MEQ Study Guide – 16 Open Favorites and Teams To Watch For
We have another national qualifier with some of the top teams in the country, this time they are set to do battle in Indianapolis at the Mideast Qualifier. Traditionally one of the top qualifiers with teams from both coasts, Texas,…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWe have another national qualifier with some of the top teams in the country, this time they are set to do battle in Indianapolis at the Mideast Qualifier. Traditionally one of the top qualifiers with teams from both coasts, Texas, and the best in the Midwest. Who gets the bids? Who will be in contention? Who will be the darkhorses? I have it here for you!
Who Has Already Qualified?
Mintonette m.61 – This comes at no surprise having Mintonette already punching their ticket to 16 Open after they took home the title at the Sunshine National Qualifier to kickoff March. The team out of Columbus, Ohio has been dominant in their age group the past couple of years winning the 15 Open AAU National title and were 15 Open USAV runners up in 2023. They are control the ball and use a lot of balance throughout their whole lineup to win these close matches. Layla Hoying is dominant on the outside where she is a six rotation scorer. A really dynamic weapon out of the middle is Alia Schoonover who is so terminal off one foot. The quarterback who runs the show is setter Mallory Matheny. Her on court intangibles are so positive where she just finds a way to win.
Who Are The Top Seeds?
- Mintonette m.61 – Qualified at Sunshine
- Legacy 16-1 Adidas – Triple Crown Champions
- 1st Alliance 16 Gold – 5th Triple Crown
- WPVC 16 Armour Black – 5th Sunshine
- A5 16-1 Gabe – 5th Sunshine
- Madfrog 16 N Green – 11th Triple Crown
- Boiler Jrs 16 Gold – Blue Grass Champions
- MN Select 16-1 – 17th Triple Crown (8-1 Record)
- Wave 16 Scott – 21st Triple Crown
- OP2 16-1 Elite – 18th Triple Crown
- Pohaku 16-1 – 25th Triple Crown
- Metro 16 Travel – 14th Sunshine
Outlook of the Top Seeds
Mintonette and Legacy right now are in a league of their own. They have consistently been the top teams in this age group so far this season. Legacy won the Triple Crown championship over Mintonette in a three set battle, they also defeated them earlier in the season at Central Zone in Indianapolis. At Sunshine, Legacy dropped one match to Tribe which essentially sent them to the Silver Bracket instead of a Gold Pool. They will be a clear favorite to heading into the weekend to get a bid and battle for the title.
This will be the first big qualifier for 1st Alliance who has some new pieces to their squad that includes Elle Schara and Natalie Surges on the pins. They had an impressive showing at Triple Crown and will look to get an early open bid. Boiler Jrs 16 Gold will be looking to make a statement where this will be a relatively local event for them. Many of these athletes are from the Lafayette and Indianapolis area. Lexi Shondell will be running the show as their setter and they have plenty of attackers who can put the ball away with Calista Foster, Reese Resmer, and one of the top 2027s in the country in Caroline Ward. Pohaku is a team to have on the radar as well. They were a gold bracket team in 15 Open at USAV last year and have plenty of weapons including Grace Martin on the outside. MN Select 16-1 went 8-1 at Triple Crown where their only loss came to Arizona Storm 16 Thunder. They will be one of the more physical teams in the field with three athletes at 6’3 and real athletic in Elena Hoecke, Eva Swenson, and Abby Conklin.
Who Else Will Be In The Running?
Illini Elite 16 Cardinal I think could pose a huge threat. They have been consistently beating their seed at big tournaments (Central Zone, Triple Crown, and Bluegrass). Lily Bosworth is a 6’4 middle who could be a big time recruit where she is very athletic with a lot of length.
I would put AVC 16 Red, MKE Sting 16 Gold, NKYVC 16 Tsunami, and Elevation 16 Goller in the same group. These teams have definitely shown flashes that they can play with some of the top teams in the country. AVC 16 Red was in the power pools at Central Zone the first weekend of January and will be led by setter Isabelle Hoppe, she is so dynamic. MKE Sting 16 Gold was a power pool team at Central Zone, but stumbled a bit at Triple Crown. Pin attackers Marlee Sivak and Allie Beers are extremely explosive and will look to make a run with the squad out of Milwaukee. NKYVC 16 Tsunami won Central Zone, Elevation 16 Goller were the runners up. They have the firepower to beat any of these teams.