The CHRVA Region17s: The War For USAV Nationals Bids Is Here

So to make it to Nationals, which this year is in Indianapolis, IN, you can either win a bid at a Qualifier, which are all those crazy travel tournaments you see people flying to in Kansas City, Orlando, Philly, Boston etc. OR you can win one by doing well enough at your Region's Bid Tournament. For us here in the Chesapeake Region (CHRVA), that is on March 21st. In order to fight it out for those bids, you've got to qualify by meeting some criteria, and for the short answer, you get ranked and only the top 12 are allowed to compete for said bids. Those teams are official after last weekend's Qualifiers and are now setting sights on each other in an attempt to win one of the various bids up for grabs in the various divisions. Open bids aren't on the table in these Regional matchups, you have to win one of those in the big divisions, like Metro Travel did recently. If you land an open bid, you aren't eligible to play for any of these, so Metro T won't be on the list. If you have a lower division bid you can still play, and if your bid is higher than what you win at Regionals, then your bid is given to next on the list in reallocation to the region. This also applies if you win a bid AFTER, called the trickle down effect.   It's all complicated, even more so in 2026 with the addition of the Nationals Club Level in Ohio this year. There are no bids for this, you just sign up for it, it's designed for the teams that don't make Nationals, and with it, there's an entire level of play they took out of regular Nationals, and the bids that would have gone there are reallocated to the Regional pool, meaning there are more bids teams can win this year by Region. According to the website, how many bids each Region gets won't be determined until May, so not fully sure how many bids teams are fighting for this year. When this was all first announced I believe the number for our Region was supposed to jump up to 7 bids total, from the previous 4, but I'm still waiting to see how that plays out. So all of that said, here are the 12 teams in the battle for bids next weekend, and some players to watch, not necessarily the team MVP, but a player I think is interesting and will have an impact.   These are in no particular order, even though there IS a ranking and seeding, I'm not going to use it for this and tip who I think are most likely to win. Or am I?   1. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 17 Nick - Ok, complete honesty, I'm surprised they didn't win a bid yet, I know they have come really close. Won't be surprised if they win one here, but then win another one somewhere else, and the bid gets reallocated. Picking just one player to watch for on this team is rough, you could pick out of a hat and not be wrong, but I'm going to go with:    There's an issue in our area between MD and VA where profiles will get merged and rankings will be lost. That seems to be the case with Izzy right now, but that shouldn't stop you from watching her. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] is loaded with talented middles. [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] will be on full display, and [player_tooltip player_id='435745' first='Alyssa' last='Kumah'] is a monster middle in her own right. But newcomer this season, Izzy is as well. She's been seeing plenty of playing time early this season, and will probably see more later this year when Taylor's team USA responsibilities pick up, but among all the stars on this team, keep an eye on her, she'll make a believer out of you if you stop to watch.    2. Virginia Juniors - One of my favorite teams in the age group, they've got a good mix of star players in the right spots. A slight tweak to the roster this offseason and it may have elevated them into the Metro/[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] mix, that player is:    One of my absolute favorite players in the region, Keiran is an absolute monster. I love the all around 6, athletic Right Sides, I have a list of them I follow, and she might be the best of them. Just such a great motor and hustle, she changes the game defensively because she can cover and get the short and tips, which leaves Megan and Camryn free to cover the deeper harder shots from the pins. Offensively she's as good as the other big name players in the region, if you don't game plan for her, she's going to beat you.    3. MVSA - This is always one of those teams you have to watch out for, as a team, collectively, they are a great team, always in the hunt and they don't quit. I just covered their great pair of setters the other day, so today I'll go with:    Ana is enjoying her time to shine now after her sister moved on to college ball. Her HS is always a threat with her there, she's quite the DS. Good range, solid platform and serve receive, great passing, I've never had anything but good things to say after I've seen her play. She's going to be in demand in these big tournaments, with so many of the big guns out there, there are going to be a lot of hard hit balls to play, and for MVSA to have a shot at the bid, they'll need her to lead the way.    4. Loudoun Quintin - This team has looked sharp all season. I've been following them fairly closely all year, not one you should turn your back on, I firmly expect them to be in the hunt for the bid next weekend. If you want to focus on one player for this team, I'll give you [player_tooltip player_id='536741' first='Lacey' last='Bogues'].    