Metro 18 First Chesapeake Team to Earn Bid

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early in the season the only Qualifiers for the most part are at the 18 level. Metro had played in two previous Qualifiers, earned a spot in the gold bracket for both of them but failed to earn a bid. The third time at the Ohio Valley Qualifiers was the charm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite losing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180288' first='Emerson' last='Sellman']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180295' first='Ryla' last='Jones']</strong> to early college enrollment the Metro 18 team has been competitive. Class of 2025 and Penn State commit<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing']</strong> has taken over one left side while another class of 2025 and Virginia Cavaliers commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='309024' first='Caroline' last='Lang']</strong> has taken over the middle. Metro also has plenty of depth including using the smaller<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='249341' first='Baylee' last='Doolan']</strong> in the back row for offense or the under rated <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='233010' first='Mickhaila' last='Murray'] </strong>as a six rotation player. Returnees <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180296' first='Madison' last='Bowser']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180297' first='Rori' last='Gray']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181315' first='Sierra' last='Evans']</strong> all play middle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the third straight qualifier Metro earned a spot in the gold bracket by sweeping through their opposition. Their first loss came against Coast on the second day but the second place finish in the bracket earned them another spot in the gold bracket. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A win over ROCKC clinched a bid for them since Mintonette, who had already qualified for a bid had also beaten ROCKC. This guaranteed Metro a second place finish. Earning the three bids would be the top team in the other division and the two second place teams. Mintonette beat Metro 26-24, 25-23 to win the bracket, knocking Metro to second place where they still earned a bid for the National Championship in Baltimore. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple other Chesapeake teams did well in the Ohio Valley Qualifier but fell short. Virginia Juniors played in the USA Division. They won four of their first five matches the first day, including two crossover matches to advance into the first division. The second day saw a very competitive pool where six of their seven sets were decided by two points. They went 3-3 in those sets, but with a 1-2 match record. Fortunately for them the pool ended in a three way tie for second place and Virginia Juniors advanced to the gold bracket based on the tie breaker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Juniors got eliminated in the first round of the gold bracket match, losing the second set by two points. To capture a bid they needed to advance to the finals by winning two matches. The two teams that earned the bid advanced to the finals were Dallas Skyline and Revolution Pittsburgh. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Virginia Juniors underwent a significant rebuilding project for their 18 team. The only three real starters from last year's team are libero [player_tooltip player_id='181239' first='Lanie' last='Goff'], setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='244159' first='Jaylyn' last='Simon']</strong> and defensive specialist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235278' first='Aava' last='Shingler']</strong>. Middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='246318' first='Maddie' last='Smith']</strong> and their two left sides <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='243772' first='Charizma' last='Lofton']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181230' first='Lydia' last='Darville']</strong> played secondary roles last year. Right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209789' first='Seliz' last='Aktuglu'] </strong>and middles <strong>Rosemary Degn </strong>and <strong>Kiah Jackson </strong>are new to the club, as is defensive specialist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209800' first='Sydney' last='Pham']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last year Jaylyn shared the setting duties with [player_tooltip player_id='182753' first='Isabel' last='Ostvig']. This year she sets a 5/1 with no real alternate setter on the roster. If an injury should happen, they may have to turn to their 17 team for reinforcement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maryland Juniors also made it to the gold bracket in the Liberty Division. Like Virginia Juniors they lost a number of players from their 17 team. They advanced to the gold medal bracket by finishing second in their pools the first two days. In the first set of their gold medal match to 1United they won 25-17. Unfortunately, they fell short in the next two sets 26-24, 15-13. Just like in the USA division, to capture a bid they needed to win two games to advance to the finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["206739"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65c51bb4a12a5"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Their roster included <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='517498' first='Ziqing' last='Zhou']</strong>, a talented left side who covers all six rotations. Her jump spin serve also accumulates aces. If she remains a permanent piece of their roster Maryland Juniors will be tough. In the last tournament at National Harbor they also moved <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='477413' first='Kiara' last='Harmon'] </strong>to the left side. Her hits were terminal coming from the pins, though her back row play was a little dicey. Maryland Juniors usually hid her in the passing rotation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='478765' first='Amy' last='Ye']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='515534' first='Jocelyn' last='Torres']</strong> shared setting duties, sometimes working a 5/1 but for the most part the taller Amy set in the front row while Jocelyn operated from the back. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='360605' first='Tiffany' last='Blakely'],</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='395680' first='Kaila' last='Baker']</strong> and <strong>Kaiyana Rawlins</strong> all give Maryland a solid back row presence. Their next opportunity to qualify for a bid will be the Chesapeake Bid Regional Championships on March 3. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->