KC Power and 417 Juniors Finish Top 3
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One win away from playing for a national title! That was the weekend for KC Power 18 Black and 417 Juniors 18 Elite in Baltimore, Maryland. Both teams navigated through the first two days perfectly and came up short in…
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Continue ReadingOne win away from playing for a national title! That was the weekend for KC Power 18 Black and 417 Juniors 18 Elite 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.
KC Power 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 Power compete and keep it close until their opponents pulled away late for a 25-20 win to end Power ‘s tournament at 7-1. Power 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.
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 Power . 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: Reagan Baade Reagan Baade 5'8" | OH Ozark | 2024 State MO , Jewell Bray Jewell Bray 5'6" | S Nixa | 2024 State MO , Rilynn Finley Rilynn Finley 6'0" | MB Republic | 2024 State MO , Emerson Grossman Emerson Grossman 6'1" | OH Cassville | 2024 State MO , Delaney Hope Delaney Hope 6'1" | MB Nevada | 2024 State MO , Kya Johnson Kya Johnson DS/L Kickapoo | 2024 State MO , Chloe Judd Chloe Judd 6'1" | MB Nixa | 2025 State MO , Gracie Kimrey Gracie Kimrey 5'11" | MB Marshfield | 2024 State MO , Ava Klinger, Jenna LaBarge Jenna LaBarge 5'8" | DS/L Ozark | 2024 State MO , Aubree Lassiter Aubree Lassiter 5'11" | RS Webb City | 2024 State MO , Reese Ricketts.