More Bids in Missouri and Kansas

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we head into March, we are inching closer and closer to the final qualifying opportunities in the 18s. With their nationals taking place in April, time is running out. As for the other age groups, we are just getting started with qualifiers and of course, wrapping up region league play for bids in some instances. We had some teams grab some bids here recently, let's find out who they were.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavs KC 18-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With three bids at stake and two teams previously qualified in open, a top-five finish may be good enough if the other teams finish higher. And that is exactly what occurred, OT and A5 finished one-two, which put the trickle-down in play at the Southeast Qualifier in Georgia. The Mavs went 3-2 in pool play to stay in the hunt for a bid heading into day three. They were defeated by A5 in three before getting the all-important win over CJV 18 Mizuno to earn a spot in the 5th-place bracket. The Lenexa-based team did what they had to do, beating IMGA and another HOA team, 417 Juniors 18 Elite, who were trying to upgrade their USA bid. The Mavs would finish with a 6-3 record and got good play from numerous players, including recent Southern Illinois pledge [player_tooltip player_id='124853' first='Mikalah' last='Davis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='119691' first='Kelsey' last='Schenck']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pohaku 16-1 and 816 Mavs 16-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the completion of [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League last weekend in the Heart of America region, Pohaku finished undefeated to take home top dawg and earn a National bid to Junior Nationals. Their ultimate goal will be to earn an open bid once the qualifier season gets off and running next month. The team who entered as the third seed, 816 Mavs finished runner-up and walked away with the second bid handed out at the region level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gateway Bid Weekends</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have some bids determined in the Gateway League, though we expect to see some movement in the younger divisions. In 15s, <strong>HPSTL 15 Royal</strong> earned the Freedom bid by going 9-1. They would redeem an earlier loss in the day to [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 Elite to secure their bid. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HPSTL 16 Royal</strong> kept the streak going, winning the 16s and grabbing a bid to Nationals. They were a perfect 8-0 on the weekend and not dropping a set along the way. [player_tooltip player_id='237014' first='Maeve' last='Rush'] and [player_tooltip player_id='221230' first='Bennett' last='Raterman'] are a couple of key players on this roster looking to advance their bid in the coming weeks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 17 Elite</strong> decided to break up the HPSTL party by winning the bid in the 17s age group. Again, these are region bids, and each of these teams has aspirations of moving up to the open division when it's all said and done. This will create some movement with the teams who finished behind them. 17 Elite with [player_tooltip player_id='169897' first='Jenna' last='Cubbage'], [player_tooltip player_id='174285' first='Avery' last='Helms'], and [player_tooltip player_id='237704' first='Gabrielle' last='Clinkscale'] among numerous talented players on their roster went 9-1, dropping one three-set contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HPSTL 18 Royal</strong> earned the region's national bid, which was an upgrade from their previously earned USA bid. They went 6-0 over the two days, with one three-set battle with [program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last=''] 18 National. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->