State Line Tidbits: Winding Down Bid Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are coming down to the wire in regard to qualifiers and region bid tournaments. In the HOA region, the 16s will battle it out this upcoming weekend in Lawrence, KS for the remaining bids pending any reallocated from other regions. Far Western Qualifier over the next two weekends will complete the qualifying season for all age divisions. As the dust begins to settle, here is what we have from last weekend across the two states.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northeast Qualifier</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 16 Navy</strong> hopped on a plane East to Philadelphia and made the trip worthwhile, leaving with a bid after a runner-up finish in the USA Division. They went 8-2 over the weekend losing to only one team along the way. This team has a solid roster with players like [player_tooltip player_id='207296' first='Sophia' last='Hurst'] and [player_tooltip player_id='169896' first='Ellie' last='Witthaus']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lonestar Classic</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last='']' last='']' last=''] 17 Black</strong> finally got over the hump after a few top-three finishes to win the 17 Open Division. Their defense was on display with the standard high-level play of [player_tooltip player_id='150068' first='Ryan' last='McAleer'] in the libero jersey and the big block of [player_tooltip player_id='119704' first='Cy' last='Rae Campbell'] and company in the middle. They went 9-1 on the weekend, dropping a 17-15 three-setter to Milwaukee Sting. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 17 USA, Both <strong>417 Juniors 17 Black</strong> and <strong>Mizuno Club North 17 Ang</strong> looked to upgrade their bids from Liberty to USA and had a good run at it, finishing tied for 5th going a combined 13-3 over the tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of the Liberty Division, 417 and Club North will be joined by fellow HOA member <strong>Mavs KC 17-2</strong>, who grabbed a bid with a second-place finish in Texas. Keliah Rivers, Faith Kratochvil, and their friends went 9-1 over three days. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tamales 17-1,</strong> out of Southeast Missouri already owned an American bid but went 9-1 in the division losing in the finals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last='']' last='']' last=''] 15 Black</strong> fought their way to a 5th place finish in the Open Division, which was quite ok with the trickle-down as they picked up their open bid. Sydni Lafasciasno and [player_tooltip player_id='222074' first='Parker' last='Kimball'] from rivals Park Hill South and Park Hill teamed up to help the team go 6-2. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Invasion 15</strong> Black came up one match short of moving up to a Liberty bid dropping a tough semifinal match. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tournament Play</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 417 Showdown, <strong>417 Columbia 17-2</strong> took care of business to win the 17 combined division, taking down <strong>Empire Volleyball Club</strong> in straight sets. <strong>Apex 16-1</strong> triumphed over<strong> Performance 16-2 </strong>to get the first-place medals in the 16 combined. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->