Tournament Preview: Triple Crown Volleyball NIT

<p>A handful of NCR Minnesota teams are in Salt Lake City this weekend for the <a href="http://www.triplecrownvolleyball.com/">Triple Crown National Invitational Tournament</a>. President's Day weekend has long been an early-season opportunity for clubs to compete in some of the largest and most competitive events around the country and this event certainly fits that bill. In creating this event, Triple Crown has created a tournament that pits the best teams around the country against one another based upon national rankings. Elite divisions include power pools that are sure to provide some intense competition. Triple Crown has not only created a great experience for athletes and coaches, but fans alike can engage with the action in person and through live streaming up to 40 courts of action. The following are NCR MN teams day one schedules.</p> <p><strong>16 Open</strong></p> <p>MN Select 16-1 is the third seed in Pool E to begin the event. They will open up play against the 5th overall seed and top team in Pool E, Texas Image 16 Mizuno Ray. Their other two opponents will be Vision 16 Gold and Upward Stars Upstate 16 Andrew. A total of 80 teams are competing in 16 Open. Round 2 teams will be placed into Open or Club competition based upon day one results.</p> <p><strong>15 Open</strong></p> <p>MN Select 15-1 is the top seed in the event and the lead team in Pool A. Their Round 1 opponents will be Coast 15-2 and Tribe 15 Elite Dean. With only three teams in their pool, crossover matches will determine Round 2 placement.</p> <p>Mizuno M1 151 is the third seed in Pool B. Their opponents in Round 1 included Vegas Aces 15 Under Armour and PSVBA 15-1. Similar to Pool A, there are only three teams in Pool B and teams will take part in crossover matches to determine advancement to Round 2 to either Elite, Open, or Club competition.</p> <p><strong>14 Open</strong></p> <p>MN Select 14-1 is the second seed in Pool K. They will open Round 1 pool play against Vegas Aces 14 Under Armour, North Nevada Juniors 14-1, and Club GSL 14-1. Following Round 1, top teams will be seeded into Elite competition while lower teams will compete in Club.</p> <p>Tournament schedules and results can be found <a href="https://www.advancedeventsystems.com/EventResults/(S(rbin3ci1bxxe2s45bhwidg55))/Home.aspx?e=PTAwMDAwMTU1ODA90">here</a>, provided by Advanced Event Systems.</p>