The Last Dance: USAV 18 Nationals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The final journey for some and the preparation for college volleyball for others; Nationals is upon us this weekend for the 18-year-olds. Many teams earned their way to Utah. Here are the teams making the trip and how they got there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>18 Open</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mavs 18 Elite (12) - The Mavs earned their bid early in the season at the Northern Lights Qualifier. They will enter nationals as the highest seed in the Open Division for teams we cover. They have been [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']ed this year by [player_tooltip player_id='154041' first='Logan' last='Parks'], and when they are in system can throw many weapons at you. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 18 Elite (29) - The St. Louis squad earned their bid at Florida Fest and will enter the tournament as the 29th seed. They delivered a top 20 performance at Triple Crown. [player_tooltip player_id='174406' first='Brytn' last='Lyon'] has played well from the setter position for Elite. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 18 Dauernheim (32) - [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] received an at-large bid to the Open Division after a strong showing over the year. They just missed out on a bid early in the qualifier season with a 4th-place weekend at MLK in Kansas City. [player_tooltip player_id='153937' first='Alea' last='Goolsby'] is still a major threat on the pin. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last=''] 18 Elite (33) - Northern Lights was good to [program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last=''] as they left with an Open Bid quickly in the qualifying season. They have many players able to contribute, but keep an eye on [player_tooltip player_id='219755' first='Epi' last='Salamasina']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mavs 816 18 National (38) - Pacific Northwest bid was earned by Mavs 816 18 National after securing a USA bid earlier in the season. They are a competitive team that has shown flashes of being able to stay on the right side after pool play. [player_tooltip player_id='219770' first='Jaelynn' last='Tunley'] is an outside hitter on their team who can fill it up. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>18 National</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>HPSTL 18 Royal (37)- The National bids emerge from regional play, and HPSTL 18 Royal nabbed their trip to Nationals after winning their bid event. This team had some new faces this year, but [player_tooltip player_id='207576' first='Harper' last='Highfill'] remains a steady presence in the lineup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>KNVBC Shazam(40) - Shazam earned a trickle-down bid from within the region as [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] earned an at-large bid in the Open. They are fresh off winning the club division at Show Me in Kansas City last weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shockwave 18 Black (41) - Shockwave grabs the second bid from the Heart of America region after a good showing in [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] League. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>18 USA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 18 Blue (45) - [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 18 Blue is set to begin play in the USA Division after receiving a bid that fell back to the region after an upgrade for another team. [player_tooltip player_id='219756' first='Karlee' last='Riggs'] is a player who prepped at Platte County and will be on the court this weekend, looking to score points from the outside. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>18 Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>417 Juniors 18 Elite (3) - A three seed means the folks in charge of making the pools believe 417 Juniors has a chance to have a strong tournament. They captured their bid at the Northern Lights Qualifier early in the season. Veteran setter [player_tooltip player_id='237807' first='Reece' last='Cook'] will look to spread the ball around to her array of hitters. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mizuno [program_tooltip program_id='515493' first='Club' last='North'] 18 SWill (22) - The Heart of America region had a good overall showing at Northern Lights, and this includes two teams grabbing berths in the Liberty Division. This team features many players who have been playing together for years, like [player_tooltip player_id='261299' first='Grace' last='Blacklock'] and [player_tooltip player_id='261315' first='Scarlett' last='Frace']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>18 American</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 18 Black (2) - [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] took home one of the region bids after a good showing in regionals. A team we typically see in higher divisions will be the second seed in this division. [player_tooltip player_id='173381' first='Hadley' last='Porter'] is a back row star to check out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 18 Navy (14) - The Gateway Region awarded their American bid to [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 18 Navy. Keeping the love going on defense, [player_tooltip player_id='174407' first='Megan' last='Lawson'] is a strong libero on this team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='515466' first='Pohaku' last=''] 18-1 (47) - The second region bid from HOA was awarded to [program_tooltip program_id='515466' first='Pohaku' last=''] after regional competition. They had a strong third-place showing at SEQ back in February, being two wins away from a title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Storm 18-1 (55) - A reallocated bid from the Great Plains region gives North Storm a bid and the final from our coverage zone that will play in the American division. [player_tooltip player_id='232216' first='Lyla' last='Beetsma'] is a 2026 pin who makes things happen on the outside. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>18 Freedom</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Optimum Volleyball 18-1 (33) - A Region bid was earned by Optimum after their regional tournament a month ago. They will enter as the 33rd seed when tournament play gets going. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last=''] 18 National (35) - [program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last=''] was able to earn the region bid for the Freedom Division. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->