KC Power and 417 Juniors Finish Top 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One win away from playing for a national title! That was the weekend for <strong>KC [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] 18 Black</strong> and <strong>417 Juniors 18 Elite</strong> in Baltimore, Maryland. Both teams navigated through the first two days perfectly and came up short in the semi-final match to finish 3rd in the country in their respective divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>KC [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] was 5-0 through pool play in the Open division. They dropped one set on the second day to FC Elite and won the third set 15-11. After winning their pool, they got to sit and wait for the winner of the first crossover match to play for a spot in the gold bracket on the final day. In that crossover match, they had a tightly contested first-set win over Momentous VB 18 Dan, before going on a long run to dominate the second 25-14. They opened up against Tri-State Elite in the eight-team gold bracket and narrowly escaped the first set with a 26-24 victory. In the second set, they found breathing room to run away to a 25-16 match win. In the semi-final round, they would match up with another team who went undefeated in pool play, 1st Alliance 18 Gold. It would be Alliance who would find an opportunity to get a run going to secure the first set, 25-16. The second set would see [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] compete and keep it close until their opponents pulled away late for a 25-20 win to end [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'s tournament at 7-1. [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] got quality play and contributions from many players over the weekend. Dave Johnson's roster included: Mya Bolton, Abby Boyd, Cy Rae Campbell, Alea Goolsby, Janelle Green, Julia Headley, Jillian Huckabey, Zoe McDonald, Tatum Tindall, Rachel Van Gorp, and Felicia Wu.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over in the National division, we had another team on the verge of competing for a national title and had the same result as KC [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']. 417 Juniors 18 Elite, who we mentioned in our preview competed in some open qualifiers fought to a third-place finish. The Southwest Missouri team showed they meant business in the first two days by going undefeated in their pool. They did have a couple of three-setters. By winning their pool, they had the luxury of sitting a match and playing the winner of the 5 pm match. They would meet up with CHAVC 18 Black, who had to win a three-set slugfest to arrive at this match. 417 took control late in the first set to win 25-20 before leaving no question in the second, a 25-13 win. This win would send them to the coveted gold bracket, where a chance to compete for a natty was still in play. It started rocky, as a team never wants to drop a first set but a 24-26 loss showed they were in for a dogfight against Sky High Addidas 18 Elite. The momentum they closed the first set with was on display in the second where they cruised to a 25-15 win. The decisive set was a back-and-forth affair, highlighted by great defensive effort, big blocks, and timely kills. In the end, 417 would escape with a 15-12 victory. The grind possibly took a little out of Juniors as they came out flat in the first set versus Arizona Sky 18 Gold, losing 25-16. They rebounded in the second set but ran out of gas falling 25-22. The defeat would end their run with a 7-1 record and a third-place finish in the second-toughest division in the country. Kelly Richardson's team had a tremendous year and features: [player_tooltip player_id='150036' first='Reagan' last='Baade'], [player_tooltip player_id='216426' first='Jewell' last='Bray'], [player_tooltip player_id='124850' first='Rilynn' last='Finley'], [player_tooltip player_id='495305' first='Emerson' last='Grossman'], [player_tooltip player_id='342441' first='Delaney' last='Hope'], [player_tooltip player_id='342439' first='Kya' last='Johnson'], [player_tooltip player_id='219780' first='Chloe' last='Judd'], [player_tooltip player_id='170029' first='Gracie' last='Kimrey'], Ava Klinger, [player_tooltip player_id='216427' first='Jenna' last='LaBarge'], [player_tooltip player_id='227349' first='Aubree' last='Lassiter'], Reese Ricketts. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->