Nebraska Teams Hunting Bids on Show Me’s Championship Monday
We ought to have some additions to the Nebraska Bid Tracker when this is all over. Kansas City’s Show Me Qualifier is always a significant venue for Nebraska teams to compete for Nationals bids. Once again, we have an impressive…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWe ought to have some additions to the Nebraska Bid Tracker when this is all over.
Kansas City’s Show Me Qualifier is always a significant venue for Nebraska teams to compete for Nationals bids. Once again, we have an impressive list of Great Plains representatives that are still in the running for a bid heading into the final day of competition. It’s about to get serious, and you know I’ll try to cover as much as possible.
So, let’s set it all up. Here are all the Nebraska teams that can earn bids in Show Me’s monumental Monday finale.
17 Open
What a big moment for VCNebraska 17 Elite.
Perhaps you’ll recall this group’s close calls at January’s Northern Lights Qualifier. 17 Elite was just a few points away from making the final Gold group. That won’t happen again in Kansas City, as wins over Iowa PowerPlex and MN Select lifted VCN to the top pool, where they will be on the cusp of locking up a 17 Open berth.
Of the eight teams in this division’s Gold pools, half already have bids (Dynasty, Drive Nation, OTVA, Premier Nebraska). Premier, fittingly enough, is the only one of those in VCN’s four-team group. There’s still work to do, but VCNebraska looks as motivated as ever.
17 USA
Premier Nebraska 17 Black knows what it’s like to compete in a USA championship bracket. Let’s see if the magic is still there.
I have to marvel at the resilient Sunday performance this team had to make the Gold bracket. A three-set heartbreaker against HP Illinois was a tough way to start the afternoon, but 17 Black responded with straight-set wins over SA Juniors and Arete. It’s just more of the clutch factor that these players have demonstrated on similar stages before. Colorado Juniors awaits in the single-elimination pressure cooker.
17 Liberty
How about a pair of teams for this one?
VCN gets back on the board with VCNebraska 17 Black in the bid running and claiming a spot in 17 Liberty’s Gold bracket. A pair of 2-1 performances in the first and second rounds have kept 17 Black in the mix throughout the event, and now the single elimination tournament has arrived. A matchup with 850 Elite awaits in the first Monday time slot, so tune in early.
And just across the bracket from VCN is Premier Nebraska 17 Red, which has to be one of the favorites heading into the final day. Perhaps an unblemished record at Show Me is convincing enough. It took until Sunday’s last two matches for 17 Red to drop a set, and the team still found a way to come up clutch in the third. Premier’s opponent in the Monday opener is…Premier? Okay, 17 Red is playing Premier 17 Black, but this is not Premier Nebraska 17 Black. Rather, it’s the Premier club from the North Texas Region that will challenge Premier Nebraska in the 17 Liberty bracket premiere featuring two Premiers. Got it? Awesome!
17 American
Premier is everywhere!
To round everything out on the 17s side, Premier Nebraska 17 Silver looms large in the 17 American bracket and boasts a first-round bye, too.
This squad had a wild Sunday before locking up that spot in Gold. A morning loss to in-state rival Club Legacy could have derailed 17 Silver’s momentum, but Premier responded with three consecutive wins to make the big show. A three-set triumph over Iowa PowerPlex was a particularly dramatic way to finish things out in the challenge round.
And it’s fitting we mention Club Legacy, because Club Legacy 17 Alpha is in the hunt and has the same first-round bye as 17 Silver. After this group made a similar bracket run at NLQ, it should be no surprise to see a repeat performance in Kansas City. Look out for this group.
16 USA
I’ll be making a concerted effort to track down MVP United 16 Red on Monday as the team starts its journey in the 16 USA bracket.
Now, you could make some different arguments on where to place this team geographically–northeastern Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota, or northwestern Iowa. But since this squad has a Great Plains designation with USAV, I’m making the call to include 16 Red. With 2-1 records in both rounds of action, MVP United brings some consistency that could be a good omen for the bracket gauntlet.
Then, we have the torchbearers for central Nebraska. Nebraska Pride Gold 16s is on the cusp of something incredible.
I’ve stated previously that this Nebraska Pride roster looks somewhat like a superstar lineup from the state’s best small-town high schools. The team has now proven that this formula can translate into success on a major club stage, and Nebraska Pride has a first-round bye in the 16 USA bracket. And, of course, one of Pride’s potential quarterfinal opponents is MVP United .
16 Liberty
Nebraska ONE is strutting its depth in the 16s age group.
In addition to 16 Synergy already having a bid and being in the Gold hunt yet again, Nebraska ONE 16 Black has advanced into the top bracket in 16 Liberty. And, by the way, this squad hasn’t dropped a match all weekend. One team would have to spoil that run to deny 16 Black a bid, and this will be a must-see group for Monday’s live coverage.
15 Open
Is this the big breakthrough for Premier Nebraska 15 Gold?
NLQ was almost “the one” last weekend, but three-team pools are often subject to tight margins and tough tiebreakers. But that’s in the past, and this is a new opportunity with 15 Gold meeting MAVS 816 and Skyline in its Gold group. Skyline already has its bid in the bag, so the MAVS matchup will surely be under a microscope.
Though Open qualifiers usually have three bids available, the 18-team field in this year’s Show Me 15 Open division reduces that number to two. Still, the previous qualification of Skyline opens a more favorable path if 15 Gold can traverse it.
15 USA
Let’s close this out with a little more VCN.
VCNebraska 15 Elite is making a foray into 15 USA this weekend, and it has proven fruitful with an opportunity to earn a coveted bid. A roaring start on Day 1 carried right into Sunday as 15 Elite extended its win streak to five. While VCN was eventually eclipsed by Six Pack, that wouldn’t deny 15 Elite a spot in the final bracket.
Keep tabs on all your Lincoln neighbors across many different divisions. I know I will.