Deep Bunch of HOA Teams Set For Open and National in 17s

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I saw many of these teams this past weekend and they are ready for the national stage. The age group has been challenging for years and this year is no different as four teams are set for open play. Here are the participants. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Open</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 17 Black</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As has been the trend, [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] had a strong qualifier season with many top-three finishes. It took them a bit to break through and get the title in April at Lone Star. They are a deep team and that depth will be needed heading into nationals without one of their primary weapons in pin [player_tooltip player_id='119226' first='Carlie' last='Cisneros'], who is done for the season. Luckily they still have the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='119707' first='Skyler' last='Pierce'] and [player_tooltip player_id='153930' first='Abigail' last='Mullen'] to carry the offensive load on the pins. The middle has gotten great production from [player_tooltip player_id='119704' first='Cy' last='Rae Campbell']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 17 Black</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I saw them a couple of times last weekend in some highly contested matches. They earned their bid at Show Me in April after finishing second. They are in good hands with [player_tooltip player_id='119693' first='Janelle' last='Green'] running the show. She has [player_tooltip player_id='153937' first='Alea' last='Goolsby'] and [player_tooltip player_id='119724' first='Jillian' last='Huckabey'] to feed the ball to on the pins, along with slides to [player_tooltip player_id='119723' first='Julia' last='Headley']. I was also impressed with the defensive effort of [player_tooltip player_id='152832' first='Felicia' last='Wu'] in the defensive specialist role. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavs KC 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mavs went bid hunting in Chicago where they were successful back in April. They hope to build on their best Open showing of the season come nationals. [player_tooltip player_id='119725' first='Tatum' last='Grimes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='119705' first='Lauren' last='Roediger'] are a good combo in the middle. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='119691' first='Kelsey' last='Schenck'] has more than enough options on the pins with [player_tooltip player_id='150066' first='Sara' last='Allmon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='150220' first='Hope' last='Hickman'] being a couple. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pohaku 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last weekend was the first I saw live of Pohaku and listen, they are playing with a swag and confidence I like right now. They traveled to Nevada to get their Open bid at Far Western. To their record, they also had a 6th place showing at MEQ. Alexis Alexander is so good on the slide and scores at a high percentage. [player_tooltip player_id='152833' first='Riley' last='Ourth'] is solid defensively in the libero jersey and [player_tooltip player_id='119689' first='Ava' last='Martin'] is a high-IQ setter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">National</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 17 Red</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5th place finish was perfect for [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 17 Red since all of the above teams finished ahead of them in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League. With that said, there is no failure in finishing 5th behind that quartet of teams. They had a second-place finish in the USA division at Show Me, but National is the higher bid that they are required to accept. Chloe Tyrell is one of their pins who also had a strong fall season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Shockwave 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shockwave had the 6th place [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League finish and earned themselves a National bid to the championships. The Wichita-area-based club is also competing in the AAU championships this week as a tune-up for nationals. [player_tooltip player_id='119709' first='Gracie' last='Morrow'] and [player_tooltip player_id='153936' first='Jillian' last='Gregory'] are effective and high-flying pins on this roster who can score all over the court. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='150065' first='Camdyn' last='Stucky'] is Tennessee bound and [player_tooltip player_id='185698' first='Abigail' last='Koontz'] is a high-level defender. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->