Heart of America GJNC 15 Open and National Participants

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are starting our national previews and will continue throughout the month leading up to the big dance. Today we start with the Open and National teams in the Heart of America region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Open</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pohaku 15-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've discussed this squad a couple of times this season as they have been one of the more consistent teams across the country in 15 Open. They opened many eyes early in the season at Triple Crown with a 5th-place finish in the field of 104. They showed it wasn't a fluke by winning [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League with a perfect record. Pohaku traveled north to Northern Lights and went 6-2 before finishing the qualifying season with a 3rd-place finish at Show Me and a 5th-place showing at Lone Star. This team has a deep roster that includes setters Abby Truong and [player_tooltip player_id='222094' first='Kylie' last='Groves']. Pins [player_tooltip player_id='222085' first='Julia' last='Anisimova'], [player_tooltip player_id='222089' first='Grace' last='Martin'], and [player_tooltip player_id='222092' first='Willow' last='Weninger'] have been good this spring. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last='']' last=''] 15 Black</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last='']' last=''] finished 3rd in a highly contested [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League behind Pohaku and Mavs 816 15-1. Before [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League, they started their year playing up in the 17s division in the MLK tournament fighting their way to a 5th-place finish. Triple Crown proved to be the test they wanted as they competed against some of the top teams in the country and walked away with a 19th-place weekend. Red Rock Rave produced a 4-4 record and 9th place finish. Like Pohaku, they took the Northern Lights route and also went 6-2. They came back home to Show-Me and had a tough tournament that ended with an 11th-place finish before earning their bid in Texas a week later at Lone Star. 15 Black rolls out a couple of liberos in Annalyse Cisneros and [player_tooltip player_id='222096' first='Selah' last='Simien']. Wynnie Sprague and [player_tooltip player_id='222074' first='Parker' last='Kimball'] have been dependable middles and have shown extreme growth this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">National</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavs 816 15-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League runner-up snatched a National bid with a strong three-play-date performance. They went 14-1, with their lone defeat coming to the hands of Pohaku. The first major tournament for this team was Triple Crown, where they left with a 5-2 record. Mavs joined [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last='']' last=''] out west but struggled to get wins leaving with only two in seven matches in the Open division. After earning their National bid through [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League, they continued to search for an Open bid and just missed one at Show Me where they finished 5th. The trip to Texas would conclude their qualifying season and they would be locked in for National at Junior Nationals. Defense and ball control are key for this team with Mirando Como and Maycie Martin navigating the back row. [player_tooltip player_id='261114' first='Macy' last='Sims'], Morgan Sims, and [player_tooltip player_id='357571' first='Chesnie' last='King'] are a few of many capable point producers along the front line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavs KC 15-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Joining their sister bunch in the division will be Mavs KC 15-1 come late June. Their 4th place finish in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League results in a bid after Pokaku and [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last='']' last=''] earned Open bids in qualifying tournaments. They played most of their qualifying tournaments in the USA Division after finishing middle of the pack in Triple Crown. A second-place showing in the region bid event earned a bid in the American division for nationals. A 5th-place finish at Show Me had them on the brink of securing a USA bid. They would finally break through with a runner-up performance at Far Western however, their National bid trumps the USA. The front line will look to be key with touches at the net defensively with [player_tooltip player_id='357591' first='Gillian' last='Walton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='261314' first='Phoenix' last='Fogel'] holding down the middle. Offensively, setters Isabella Sohl and Rebekah Slaughter will attempt to find the weak spots in the defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->