Lacey is the real offensive catalyst for this team, and a player that doesn't get the recognition she deserves. Anytime someone talks about her they want to bring up her height, which is a non-issue when combined with her vertical. I heard a great line the other day, "If I'm good enough, then I'm tall enough". It really stopped me cold, I say it a lot, if the results are there, who cares what the details are? With Lacey, the results are there, she has great timing and athleticism, and will put the ball away at any given time. Teams are learning about her, and I'm sure will be giving her attention on the block, but make no mistake, you'll see Lacey stand out next weekend.    5. Metro National 17 - The new National teams for Metro brought a lot of change to the region this year. The first year filling out a full roster is usually a tough ask to expect them to compete high level right away, but this team has been slowly ramping up if you've been paying attention to them. Key player for this team is one I've very familiar with.    Kennedy made some huge developmental strides last year, improving her defense and serve receive to be able to play all around 6. Her hitting and power have always been her bread and butter though, and those have been key to the success of this team. She's a veteran high level player, coming from Maryland Juniors, she's been playing against the [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] and Metro Travel girls for years now. The athleticism is nice, the power is handy, but the real steal to Kennedy is that she's such a wonderful person too, any team is lucky to have her.    6. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] - Another team like MVSA that is always in the hunt and always dangerous. Complete disclosure they are far enough on the other side of the region that I don't know a ton about them. I saw them earlier this year and was really impressed with their DS [player_tooltip player_id='521531' first='Natalie' last='Huck'].   7. Maryland Juniors 17 Elite Black - A team with a lot of turnover, I know this one better than anyone, but for a highlight player I've been saving this one for a while, she's very under the radar...but not for long.    Ella has had a rocky start to the season, she's missed some time with illness, gotta love winter season sports, but I've been waiting for the chance to give this one some attention. Ella shifted from Middle to RS this season, I think she could probably play any spot in the front row. She's got height, in the 6 foot ballpark, she's got athleticism, touching over 10 feet with power. She is a jaw dropper, and has just been waiting for her chance to shine, Regionals sounds like a fun time for a debut party, remember you heard it here first, and feel free to drop me a line if you're a coach and want to know more.    8. Premier Edge - Another team I know not to sleep on, I've been watching them up close since 13s or 14s and they are always a team that gets underappreciated. They are a tough team every time you play them, Riley McFarland is a mainstay and always a player to keep an eye on.   9. Virginia Elite - They had some success and were a problem for people early in the season. I got to catch some plays at Cap Classic and was impressed with DS [player_tooltip player_id='359401' first='Chloe' last='Barth'], she had good range and made some good passes in the albeit limited time I got to watch them.   10. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Allorie - They had some success in Boston recently, admittedly it was with borrowing one of my favorite 2027s from the 18s team in [player_tooltip player_id='734791' first='Sophia' last='Jenkins']. This is a very different team with or without her. Yes, ok there's some bias there, they are still a high level team so you need to worry about them, but Sophia is a big time player.   11. Loudoun Tony - I'll spread out the love on this one and go with [player_tooltip player_id='747675' first='Haley' last='Marsh'], Captain of her Westfield HS team, Samantha Fitzgerald had a nice write up about her last year and liked her game, I'd trust that. I didn't get to see too much of her the one time I saw them this season, but I did see a big time hit and point out of her that was just enough to get on my radar, I'll be watching for her next weekend.   12. Liberty Elite - I'll go with Zayna Brooks, a Setter from the Frederick area for this one. She's a 3 year starter on Varsity for Tuscarora, she sets a great right side back set and she's got a good hard serve with some movement.     Like I said, these aren't a prediction of outcome or anything, just how I had them listed when I found out who made it. The battleground is set, the players are in the final stretch. Regionals will be quite the day of drama if it's anything like last year.

So to make it to Nationals, which this year is in Indianapolis, IN, you can either win a bid at a Qualifier, which are all those crazy travel tournaments you see people flying to in Kansas City, Orlando, Philly, Boston etc. OR you can win one by doing well enough at your Region's Bid Tournament. For us here in the Chesapeake Region (CHRVA), that is on March 21st. In order to fight it out for those bids, you've got to qualify by meeting some criteria, and for the short answer, you get ranked and only the top 12 are allowed to compete for said bids. Those teams are official after last weekend's Qualifiers and are now setting sights on each other in an attempt to win one of the various bids up for grabs in the various divisions. Open bids aren't on the table in these Regional matchups, you have to win one of those in the big divisions, like Metro Travel did recently. If you land an open bid, you aren't eligible to play for any of these, so Metro T won't be on the list. If you have a lower division bid you can still play, and if your bid is higher than what you win at Regionals, then your bid is given to next on the list in reallocation to the region. This also applies if you win a bid AFTER, called the trickle down effect.