Mavs KC, Premier Nebraska Columbus Bound

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first qualifier for many teams and two bids have been accounted for with Mavs KC 18-1 and Nebraska Premier 18 Gold earning bids Monday in Kansas City. We picked Mavs to pick up one of the bids. If I can be honest for a second, I wavered back and forth between Premier and Minnesota Select and went with the latter, but I'm not shocked to see the Omaha, Nebraska team getting it done!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mavs found themselves in a three-team pool on day one which meant auto threes in their pool matches. They went 5-1 in sets, and 2-0 in matches to win their pool, dropping the lone set to Iowa [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']Plex in set three. Premier was in a similar pool setup situation, the only difference was they didn't drop a set to win their pool.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We mentioned Minnesota Select earlier. They were in the only four-team pool and they were perfect on day 1 going 6-0 in sets. The fourth pool saw [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] escape unscathed, also going undefeated on the day in sets. The top two teams from each pool would advance to two pools of four in an attempt of grabbing the two bids available. The pool winner and runner-up would advance to the Gold Pool on Monday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool 1: Minnesota Select, [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'], Club V, [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 18 Black.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Select stayed perfect on the weekend going 3-0, while [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] finished second. Minnesota Select got good play on the day from Olivia Swenson and Sophia Johnson. [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] was a team we knew would compete despite losing a few key players to "transfer" and early college enrollment. [player_tooltip player_id='98678' first='Sydney' last='Draper'] was great in her decision making and new face [player_tooltip player_id='99226' first='Ashlyn' last='Bellamy'] was strong on the pin.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool 2: Premier Nebraska, Mavs KC, OT 18, Academy 18E Rage</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Premier took care of business going undefeated and dropping two sets along the way. After getting smacked in set one, they came back to win the second -23, before finishing it off 15-11 in the third over Mavs. Mavs knew they were in good shape to advance along with Premier after being 2-0 heading into the matchup. Olivia Mauch was stellar for Premier and Brooklyn Fuchs had her moments. Mavs had good play from a couple of their new faces [player_tooltip player_id='101697' first='Reagan' last='Fox'] and [player_tooltip player_id='120010' first='Sawyer' last='Thomsen'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gold Pool: Minnesota Select, Premier Nebraska, [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'], Mavs KC</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Why 18 Open Bid matches have to be played at 8 am I don't know but Minnesota Select got the all-important first win with a three-set win over [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']']. [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] grabbed the first set -23 before Select stormed back by pulling away late for a -18 second set win. They went on a little run in set three to get a 15-8 win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second match of the morning would be a rematch of the last match on Sunday and this time Mavs returned the favor by handing Premier their first defeat of the weekend in straight sets. [player_tooltip player_id='119222' first='Aisha' last='Aiono'] and [player_tooltip player_id='150076' first='Betsy' last='Goodenow'] were key in the match from the middle and right pin, while [player_tooltip player_id='152165' first='Reagan' last='Anderson'] was lights out defensively. Mavs being the fourth seed in the pool had the back-to-back match up and a win would put them in a really good position. The first set was all in favor of the local team, as they ran away earning a 25-18 win. The second set was one of runs with each team going on mini-runs but Mavs closed it out -23 to be the first team to two wins and essentially earning a bid with a [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] loss in the next match. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Premier would keep their dreams alive while eliminating [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] with a tight three-set win, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13. Destiny Ndam Simpson helped carry the squad with key kills down the stretch. [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] still had some fight in them as they faced Mavs KC. By this time, Mavs being 2-0 and defeating both Minnesota Select and Premier Nebraska, they had the top spot sealed but facing a local rival is always typically a "get-up" match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They didn't "get up" though, losing to [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] in three. Mavs coach Beau Barnthson seemed a little disappointed in his team's play to finish the day and expressed he felt they weren't on their game. Nonetheless, he was excited to sign the paperwork accepting the bid in the first qualifier of the year and was on his way to sharing the news with his team when we chatted. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That meant one bid remained, one match remained between extremely [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']ful teams. If you were on hand, you weren't disappointed by the level of play and raw emotion on the court. In the first set, both teams traded punch after punch but it was Premier who would escape in set one 27-25. The second set mirrored the first with heavy swings and tremendous defensive play along the back row. In the end, it would be Nebraska who would finish the match on a late run to get the 25-22 win and bid to nationals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->