HOA 17s Gearing Up For USA, Liberty, American, and Freedom

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>17s have the largest contingent of teams heading to Nationals from the Heart of American Region. We highlighted the six teams squaring off in Open and National. Today we peek at the squads set to compete in the remaining divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">USA</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Apex 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Apex took the trip all the way to Salt Lake City to win the USA Division in early April. On the way to a championship, they went a perfect 9-0. They also qualified for [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']' last=''] League this season where they ended up in 9th place. Bella Faria and [player_tooltip player_id='170044' first='Raylee' last='Stenzel'] are a couple of their capable pins able to score points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>417 Juniors 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>417 was able to gain a reallocated bid in the USA division once another team advanced its bid. In a couple of qualifiers, they were knocking on the door of a bid with a 4th and 5th place finish. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='216473' first='Collette' last='Buschhorn'] built on her strong fall this spring with her play. [player_tooltip player_id='150036' first='Reagan' last='Baade'] has also been stellar in the libero role. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Liberty</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mizuno Club North 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Club North 17 Ang went to Florida to earn their bid in the Liberty division. This was after a 10th-place showing in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']' last=''] League. They were perfect in the sunshine state, winning all ten of their matches. After qualifying in Liberty, their play stayed consistent just missing qualifying in USA with multiple top-five finishes. [player_tooltip player_id='150046' first='Claire' last='Mosh'] is one of the top defenders in the state while adding the scoring of [player_tooltip player_id='216466' first='Kendall' last='Johnson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='124853' first='Mikalah' last='Davis']. We expect them to make some noise. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Missouri Jrs. 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Juniors didn't have to journey too far to get their bid, heading to Kansas City and walking away from Show Me with the golden ball. A 9-0 performance allowed them to relax a tad before heading to Texas for Lone Star where they moved up to the USA division. [player_tooltip player_id='124226' first='Autumn' last='Bax'] has become a household name in the state and controls the right pin. [player_tooltip player_id='216432' first='Isabella' last='Kincaid'] and [player_tooltip player_id='150054' first='Bailey' last='Braun'] provide scoring ability on the left pin. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last='']' last='']' last=''] 17 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last='']' last='']' last=''] was runner-up to Missouri Jrs. in Show Me and grabbed one of the available bids. They had just missed out on consecutive opportunities with third-place finishes at Sunshine and MEQ. The qualifier season ended with a 9th-place USA trip to Utah. [player_tooltip player_id='152837' first='Lauren' last='Croom'] is one of the setters to highlight on this squad as she looks to find [player_tooltip player_id='216380' first='Grace' last='Wagers'] in the middle and Fiona Van Dyke on the pin. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavs KC 17-</strong>2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It took the final qualifier of the season for Mavs to break through in the Liberty division and they took care of business with a second-place finish and a bid. They had two 9th-place performances earlier in the season. Added to their resume is an 11th-place [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']' last=''] League finish. Keliah Rivers is instant offense on the left pin and shows tremendous athleticism and [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']' last='']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavs 816 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mavs 816 was the benefit of a reallocated bid and will compete in the USA division. They just missed grabbing a LIberty bid at Northern Lights with a 5th place finish and no trickle-down bid with it being one of the earlier qualifiers of the year. [player_tooltip player_id='216401' first='Ava' last='Hefner'] and Eva Dominguez are a pair of middles looking to affect the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">American</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Invasion 17-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The MEQ American champions will be in the building in Invasion 17-2. They went 10-1 to capture the gold ball and punch their ticket to nationals. Lucy Prusia and Sophia Dial are a couple of players who get touches defensively at the net from the middle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>417 Columbia 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Show Me in Kansas City was where 417 Columbia found the lighting in a bottle, grabbing their bid and winning the tournament by going 10-1. To their credit, they were also one of the sixteen teams who qualified for the very competitive [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']' last=''] League. Amber Samson and [player_tooltip player_id='412866' first='Taylor' last='Johnson'] are a couple of defensive spark plugs in the back row. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Invasion 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Invasion finished fourth in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']' last=''] League and benefited from the improved bids from a couple of teams ahead of them to make their way to nationals. They were on the doorstep of gaining a bid in the USA finish in March, finishing 5th in the tournament. [player_tooltip player_id='216456' first='Emily' last='Watson'] has built on her year at Park Hill playing solid defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tamales 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tamales was the other team who took care of business in regionals and gained the trickle-down after a third-place tournament. If you look at their resume, they are ready to compete at this stage after just missing bids at MEQ and Lone Star. Reagan Greenway runs the offense from the setter position. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Freedom</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last='']' last=''] 17-3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With a third-place finish, [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last='']' last=''] also benefited from the movement above them. They were competitive during the qualifier season with multiple top-ten showings in the American division. Mila Karadjova and Lia Wilson will look to provide scoring on the pin. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SKC Jrs. 17-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South KC Jrs. earned the region's Freedom bid with a second-place finish and an advancement from the top team. The team traveled to Chicago in April and fought their way to the gold bracket before finishing in 5th in the American division. Syndey Zymball and Gisselle Chavez will work to keep the floor clean of balls behind the front-line defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->