Kansas and Missouri Power Pool Participants: TCNIT

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We love Triple Crown. This is the one tournament that gets the USAV, AAU, JVA, etc all in one place. Out the gate, you are playing some of the best teams in the country and in the process, if you lose it doesn't affect your chance of winning the whole thing. Today we look at some of the teams fortunate to be selected in the [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] pools.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>18 Division</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavs KC 18-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Double qualified so no surprise here. They opted out of the local [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] league, possibly saving some legs and energy heading into the weekend's action and the last two months of the season. They have been getting good play on the pins with [player_tooltip player_id='101697' first='Reagan' last='Fox'] and [player_tooltip player_id='150076' first='Betsy' last='Goodenow']. The play in the middle will be critical as they have players who can affect the game both offensively and defensively in [player_tooltip player_id='119222' first='Aisha' last='Aiono'] and [player_tooltip player_id='120010' first='Sawyer' last='Thomsen']. They will be in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool A when the action kicks off. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 18 Black</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] won the region [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League recently going undefeated. On paper, many thought this would be a rebuild losing players to early graduation and movement to other teams but with the addition of [player_tooltip player_id='99226' first='Ashlyn' last='Bellamy'] and the defensive play of [player_tooltip player_id='150080' first='Reese' last='Bates'] and [player_tooltip player_id='261103' first='Ava' last='Anderson'], this team has turned some heads. They are in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool C. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>17 Division</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 17 Black</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No surprise here as Triple Crown arrives. This team has one qualifier down, a second-place finish in the open division to A5 Jing at Northern Lights. They have been placed in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool A with that same A5 team, along with the likes of Nebraska Premier, Drive 5, and TAV 17 Black to name a few of the other teams. We talk often about the offensive weaponry of this team but the defense at the net with the block from CyRae Campbell, [player_tooltip player_id='216417' first='Piper' last='Newton'], and [player_tooltip player_id='201027' first='Jada' last='Ingram'] in the middle getting pin to pin will be key. Also, the back-row defense of the pins along with [player_tooltip player_id='150068' first='Ryan' last='McAleer'] will be key. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We weren't shocked here either to see [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] make the [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool grouping to start the tournament. They had a strong year as 16s and returned almost every player from that team. The improved play of [player_tooltip player_id='119723' first='Julia' last='Headley'] has proved key early this season. [player_tooltip player_id='495628' first='Tatum' last='Tindall'] is a new face to this team. This is a team that may be flying under the radar a little nationally but will prove to be a problem for some teams this weekend. [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool D is where they will start. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 17 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We were surprised here when we didn't see Rockwood 17 Elite in the original [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool release. This is a team that has been consistent the last two years as a top maybe 15 team in the age group. More impressive is for the most part, this team has stayed intact. Like most teams at this level, they have quality hitters on the pin but we really love the two-setter system with [player_tooltip player_id='124219' first='Alyssa' last='Nelson'] and Morgan Dumm. [player_tooltip player_id='124215' first='Olivia' last='Hasbrook'] and [player_tooltip player_id='150049' first='Amelia' last='Moser'] are fantastic defenders on this team. Look for them in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool C. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>16 Division</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 16 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rockwood is fresh off of earning a Liberty bid from their region bid weekend tournament. They had a second-place finish behind HPSTL 16 Royal. They will team up with [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 16 Black who we will discuss later in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool D. This team features setter [player_tooltip player_id='169899' first='Maddy' last='Bach'], who has a tremendous skill set and volleyball IQ. Bryton Lyon and [player_tooltip player_id='174405' first='Abby' last='Chall'] are a couple of players capable of making big plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HPSTL 16 Royal</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>16 Royal was perfect on their way to grabbing a national bid in their region bid tournament. If you haven't seen this team play, make an effort to get by their court this weekend in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool C. [player_tooltip player_id='174403' first='Zoe' last='Baliva'], [player_tooltip player_id='168035' first='Reagan' last='Nelson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='168037' first='Hannah' last='Leftridge'] are all players who will take swings. on the pin. Haper Highfill is a lights-out defender. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 16 Black</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>16 Black as mentioned above will be in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool D. They aren't one of the bigger teams in the division but they bring tremendous athleticism and great defense to the court. [player_tooltip player_id='173381' first='Hadley' last='Porter'] has proven herself to be one of the top defenders in the age group. [player_tooltip player_id='173376' first='Lauren' last='Lopez'] is a player on the pin who keeps getting better and better each time out. [player_tooltip player_id='154038' first='Ella' last='Florez'] came in as a freshman at Mill Valley and showed she is a name you better get to know. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>15 Division</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pohaku 15-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pohaku working their way into [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool play in a few short years is impressive and this team has the roster to become one of the top teams in this age group. They are deep on the pins with players like [player_tooltip player_id='222089' first='Grace' last='Martin'], Hallie Vaughn, [player_tooltip player_id='222088' first='Elena' last='Dougherty'], and [player_tooltip player_id='222092' first='Willow' last='Weninger']. They were perfect in the opening weekend of [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League, going 5-0 and not dropping a set. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HPSTL 15 Royal</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='237014' first='Maeve' last='Rush'] and [player_tooltip player_id='221230' first='Bennett' last='Raterman'] will lead their 15 Royal team into [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] Pool C when first serve launches come Saturday. We are excited to follow some of the 15 teams this weekend to learn more about their play and rosters. [player_tooltip player_id='222581' first='Jessie' last='Hawkins'] is a defender we've heard good things about. 6'5" [player_tooltip player_id='222058' first='Katherine' last='Byergo'] will turn some heads. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->