MEQ Scoop: GLR Results, Photos, and What Went Down In Indy
With the region qualifiers under their belt, it was on to the national qualifiers for the chance to punch a ticket to the USAV Junior Nationals in Vegas at the end of June. Many Great Lakes teams would be on…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWith the region qualifiers under their belt, it was on to the national qualifiers for the chance to punch a ticket to the USAV Junior Nationals in Vegas at the end of June. Many Great Lakes teams would be on the hunt for a bid in 15 Open, 16 Open, 16 American, and 16 USA. With competition against clubs across the country, the Great Lakes Region teams are always ones to finish at the top, a force to be reckoned with among the best. Here is a run down across all age groups and divisions.
**Article out Wednesday on 16s Standouts From All Divisions
Chris Fitzgerald – Twitter Updates From MEQ
16 Open
1st Alliance 16-1 has been off to a blistering start for the 2021 season. This team won the St. Louis Presidents Day Challenge and defeated one of the top teams in the country in Legacy out of the Detroit area to claim the top prize. Their momentum carried with an 11-0 record to claim the GLR title and a National bid. This past weekend they went into MEQ with the third overall seed and would finish 9-1, their only loss coming to KC Power in the Championship. They will claim an Open bid. What does this mean for the region? Great news. The more USAV bids claimed by Great Lakes, the trickle of bids then goes back into the Region (If this is inaccurate, someone please let me know because as much as read about the bid process I still get extremely confused).
Other Great Lakes Finishers:
Fusion 16 Red – 19th
Sky High 16 Black Adidas – 19th
Adversity – 28th
HP Illinois 16 Elite – 32nd
Uno Girls 16 Elite – 41st
16 American
Three bids available for just over 100 teams in the 16 American Division. Tejas 16 Black out of the Dallas area claimed the top spot with Mintonette m.62 (Columbus, OH) and Milwaukee Sting 16 Black also claimed bids. However, the Great Lakes Region was well represented with plenty of squads in contention throughout the whole weekend. 1st Alliance 16 Black blazed through the competition until running into a tough Forza1 squad out of Southern California in the Gold Quarterfinals. Epic United 16 Elite and New WAVE 16 Tsunami each finished in the top ten with a tie for 9th.
Other Great Lakes Finishers (Top 50):
Michio Chicago Prem – 19th
MOD Elite 16 Blue – 35th
Sky High Adidas 16 Red – 40th
16 USA
Once again, plenty of teams and with 16 USA, there is only one bid is available which goes to the champion. With this being the first national qualifier, everything is up for grabs, making it ultra competitive with that first chance to punch the ticket from a national event. There is just a different feel to the energy and atmosphere when playing new teams and clubs from across the country. Alamo 16 Elite out of San Antonio, Texas would take the title and the bid from the 16 USA Region. The Fusion 15 Red squad played up an age level and made it to the Gold Bracket the final day. This squad has an American bid in the 15s Division from the Great Lakes Qualifier and took the weekend to play up an age level and some tough competition. Lions 16 Red and 16 White also finished with an appearance in the Gold Bracket making it a solid top ten finish.
Other Great Lakes Finishers (Top 50):
Fusion 16 Crimson – 23rd
Epic 16 Premier – 29th
Lions 16-1 – 32nd
HP Illinois 16 Select – 33rd
New WAVE 16 Hurricane – 47th
15 Open
This pool of teams was extremely talented, from Illinois, but even the visitors coming in from across the country. The Kansas City area brought in KC Power and Dynasty 15 Black who were heavily favored heading into the weekend. Lions 15-1 was the top Great Lakes Region heading into the weekend with the 11th overall seed. However, seeing them play at the Great Lakes Region Qualifiers I thought there was no way that there were 10 teams better than them in this field. Same could be said for plenty of these Great Lakes teams. Lions has balance across the front line and all around athletes who don’t make errors and use a high IQ to wear down teams. Come Saturday, they were able to land in Gold Pool play and bid contention come Sunday with their only loss coming to KC Power. Their first match Sunday was an upset of Pineapple 15 Black out of Ft. Wayne, IN and a narrow loss to NKYVC in three sets 16-14. With a tiebreaker procedure in place, Lions 15-1 was able to advance to the final four where they would land just outside of an Open bid finishing fourth with losses to Dynasty and Rockwood Thunder (St. Louis).
Other Great Lakes Finishers:
Sky High Adidas 15 Black – 22nd
Michio Chicago 15 National – 25th
Sky High Adidas 15-1 NS – 28th
Adversity 15 Adidas – 36th
Uno 15 Elite – 43rd