State Line Tidbits: Qualifier Here, There, and Everywhere

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We had no shortage of qualifiers last weekend with Show Me, MEQ, Big South, and many more all having play going on with other age divisions. We are going to gander around some of these and see what Kansas and Missouri teams had good showings in the 15-17 divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nike</strong> <strong>Mideast Qualifier (MEQ)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will start off in the 15 American division where <strong>417 Juniors 15 Black</strong> won the whole thing with a 10-1 record. I know, I'm a broken record but it's always impressive for a team to win the American division. That is one division where there is very little margin for error. You have to be as close as possible to perfect and typically need to be undefeated. As mentioned, 417 did suffer one loss, the final match of pool play on day 2 but they took care of business in the crossover match to make the gold bracket. In gold, they only dropped one set along the way to win the gold ball and grab the only bid.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Topeka Saints 15-1 </strong>had a good showing and finished third at 8-1. They had a three-set back and forth in their second match of bracket play in which they escaped with a 19-17 win before losing the next match, also in three 11-15. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moving on to the Liberty division where <strong>HPSTL 15 Orange</strong> gets second place and a bid with a 9-1 finish, dropping the championship match to Prime 15 Adidas. Orange played some of their best ball in bracket play. After a three-set showdown to open they ran through their next two opponents convincingly before falling in the championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The USA division saw <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='432164' first='Fight' last='Club'] 15-1</strong>, out of the Wichita, Kansas region handle business. They were perfect over the weekend, winning the tournament and a bid. They only dropped three sets the whole tournament, all in the gold bracket round. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Asics Show Me Qualifier</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In 15 Open, <strong>Pohaku 15-1</strong> continues to show they are a team to be reckoned with after a strong [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] league season and Triple Crown appearance. They finished 3rd with a 7-1 record. They already own a bid so finishing third wasn't that detrimental this go around. They cruised through the first two matches of the tournament before a three-set back and forth with Minnesota Select, which they won with a 15-10 third set. They were equally strong on day two winning both pool matches and a challenge match. They would lose to eventual champion TAV 16 Black in gold pool action. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Staying with the 15s, we move to the USA division where <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 15 Black </strong>records a second-place finish with an 8-1 record. They had the training moving smoothly along the track, winning every set until a three-setter with <strong>Mizuno Club North 15 Sam</strong>. After trading the first two sets, the teams kept throwing haymakers but it was [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] who escaped with a 17-15. Unfortunately in the championship, [program_tooltip program_id='430218' first='Six' last='Pack'] out of Iowa would win the third with the same score to capture the title. [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] still escapes with a bid. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Club North 15 Sam could have hung their heads after a tough loss to [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] but they regrouped to win third place match and earn the final bid, going 8-1 in the process. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>417 Columbia</strong> <strong>16-1</strong> was a perfect 11-0 to win the 16 American division. They worked themselves through so great day-two matches to stay undefeated. They followed that up with three straight three-match victories before sweeping their way to a championship. <strong>Missouri Juniors. 16 Black</strong> ended up second, going 8-3. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mavs KC 16-1</strong> upgrades their bid with a 3rd-place finish in the open division. Going 2-1 on the final day of pool matches put them in a position to get the final bid. Staying with the Mavs family, across the state line their 816 16-1 won team grabbed a USA bid after a third-place showing. It took them taking down Northern Lights 16-2 after losing in the semi-finals to seal the deal. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>417 Columbia</strong> had a good day as the 17s team matches the resume of the 16s team by winning 17 American. They didn't match the undefeated run but did what they needed to in order to finish on top. Their final match was all of the excitement you want to see in a championship match with great defense and offensive fire[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']. Columbia escaped with a 16-14 third set. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>17 Liberty, <strong>Missouri Juniors 17-1</strong> gets the big trophy going undefeated beating <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last=''] 17 Elite</strong> in the title match. Juniors dropped their second set of the tournament and didn't taste a loss rest of the tournament. [program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last=''] was almost equally impressive, dropping two sets the whole tournament until running into the buzz saw that was Missouri Juniors. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Kansas City Open brass continues to represent with <strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 17 Black </strong>getting the runner-up, while<strong> [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 17 Black</strong> grabs another top-three finish. [program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last=''] gets their long sought open bid. They did drop a match in the gold bracket round but earned the pool win due to the head-to-head victory over Skyline. TAV would win the championship match in straight sets. [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] finished pool runner-up and with a bid already clinched didn't need a third-place match. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'] 17 Red </strong>gets second in the USA division to earn a bid. They battled through a couple of three-set thrillers to get to the championship match where they fail to UPVBC 17 Elite in two. They would finish the tournament 7-2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->