Kansas City MLK 18 Open Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Qualifier season is here for the 18s as they go on their last hoorah for their club careers. One of the earliest qualifiers each year is the MLK occurring Saturday-Monday in downtown Kansas City. Thirteen teams are set to compete for what we believe will be two bids. With this being the first qualifier of the season, there will be no trickle-downs in play. Here is a quick preview of the pools.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Pool 1: Minnesota Select 18-1, Academy 18E Rage, Topeka Impact 18-1, CEVA 18 Cardinal</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With not many early matches to go off of, it's up to the tournament to seed the pools and <strong>Minnesota Select 18-1</strong> earned the top one heading into the weekend after a strong 2022. The team is deep in talent featuring 2024s and Minnesota Commits Stella and Olivia Swenson. Middle Kate Simington and her 6'4" frame will be a force at the net and heading to Clemson next fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Academy 18E Rage</strong> joins this deep pool traveling from Indiana. The team returns a strong nucleus and will depend on the play of Gabby Weihe in the middle and Mya Ayro on the pin. The semi-local team traveling about an hour east <strong>Topeka Impact </strong>will be the third seed. They have a roster that features key contributors on a state championship team in the state's largest class. Kentucky-bound [player_tooltip player_id='120008' first='Brooklyn' last='DeLeye'] is one of the top pins in the tournament. Another player to watch is [player_tooltip player_id='120044' first='Taylor' last='Russell']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rounding out the pool will be <strong>CEVA 18 Cardinal</strong> flying from Virginia to join the party. They kicked off things last week with the Virginia Beach Brawl and got a little action under their belts. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Pool 2: Premier Nebraska 18 Gold, [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 18 Black, FRVBC 18-1 Black</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pool 1 will be the only pool featuring four teams, the remaining will be three teams deep. Making the short trip from Omaha will be the second overall seed <strong>Premier Nebraska 18 Gold</strong>, who also had a strong 2022 club season. When this team is clicking they can be a tough out. They have many weapons including Creighton commit Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Grace Heaney, who will be Purdue bound. <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 18 Black</strong> will look a little different with a couple of mainstays heading off to college early. The cupboard isn't bare and look for [player_tooltip player_id='99215' first='Brooklyn' last='Young'] to take a larger offensive role. Pepperdine-bound [player_tooltip player_id='123468' first='Brynne' last='McGhie'] will take over the setting duties this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Front Range</strong> <strong>Volleyball</strong> will be the third team in the pool and coming from the Rocky Mountain state. 6'3" MB and Wyoming commit Evelyn Udezue will headline this roster. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Pool 3: Mavs KC 18-1, Club V 18 Ren Austin, I[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last=''] 18 Black</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Local <strong>Mavs KC 18-1</strong> will be the third overall seed heading into the weekend. They are another team that has a roster capable of winning the whole thing and snatching a bid. They return Kansas pledge [player_tooltip player_id='119222' first='Aisha' last='Aiono'] in the middle and added [player_tooltip player_id='101697' first='Reagan' last='Fox'] and [player_tooltip player_id='120010' first='Sawyer' last='Thomsen'] from rival [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] to the squad. Utah will be in the house with <strong>Club V</strong> making a trip to the midwest. Their roster may not be the biggest size wise but filled with many athletic pieces. Brooklyn Sapp will take swings all along the front row. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Iowa [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']</strong> will be the third team in the pool and will travel down I-35 to compete for a bid. Lily Goos won't be playing far from her future college home at William Jewell college. The team will rely on ball control and defense to keep the rallies going and wear their opponents down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Pool 4: OT 18 J John, [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 18-1, ARVC 18N1 Adidas</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Floridians will leave Florida and travel to the midwest in January in search of a bid. Lucky for them no snow in the forecast, just cold. <strong>OT 18 J John</strong> will be on top of the final pool. I know I've sounded like a broken record, but the pieces on this roster are capable of making a run, and many return from a team familiar with the big-match experience. OH Grace Albaugh will be taking her talents to Georgetown next fall. Middle Zeta Washington will be playing in the Big 12 down the road at Cincinnati. Future Georgia Bulldog Allison Cavanaugh at 6'3" will be a tough match-up on the pin. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']']</strong> will look to get a bid in their backyard this weekend. They lost a couple of key fixtures as mentioned previously along with some off to college early. They are still a team that can be dangerous behind the play of [player_tooltip player_id='120040' first='Ava' last='TeStrake'], who will play at Creighton, and setter [player_tooltip player_id='98678' first='Sydney' last='Draper']. <strong>The Albuquerque Rebels</strong> will be the final team in pool 4 when the action gets going at the Kansas City Convention Center/Bartle Hall. They are another team that got some preseason action going last weekend with a tune-up tournament. Kiya Wilson and Hattie Villegas are two players to keep an eye out for. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Predictions </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I normally don't like making predictions this early in the year but at the same time, it's fun and exciting. Two bids we believe are going out due to the number of teams originally signed up at the deadline. With that being said, we are going to go with Minnesota Select 18-1 and Mavs KC 18-1 grabbing a pair of the first open bids of the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->