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18s Qualifiers On Tap: Preview And Predictions

Which 18s teams are next in line to join the group of Open qualifiers so far? With three national qualifiers on the slate for this weekend, eight more bids are going to be handed out. That will take the number of awarded bids from eight to 16. Here are the clubs which have earned their Open bids to date:

  • Sunshine 18 LA (Windy City)
  • Wave 18 Juliana (Windy City)
  • Mintonette Sports m.81 (Windy City)
  • MAVS KC 17-1 (KC MLK)
  • Premier Nebraska 18 Gold (KC MLK)
  • Drive Nation 18 Red (Lone Star)
  • A5 18 Marc (Lone Star)
  • Skyline 18 Royal (Lone Star)

The Florida Fest, Northern Lights and Salt Lake City Showdown qualifiers will add to those numbers after those Friday-Sunday tournaments wrap up. Below, we take a look at each qualifier and what to expect.

FLORIDA FEST

Number of Teams: 26

Available Bids: 3

Qualified Teams (3): Drive Nation 18 Red; MAVS KC 18-1; Mintonette Sports m.81

vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (12): 

  • 2. 1st Alliance 18 Gold
  • 5. Drive Nation 18 Red
  • 8. OT 18 John
  • 9. Metro 18 Travel
  • 11. MAVS KC 18-1
  • 13. Madfrog 18 Green
  • 29. Mich Elite 18 Mizuno
  • 33. Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite
  • 35. Mintonette Sports m.81
  • 43. Paramount VBC 18s
  • 46. Triangle 18 Black
  • 47. Gainesville Jrs 18 Black

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5 Star Athletes

4 Star Athletes

Outlook/Prediction: This is the biggest qualifier of the weekend, both in total number of teams in 18 Open and the depth of the field as 12 of the 26 clubs appear in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings. However, this could also be the ‘easiest’ qualifier of the weekend to gain a bid simply because there are three teams already with bids and that could push trickle down to sixth place. 1st Alliance 18 Gold didn’t play in the Windy City Qualifier earlier this month and is making its first appearance at a qualifier. 1st Alliance, the defending 17 Open national champions from Indy, are the top seed and are big favorites to grab one of the three bids. Mintonette Sports m.81, MAVS KC 18-1 and Drive Nation 18 Red follow as the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds but all three already have their spots clinched for Columbus. The teams to pay close attention to in terms of earning bids this weekend is OT 18 John, Metro 18 Travel, Mich Elite 18 Mizuno, Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite and Gainesville Jrs 18 Black. The prediction is the three bids are going to that group of five teams, with Metro and Gainesville taking them home. As for the tournament winner, 1st Alliance defeats MAVS for first place.

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SALT LAKE CITY SHOWDOWN

Number of Teams: 25

Available Bids: 3

Qualified Teams (1): Sunshine 18 LA

vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (8): 

  • 7. AZ Rev 18 Premier
  • 10. Sunshine 18 LA
  • 14. Club V 18 Ren Reed
  • 21. Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar
  • 30. NPJ 18 Forefront
  • 32. Arizona Storm 18 Thunder
  • 38. Absolute 18 Black
  • 44. ID Crush 18 Bower

***

5 Star Athletes

4 Star Athletes

Outlook/Prediction: The bad news for teams hoping to qualify is Sunshine 18 LA – the top seed – is the only club with an Open bid and thus trickle down can’t go past fourth place. It’s going to take a legit finish to qualify at this event. The good news though is the field isn’t quite as deep as it was last season and there’s a great opportunity for three teams to take advantage of that. So Cal clubs like Wave 18 Juliana (already qualified) and Coast 18 Ozhan (not qualified) did not make the trip and that should help in the case of Coast, though teams wouldn’t mind Wave being here considering Wave already has a bid. In terms of Open bids going out, I think there is one lock here with Club V 18 Ren Reed. Playing at its local qualifier, I expect Club V to play well and secure one of the three bids. Club V opens as the No. 2 overall seed. Other clubs expected to compete for bids include Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar, AZ Rev 18 Premier, NPJ 18 Forefront and Arizona Storm 18 Thunder. If you want a few underdogs to create havoc and root for them, OJVA 18 Gold, ID Crush 18 Bower, Hive 18 Gold and A4 Volley 18 Joaco are teams to watch in that sense. Any one of them could surprise. We are going with Club V not only to qualify but defeat Sunshine in the final. NPJ and AZ Rev will make the third-place match and both earn their Open bids.

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NORTHERN LIGHTS QUALIFIER

Number of Teams: 12

Available Bids: 2

Qualified Teams (1): Premier Nebraska 18 Gold

vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (7): 

  • 4. Premier Nebraska 18 Gold
  • 12. MN Select 18-1
  • 24. MKE Sting 18 Gold
  • 31. Dynasty 18 Black
  • 36. FC Elite 18 Elite
  • 40. KC Power 18-1
  • 45. Northern Lights 18-1

***

5 Star Athletes

4 Star Athletes

Outlook/Prediction: With just 12 teams, this is obviously the smallest qualifier of the weekend. And as a result, only two Open bids are going to be awarded since there are less than 16 competitors. Still, the depth of field is solid as seven of the 12 teams are ranked in our Top 50. Other clubs get a slight boost too from the fact Premier Nebraska 18 Gold already has a bid. Premier Nebraska is the top seed and should finish in the top three. That would help create trickle down to third. MN Select 18-1 and KC Power 18-1 were both at the KC MLK qualifier with Premier Nebraska. MN Select is a favorite to grab one of the two bids. The race for the other bid is intriguing, as KC Power is in the mix, along with FC Elite 18 Elite, Dynasty 18 Black, VC United 18 Elite and MKE Sting 18 Gold. The prediction here is Premier Nebraska defeats MN Select for gold, with MN Select qualifying in the process. The second bid comes down to KC Power beating FC Elite in the third-place match for the second bid.

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