Sweet Land of Liberty VCN’s 15 Black MEQ Runner Up

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>VCN 15 Black was singing My Country, ‘Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty as they punched their Nationals ticket in 15 Liberty in St. Louis over the weekend. This team is heating up and has had an outstanding club season thus far after winning the 15 Club Division at the Asics President's Day Classic.&nbsp; After the Nike Mideast Qualifier in St. Louis VCN 15 Black is ranked regionally #18 in USAV Rankings and #28 in Sports Engine AES Power Rankings.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday's pool play started off with a bang as they beat Monon Select 15E Rattlers 25-15, 25-17, SSAVEC 15-1 25-14, 25-10 and then Club Fusion 15-1 National 25-18, 23-25 and 15-11. 15 Black was Led offensively  by pin hitters [player_tooltip player_id='458167' first='Delainey' last='Volkmer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='521248' first='Livia' last='Drevo']. Volkmer did a phenomenal job of using her athleticism and power to side out quickly and rack up points for her team. Livia also packed power on the pin as well. Both shine as six rotation players. Middle Aunnalie Scribner is getting more consistent and stronger with her connection to setter [player_tooltip player_id='458146' first='Alex' last='Kroll'] and causes a headache for opposing blockers. Kroll showed her versatility as an offensive threat this past weekend too with several setter dump kills. Kroll was strong from the service line as well. [player_tooltip player_id='521253' first='Elsie' last='Schmidt'] also played strong and is able to see the floor well. She is able to hit tool shots well!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saturday proved to be more challenging with closer scores. Black defeated 785 Volley 15-1 25-22 and 25-21,Mineral Area 15 Elite&nbsp; 21-25, 25-17, 17-15 and finished with a sweep of OPVC 15 Henry 25-22 and 25-13. The Mineral Area 15 Elite match was not for the faint of heart. Outside #23 Eden Robart and VCN's Volkmer were exchanging blows the whole game. Middle Blocker [player_tooltip player_id='521251' first='Sabrina' last='Kepler'] and Right Side [player_tooltip player_id='521259' first='Avery' last='Loewe'] had some crucial blocks down the stretch. Libero Emmalin Quinn was on point with serve receive and Defensive Specialist [player_tooltip player_id='521233' first='Ella' last='Twarling'] chipped in a couple of ace serves to gain momentum.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>VCN 15 Black was Gold Bracket bound on Sunday. They started out by defeating FSJ 15 Elite 25-16, 25-18, 1st Alliance 25-16, 25-23, Rock KC 15-1 25-14, 25-21. The error serving bug hit Black, but they rallied and played well to get into the Championship match. [player_tooltip player_id='521254' first='Kolbee' last='Kroemer'] gained momentum for Black with her consistent serving.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='516370' first='Delaney' last='Vohland'] played some right side back row&nbsp; and did a great job and also hit from the right pin a few rotations. [player_tooltip player_id='521251' first='Sabrina' last='Kepler'] had a quick arm and block in Gold Bracket play as well. They also relied on their big pin hitters in Volkmer and Drevo to side out quickly. Volkmer added in some finesse shots over the weekend to add to her arsenal.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mineral Area 15 Elite and VCN 15 Black would meet again on Sunday in the Championship match. Mineral Area would get revenge by sweeping VCN and winning 15 Liberty by scores of 25-13, 25-21.&nbsp; Both teams received USAV Bids to Nationals in Las Vegas in July in 15 Liberty. VCN 15 Black will be in action again at the Show Me Qualifier in Kansas City playing in 15 USA. They are a fun group to watch that continues to improve and gain confidence as the season goes. The entire team is on the Class of 2027 Nebraska Watch List!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->