HPSTL Snatched Bid in 18 USA

Photo: HPSTL Social Media Team Facebook

Vernon Birmingham January 21, 2023 @ 03:06 PM

The St. Louis area HPSTL 18 Royal grabbed their national bid by winning the USA division at the Kansas City MLK Tournament last week going 8-1. The team is a veteran bunch with many years of playing together with players like Setter [player_tooltip player_id='102462' first='Addison' last='Kersting'], Middles [player_tooltip player_id='101700' first='Elise' last='Paul'], [player_tooltip player_id='123475' first='Kylie' last='Stehlin'], and OH [player_tooltip player_id='102461' first='Brianna' last='Wortman'] being on this roster for years.   The division was set up in three six-team pools for day 1. Not to sound like a broken record in these early season articles but seeding in the first tournaments tends to go off of the previous season's results. With that said, HPSTL found themselves atop pool 2 to begin the quest for a bid. Pool play would cover two days with three games on the first day, followed by two on the second. HPSTL was perfect on the first day but had to battle a three-set match to finish the day to keep the loss column empty.   After sweeping OT 18 J Tyler and Pohaku 18, they traded sets with exact scores of 25-20 with Top Flight 18's. The third set saw both teams exchange shots but behind the defense of libero [player_tooltip player_id='171210' first='Ella' last='Gaona'], 18 Royal raced to a 15-9 win.   Day 2 saw more of a challenge and the St Louis based squad with also Illinois players had to bring their game versus Nebraska One 18 Black. You couldn't ask for a more intense match as both teams made big play after big play. [player_tooltip player_id='152141' first='Emma' last='Fairchild'], who showed her big playmaking ability during the high school season in helping lead Westminster to another state title came to play to start the day. She helped lead the team to a 26-26, 25-23 win to send them to 4-0.   Things were looking good as they took the opening set in their last match of pool play over OP2 18-1. The Oklahoma team didn't lay down and grabbed the second 25-19. The winner of this match would be in the driver's seat so it appeared but one court over, Top Flight was in a three-setter themselves that would take them to 4-1 also. If HPSTL dropped the match, three teams would hold the same record. A win, they win the pool, a loss they would go to set percentages. Well, let the drama unfold as OP would win the third set and eventually the pool due to the head-to-head and the same percentage. This would give HPSTL the second-place finish as they went into the challenge rounds.   The challenge round match saw them take on USA South 18 Premier out of Florida. They took command of the first set late to win 25-19 before getting the sweep 25-23 to advance to the Monday gold bracket. [player_tooltip player_id='171209' first='Alli' last='Bishop'] and Truman State commit Elise Gibson had a good showing on the day.   The gold bracket would be the three-set and win blueprint for 18 Royal. The blueprint called for them to win the first set, lose the second, then win the third on their way to a championship.   Premier Nebraska 18 Black: 25-20, 10-25, 15-10   Six Pack 18: 25-22, 20-25, 15-10   Ozark Juniors 18 National: 25-22, 16-25, 15-11   Roster not mentioned above: [player_tooltip player_id='225833' first='Makenna' last='Cox'], Blaike Knolhoff, Sophie Mika, [player_tooltip player_id='222532' first='Jillian' last='Shaneyfelt']

The St. Louis area HPSTL 18 Royal grabbed their national bid by winning the USA division at the Kansas City MLK Tournament last week going 8-1. The team is a veteran bunch with many years of playing together with players like Setter Addison Kersting Addison Kersting 5'11" | S St. Charles | 2023 State MO , Middles Elise Paul Elise Paul 6'0" | MB Lutheran South | 2023 State MO , Kylie Stehlin Kylie Stehlin 6'2" | MB Rockwood | 2023 State MO , and OH Brianna Wortman Brianna Wortman 5'10" | OH Francis Howell | 2023 State MO being on this roster for years.