group climb up the division ladder now that a bid is already in hand.
HP South 17 Premier finished runner-up for the other Liberty bid. When I look down this division, I see plenty of other one-loss teams that were barely edged out in bracket play to be denied a bid. That’s going to produce a lot of parity and drama heading into future events in 17 Liberty.
Lastly, FC Elite 17 White got one on the board for Wisconsin with a 17 American championship. I’ve been able to see the depth of this club firsthand through many of our Prep Dig Circuit events, and seeing this club on top feels righteous.