18 American: So Close in Omaha, Rockwood White competes in Ohio

<p>Numerous teams competed in the Northern Lights Qualifier 18 American Division in Omaha. We will give a general overview of each team’s record and give some insight on the few teams we were able to watch play. In the American Division, one bid was in play for nationals. </p> <p><strong>Mavs 816 18-1 - 3rd Place - 7-1 overall record</strong></p> <p>Mavs fell into the category of "all so close". They had a tremendous weekend, however, in the American division and one bid at play, you have to run the table on the last day. They won their first 7 games before losing to an already qualified Impact 18 National. Overall, they should be pleased with their run and build on this heading into the next qualifier. <strong>Molly Carr</strong>, <strong>Regan Bruggeman</strong>, and <strong>Madison Clark</strong> were some players who stood out when watching back film. </p> <p><strong>417 Juniors Columbia - 5th Place - 4-3 overall record</strong></p> <p>After consecutive 2-1 days, Juniors Columbia dropped their first-round playoff match to Mavs 816. <strong>Emma Rousch</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="41801" first="Emma" last="Lea Benney"]</strong> were strong offensively. I was really impressed with the defense of <strong>Addison Davis</strong>. In the game, I watched she was great in covering her hitters and saved numerous points during the match. </p> <p><strong>417 Juniors 18-2 - 5th Place - 6-1 overall record</strong></p> <p>Like with the Mavs, Juniors 18-2 loss at the wrong time. They also had a strong first two days going undefeated. They suffered a tough defeat in the playoffs to Northern Lights 18b, including a 30-28 first set marathon. </p> <p><strong>Dynasty 18 Blue - 9th Place - 5-2</strong></p> <p>Dynasty Blue attempted to join their Black team in earning a bid to nationals on the first try. They ran off four straight victories to begin the qualifier. They took their first loss on day two but still position themselves to make the gold bracket by going 2-1 in pool play. They took a first-round exit in the gold playoffs. </p> <p><strong>Invasion 18 White - 12th Place - 5-3 overall record</strong></p> <p>18 White had a solid start to the tournament going 2-1 on the first two days. 2-1 is typically enough to keep you in the gold rounds but a three-way tie found Invasion the odd team out slipping to third place. The third-place pool finish would send them to the silver bracket instead of the gold. They defeated Summit in the semi’s before losing to Minnesota Juniors.</p> <p><strong>Salsa 18-1 - 16th Place - 6-3 overall record</strong></p> <p>Salsa 18-1 had a roller coaster weekend in Omaha. Day 1 saw them start hot, going 3-0. Day 2 saw them go cold, 0-3. They always say it’s how you finish that matters. Salsa finished strong, going 3-0 and capturing the bronze bracket. </p> <p><strong>Invasion 18 Blue - 20th Place - 2-5 overall record</strong></p> <p>A good start to the weekend is what Invasion Blue hoped for and they delivered with a 2-1 start. Their sole loss was to the hands of Salsa. They would drop all of their matches on day 2, before losing the final match to Salsa again in the bronze round. </p> <p><strong>Highlands Performance 18 Rox - 26th Place - 6-3 overall record</strong></p> <p>This is another example of a team that ended their weekend on a high note. They were knocked out of bid contention on day 1. Many teams could easily mail it in but Highlands battled back to win 5 out of their last 6 matches. Highlands was the defending Northern Lights champion. </p> <p><em><strong>Bid: Topeka Saints 18-1</strong></em></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Ohio 18s Qualifier American</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Rockwood Thunder 18 White - 13th Place - 6-3 overall record</strong></p> <p>The final of Rockwood teams played in the 18 American division in Ohio. Day 1 saw their hopes fade after going 0-3 in pool play. The positive is they won their last 5 matches. </p> <p><em><strong>Bid: NOVA Jrs. 18 Gold </strong></em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>