Great Plains Region Bid Tourney Preview: Underdog Picks

Time to make a few dark horse selections.   Yesterday, we started our preview of this weekend's Great Plains Region Bid Tournament by identifying a few of the teams that will be seen as favorites to snag a bid in their respective age groups. We have so many more teams to watch, though, and we could see some bid-earning breakthroughs from squads not mentioned in that article. So, it's time to select a few underdogs.   Here are some groups that could surprise us with a ticket to Nationals on the line Sunday.     15s   Premier Nebraska 15 Silver   Only seven teams occupy the 15s age group at the GPR Bid Tourney, and 15s competition is notoriously unpredictable at big events like these. Underdogs may be hard to come by, but I've tabbed Premier Nebraska 15 Silver as one to watch.   The second weekend of Kansas City's Show Me Qualifier perpetuated the same 15 Silver storylines we saw at NLQ. This squad can compete. A third-place finish at Show Me helped punctuate a huge qualifier run for an up-and-coming Premier team that has a lot more left to prove this weekend. Look out.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1639989830116429827?s=20 </div></figure>     Club Legacy 15 Alpha   Club Legacy has some dangerous teams lurking across the board, and we're tabbing 15 Alpha for this feature.   15 Alpha posted a top-ten finish at Show Me alongside Premier 15 Silver, meaning this squad knows how to position itself in the championship hunt. I'm anxious to see more from this team's athletes at GPR, as we have a nice medley of multi-talented players across the entire 15 Alpha roster.     16s   Nebraska ONE 16 Lime   Nebraska ONE is loaded at the 16s level. We already identified 16 Black as one of the favorites, so let's give a nod to 16 Lime in this underdog feature.   16 Lime has tested its mettle in the American division this season, and now the team will have a chance to climb up the Great Plains hierarchy en route to a bid. Small-town talent is a major theme on the roster, so 16 Lime should fit right in with many of the other competitors present in this age group.     Banzai VBC 16 Select   This might be the Banzai team to watch this weekend.   16 Select has been in lockstep with its GPR peers at several events throughout the year, from regional bouts to national qualifiers. NLQ was a particularly strong outing that opened our eyes to the strength of this Banzai lineup, and that could translate to an exciting Sunday stint in Omaha. If there's one roster we could pick out that's full of 2025 stock risers for our next rankings update, 16 Select would be an excellent choice.     VCNebraska 16 Black   It's about time we brought VCNebraska into this discussion.   The GPR Bid Tourney represents an important opportunity for 16 Black, a team that features many recent additions to our 2025 rankings. This adaptable bunch competed in the Liberty division at national qualifiers like NLQ and Show Me, and I'd expect a well-rested and battle-tested VCN team to show up Sunday. Enough frontcourt firepower exists for a surprise run at a tournament where no team can be counted out.     17s   Nebraska Pride Gold 17s   Get a few more of those small-town gems on your radar when Nebraska Pride Gold 17s takes the stage.   Like the 16s counterparts, Gold 17s will be a serious bid competitor during Sunday's action while using a lineup stacked with central Nebraska's best talent. Moreover, Nebraska Pride features a huge contingent of multi-sport athletes whose volleyball ventures are a mere portion of their entire sporting slate. Busy schedules have not stopped Nebraska Pride from having a spectacular year across its age spectrum, and the 17s have a shot to keep the momentum going.     Premier Nebraska 17 Silver   Perhaps this is a case of unfinished business.   17 Silver could see the finish line at the Show Me Qualifier with an appearance in the 17 American championship match. But playing in a one-bid division is unforgiving, and Premier fell just short in the third set to finish second in Kansas City.   This squad might be an underdog by seeding terms, but this high-level experience could set the stage for redemption at just the right time. We'll find out Sunday.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1642957204201541633?s=20 </div></figure>     VCNebraska 17 Black   It almost doesn't feel right to consider VCN 17 Black an underdog, but that's just the way the seeding has worked out in the 17s age group. This division is busy.   Like Premier 17 Silver, VCN 17 Black made its own thrilling push through bracket play at the Show Me Qualifier. This was in the two-bid Liberty division, however, and VCN was right on the doorstep of bid glory with a third-place finish. 17 Black almost feels underseeded for this tournament based on that recent success, but feel free to toss out any discussions of rankings once teams hit the court Sunday morning.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1642934683108364288?s=20 </div></figure>

Time to make a few dark horse selections.