GJNC 18 National Preview: Missouri and KC Metro

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>April 26-28, Baltimore, Maryland! Those are the dates and the location for the last club dance for the 18s in the USAV journey. We are continuing our preview with teams from Missouri and the Kansas City Metro. As a writer who has spent the last five years covering Missouri and Kansas, I continue my coverage of Kansas City teams on both sides of the state line due to some of those teams based in Kansas having Missouri players on their roster. Here are the teams who qualified for nationals in the National Division. National berths are earned through local region play. The Heart of America region owns two bids and the Gateway region gets one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 18 Red</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] gets two teams to nationals with their red team winning a tough [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] league. On the final day of action, a three-set win over Mavs 18-1 proved to be the difference maker in clinching the top spot and upgrading a bid. The Kansas City team did previously earn, winning the Liberty title at MLK in January. [player_tooltip player_id='216375' first='Brynn' last='Stowell'] has shown the ability to take over games from the right side. [player_tooltip player_id='119712' first='Shannon' last='Frakes'] has been steadily dishing the ball. Chloe Tyrell and [player_tooltip player_id='119810' first='Anna' last='Laincz'] are also capable of scoring on the outsides. After earning their national bid, they did play up in the open at MEQ. They experienced a few bumps and bruises early but finished 3-4. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>417 Juniors 18 Elite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>417 Juniors 18 Elite finished third in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] league play and one spot from the national bid. After the Mavs clinched their open bid, the trickle-down fell to 417, who would upgrade from the USA bid they earned in January. In February, they took their shot in the open division at SEQ and finished 6th out of 18 teams. At MEQ they didn't fare as well, ending 37th out of 40 teams. They collected a couple of wins over [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 18 Red in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League action, both three-set thrillers. The team is deep in talent led by pins [player_tooltip player_id='342439' first='Kya' last='Johnson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='124850' first='Rilynn' last='Finley']. Defensively they depend on precise passing and high-energy effort from [player_tooltip player_id='150036' first='Reagan' last='Baade'], Ava Klinger, and Jenna LeBarge. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='216426' first='Jewell' last='Bray'] is the type of player you want running your offense with her smart decision-making. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HPSTL 18 Royal</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The lone bid from the Gateway region went to HPSTL 18 Royal. They had already held a USA bid from MLK in Kansas City. They would go undefeated in the region's bid tournament to get the National bid. The St. Louis-based team did play up in the Open division at MEQ, finishing 21st out of 40 teams. Morgan Dumm, a 2025 player came over from [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] to join [player_tooltip player_id='152583' first='Isabella' last='Bray'] in the setting duties. [player_tooltip player_id='150037' first='Grace' last='Killion'] has been a mainstay and can do many things on the court. [player_tooltip player_id='216429' first='Samantha' last='Hansen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='207583' first='Kayla' last='Jansen'] provide a solid one-two punch in the middle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->