VCN 15 Elite Secures Open Bid at MEQ
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VCN 15 Elite punched their ticket to Las Vegas with a 3rd place finish at the Nike Mideast Qualifier in St. Louis over the weekend. Elite went 8-1 over the three days. They took a very talented Dallas Skyline 15…
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Continue ReadingVCN 15 Elite punched their ticket to Las Vegas with a 3rd place finish at the Nike Mideast Qualifier in St. Louis over the weekend. Elite went 8-1 over the three days. They took a very talented Dallas Skyline 15 Royal to the brim losing 26-24 in both sets in the semifinal match, just narrowly missing the championship game with TAV 15 Black. VCN 15 Elite currently ranked 4th in AES power rankings and 2nd in USAV rankings.
Elite started out pool play for the weekend against HPSTL 15 Orange 25-21 and 25-23. Middle Emma Rink served tough during the match with a couple of aces. Setter MicKinley Moser had an ace serve and found the floor on a nice setter dump too. She also blocked well. Outside Ali Bornschlegl did a nice job finding the back line on some great down the line kills. Elite continued to serve tough against MOD Elite G15 Blue winning 25-22 and 25-17. Ace serves by Hallie Launstein, Kaeylynn Lottman and McKinley Moser McKinley Moser 5'8" | S Waverly | 2027 NE propelled them in the win. They finished out the day with a 25-13, 25-13 win again Elevation 15 Tony. Alli Bornschlegl Alli Bornschlegl OH Norris | 2027 NE was dominant on the outside and Hallie Launstein kept opposing teams out of system on serve receive.
The winning ways continued for Elite on Saturday by starting off strong, beating MiElite 15 Mizuno 25-19, 25-6. Haleigh Bauer and Emma Rink were strong in the middle with some great swings and stuff blocks. Emma does a great job with cross body swings between the blocks. Kaelynn Lottman Kaelynn Lottman DS/L Norris | 2027 NE and Hallie again served strong as well.. The first set of the second match was a close one with Elite edging out MKE Sting 15 Gold 26-24 and then dominating the second set 25-10. Hallie and Alli both had strong matches on the pin and Emma was strong in the middle in blocking. Eva Gutz also chipped in an ace serve in that match. Elite finished out the day with an epic match against KC Power 15 Black. Elite took the match 25-22 and 26-24. This match was important for determining pools on Sunday bracket play. Both Hallie and Gracie Launstein were both instrumental in the win and played all facets of the game well. Hallie hit outside well and served especially tough. Gracie also served smart as well. Alli had some great cut shots on the outside and did a fantastic job of powering through the block and finding the open floor.
Sunday’s matches were all close and made for some great volleyball. Elite started out the day with a 26-24, 25-19 win against Mintonette. Gracie Launstein was strong with some line shots on the opposite pin and Emma Rink had some great blocks. McKenzie Sidlo McKenzie Sidlo 5'10" | MB Lincoln Lutheran | 2027 NE also came in and was strong serving to give Elite a boost. The second match of the day was against Peak 15 Black Bryar. Elite won both sets 25-22, 25-15 this would propel them into the semi-finals. Serving again was key in this match both Launstein girls were so smart and aggressive in serving. Both Hallie and Alli on the pins had great shots over the block and also were able to tool shot their opposite blockers. Hallie also had some nice deep court shots. In the semi final game against Dallas Skyline 15 Royal it went down to the wire 26-24 and 26-24. Hallie had a great back row attack kill and MicKinley Moser did a great job of keeping their blockers off. She had some great back sets to Gracie that were so smooth allowing her to terminate without a blocker in some cases.
It was a great weekend for VCN 15 Elite as they tied for 3rd place at the Nike Mideast Qualifier in St. Louis to nab a bid to Las Vegas for USAV Nationals. Next weekend they will be inn Kansas City for the Show Me Qualifier. It will be a great tune up to continue to improve, grow and get ready for Nationals.