Standing On “Bid”ness

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another week and more teams grabbing bids after region play in the Heart of America region. Over the weekend, three bids were at stake in the 16s age group. Teams battled it out in the American and Freedom divisions. In the American, two bids were looming while only one was in play in the Freedom.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starting in American, there were a host of teams that on paper would be in the hunt for the title. [program_tooltip program_id='515466' first='Pohaku' last=''] 16-1, who some think is the top dog in the age group locally had already earned a National bid and wouldn't be participating. Likewise, 816 Mavs 16-1 and their runner-up run at [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League delivered them a National bid. So the tournament left them [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 16 Black, [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 16 Black, Invasion 16-1, Mavs KC 16-1, and Mavs KC 16-2 as some of the favorites based on results from [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''], [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''], and Invasion all won their first five contests. [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] would win their sixth straight by stopping the unbeaten run of Invasion in the semifinals of bracket play. That win would lead them into the title match with [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last='']. Both teams had high-level play on their sides. [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'s [player_tooltip player_id='355651' first='Neely' last='Leathers'], Cameron Sher, and [player_tooltip player_id='223291' first='Alyssa' last='Young'] continued their high-level play throughout the weekend. That energy was matched on the other side by Alayna Veath, Sydni Lafasciasno, and [player_tooltip player_id='357577' first='Addyson' last='Staples']. [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] raced out to a first set win behind aggressive serving and strong defense. The second set saw [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] find a rhythm and good play from their middles to win the second 25-20. The third was one of those highly intense back and forth sets where it appeared one team was going to pull away until the other made a run of their own. In the end, [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] prevailed 17-15 but both teams leave with bids for nationals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Freedom Division had one bid to fight for and Summit 16-1 found a way to get it done, going undefeated along the way but it took a few three-set battles to prevail in the end. There last four matches were their toughest stretch, with those three-setters coming near the end of a long weekend. The team stayed together and found a way to make plays when they were needed to come out on top. After defeating [program_tooltip program_id='515466' first='Pohaku' last=''] 16-2 and [program_tooltip program_id='515493' first='Club' last='North'] 16-1 in consecutive three-set matches, they were able to defeat Invasion 16-2 in straight sets to catch their breath for a second. They regrouped to face [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 16 Red in the title match. After [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] went on a run to finish the first set 25-18, Summit had to dig deep and go extra to sneak out of the second with a 26-24 win. If you thought that was something, it only gets better. Great defensive rallies and timely kills by both teams as the spectators watched surrounding the court on all sides was the highlight of the third set. In the end, Summit had just enough to finish it with a big block at end by [player_tooltip player_id='542209' first='Kylie' last='Goodale'] and Grace Lowry. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->