Nebraska Bid Tracker: Premier 18 Black Breaks Through in NOLA

Put another Premier Nebraska team on the board!   The 18s season is brief, so teams often jump around the map early in the calendar year to secure a nationals bid. That was the case last weekend as Premier Nebraska 18 Black headed south for the Music City Qualifier--a tournament that has moved from the Music City itself and converged on New Orleans this year. 18 Black sought an 18 USA bid in a field with plenty of geographical representation, and the results made the trek worthwhile.   Our Nebraska Bid Tracker gets a new member today.     Starting Out Strong   There were no signs of sluggishness from Premier 18 Black after the long hop to Louisiana.   18 Black was one of a handful of squads to be placed in a three-team pool instead of a quartet, meaning both of its opening-round matchups would be in a best-of-five format rather than the traditional best-of-three. However, the prospect of long, grueling matches clearly did not appeal to Premier, as 18 Black rolled to 3-0 sweeps over NORCO 18-2 and Texas Tornados 18 Adidas to start the weekend. Remarkably, Premier did not allow either team to reach 20 in any of the six sets played, setting the stage for a huge push into Day 2.     Staying Alive   The stakes got a little higher on Day 2 as more challenging opponents came to the forefront. Fortunately, 18 Black was strong out of the gates once again to assure a spot in the coveted Gold bracket.   A sweep over City 18 Gold was followed by an 0-1 comeback to down TIV 18 Black in three sets. These were arguably the two most important matchups to win with Drive Nation 18 Black already claiming an 18 USA bid in this pool. Though Premier eventually fell in straight sets to that Drive Nation squad, things were looking up in pursuit of a bid at MCQ.     Clutching Up   It all came down to Sunday.   Premier Nebraska started the final day of competition with a nail-biting three-set loss to Texas Tornados 18 Adidas, which got vengeance from opening day. This would normally mean the end of a team's bid aspirations, but the presence of trickle-down bids offered a second chance. The presence of previous bid-earning teams like Tejas 18 Black, AVA TX 18 Adidas, and the aforementioned Drive Nation 18 Black brought the need for a fifth-place match to decide the third bid. Premier was still alive.   An absolute thriller ensued between 18 Black and Houston Jrs VBC 18 Premier for the final Music City bid in 18 USA. It was a back-and-forth battle that saw Premier taking the first set before HJV rallied to dominate in the second. It's only fair that the teams met somewhere in the middle, and Premier won a heart-stopping 16-14 third set to lock up the final bid in New Orleans.   Perhaps this is a game of inches.     Star Power   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/12/111_Quinn-Groves-2.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-255233" width="501" height="334" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Groves</figcaption></figure>   Let's take a step back to recognize the athletes who have been thriving with this group for a long time--along with a couple of new faces in the lineup, too.   In the realm of new contributors, we have to give a shoutout to a trio of 2024s who are stepping up for 18 Black. At the forefront of this youth movement is [player_tooltip player_id='183983' first='Quinn' last='Groves'], who has made the leap from playing with Premier 16 Silver last season to 18 Black this year. It's a unique transition that should naturally take some adjustment, but Groves seems right at home with her new squad. She has taken over the libero jersey and has provided an instant spark to the team's floor defense and serve receive.   [player_tooltip player_id='187696' first='Ainsley' last='Vanosdall'] is another 2024 with a vital role for 18 Black. She has shown her versatility as a setter, opposite, and defensive specialist in the wide-ranging lineups that this team can deploy. Likewise, multi-talented 2024 athlete Mya Lempp has shown her prowess on the right side as well as in the backcourt. Our 2024 recruiting radars are still expanding, and you'll want to keep this trio in mind moving forward.   Then, of course, we have the 2023s who are out for one last club season before they'll tear it up at the next level. [player_tooltip player_id='104588' first='Skylar' last='Walters'] has set this team to big moments for a long time, and that's on top of all the success she's seen on the high school side. While we're on the topic of high school connections, Papillion-La Vista South standouts Ava Greene and [player_tooltip player_id='171634' first='Shealie' last='Wiebers'] have been extraordinarily consistent with this group and will have a chance to prove that on the biggest 18s stage. Greene, alongside Omaha Duchesne standout [player_tooltip player_id='152093' first='Lily' last='Snodgrass'], have made the middle blocker spot a huge strength for 18 Black.   A pair of six-rotation outside hitters will also be a focal point of 18 Black's chase for the GJNC crown. [player_tooltip player_id='103094' first='Ali' last='Butler'] and [player_tooltip player_id='59206' first='Caitlin' last='McCormack'] are as effective as backcourt defenders as they are as frontcourt terminators, and both of those skills will be crucial in this season's quick gauntlet.   Lastly, it's been an ongoing trend to have at least one Iowa standout on a Premier roster. That void is filled by Azaria Green, helping to complete a "Green-Greene" duo at the middle blocker position for 18 Black.   We have so many memories associated with this group, and we'll add a Nationals bid to the vault.     The Tracker   18 Open   Premier Nebraska 18 Gold (MLK KC)     18 USA   Premier Nebraska 18 Black (Music City)     17 Open   Premier Nebraska 17 Gold (NLQ)

Put another Premier Nebraska team on the board!