VERA AI
SIGN UP

April 1, 2022

The Week That Was (March 28)

April 1, 2022

Here’s a quick run through of some happenings in the world of volleyball for the week of March 28. The 18s qualifiers are all wrapped up! However, the field still isn’t complete. Four at-large bids remain. You can see all the qualified Open teams here for each age group. Surprisingly, all three bids went out in 18 Open at MEQ. They went to MN Select 18-1, KC Power 18-1 and Tri-State 18 Elite Blue. It was surprising because there were 13 teams with bids in the field. That was the same number of previously qualified teams that were at the SCVA 18 Qualifier the weekend before. Only one team qualified there. In Indy, MN Select, KC Power and Tri-State Elite all managed to push into the top eight. MN Select finished tied for third, while Power and Tri-State tied for fifth. MN Select caught a break on Day 2. After finishing in a three-way tie at 1-2, MN Select earned the second-place tiebreaker to stay alive. Tri-State had a great Day 2, beating previously qualified Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite and Northern Lights 18-1. Power downed previously qualified Dynasty 18 Black on Day 2 to make the gold pools. MN Select beat Tri-State head-to-head on Day 3 on its way to winning its gold pool. Both Power and Tri-State took second in their respective pools to gain their bids. *** The Pacific Northwest Qualifier took place as well for the older age groups and helped filled out the 18 Open field over the weekend too. NPJ 18 Forefront, Excel NW 18-1 Rox and Renovators 18-Allen all took advantage of trickle down in Spokane to claim their bids. Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar went 9-0 for the title. It’s the second qualifier victory for the So Cal club after Beach took home top honors in Salt Lake City as well. Absolute 18 Black and Rage Westside 18 Michelle finished 2-3. NPJ was fourth, while Excel NW and Renovators tied for fifth. The final day was uneventful. With two, three-team gold pools and Beach, Absolute and Rage in them, NPJ, Excel NW and Renovators had bids secured going into Day 3. San Gabriel Elite 18 Rosh was the tough-luck team. After beating Vision 18 Gold to open Day 2 action, SG lost a pair of tight three-setters to Renovators and Excel NW and wasn’t able to advance. A victory in either of those matches and SG would’ve had its bid. *** 17 Open at PNQ was a true race for one of the three bids because there were no previously qualified clubs in the field. That meant finishing in the top three to qualify. Madfrog 17 Green downed ID Crush 17 Bower in the final. The last bid went to AJV 17 Adidas after topping NorCal Black 17-1 in straight sets in the third-place match. Both Madfrog and ID Crush made the gold pools in Salt Lake but came up short of getting bids there. They were the best two teams in the field in Spokane so it was nice to see the pair meet in the final and qualify. Both lost on Day 1 but managed to still advance. Then they both went 3-0 on Day 2. OJVA 17-1 Gold and Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar were the other two teams filling out the gold pools and in contention on Day 3. However, both went 0-2 in their respective pools and missed out on a chance to bid. *** It was the same scenario in 16 Open in terms of trickle down. There was none at play because no teams in the field had bids yet. So another top-three showing was in order to qualify. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar swept past AJV 16 Adidas in the final as both picked up bids. In the third-place showdown Madfrog 16 Green clipped SG Elite 16 Rosh, winning 20-18 in Game 3 to qualify. Long Beach was certainly relieved to get its bid after its time in Salt Lake City earlier in the month. Beach played well on Day 3 in gold pools there but caught the bad end of the tiebreaker when it finished in a three-way tie at 2-1 but took third. That cost Beach playing for a bid. Beach’s only loss in Spokane came against Madfrog on Day 2. Beach swept Absolute Black 16-1 and SG Elite on Day 3 to qualify and reach the final. AJV opened Day 2 with a loss to Absolutebut rebounded with victories over OJVA 16-1 Gold and TAV Houston 16 Adidas to advance. AJV clinched its bid by beating Madfrog and Norco 16 Black in its gold pool. Madfrog was looking for some revenge so to speak. The North Texas club didn’t make it out of Day 2 pools in Salt Lake City in its first qualifying attempt. Madfrog captured its first seven contests – with five going three sets – at PNQ before getting uprooted by AJV and having to play SG for the final bid. *** With Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar having qualified in Salt Lake City, there was one team in 15 Open that already had its bid. That came into play as Beach finished third after beating Madfrog 15 Green in the third-place match. But by then Madfrog knew it had its bid regardless of the outcome. Madfrog was at Salt Lake City too and just missed playing for a bid there when it lost to Excel 15 National Red in gold pool play. Excel went on to fall to Austin Skyline 15 Royal in the third-place match. Madfrog had some bumps in Spokane, falling to ID Crush 15 Bower to close Day 1 and then to AJV 15 Adidas in gold pool. It created a three-way tie at 1-1 with NorCal Black 15-1. Fortunately for Madfrog it took second place. NorCal advanced to the final, earning its bid before going to down to champion Absolute Black 15-1, which also qualified. No doubt Absolute was on a mission in

Read More »

Red Rock Rave Preview And Predictions

April 1, 2022

The SCVA’s Red Rock Rave takes place Saturday-Monday in Las Vegas. vballrecruiter.com is going to be in attendance for the event. Below, we take a look at 15-17 Open and make our predictions for the division and bid winners. 15 Open Number of Teams: 32 Number of Bids: 3 Previously Qualified Teams (2): Arizona Storm 15 Thunder; Drive Nation 15 Red Thoughts: Arizona Storm 15 Thunder, which won Salt Lake City, was an easy pick for the top seed. TAV 15 Black was a solid pick for the No. 2 seed. TAV did not play at Triple Crown and is making its qualifier debut. I do think No. 3 Tstreet 15 Curtis is perhaps over seeded. Aspire 15 Premier, seeded No. 9, and ARVC 15 Adidas, seeded 11, both finished ahead of Tstreet at Salt Lake City. So did Excel 15 National Red, which came in fourth in Salt Lake and is seeded one spot behind Tstreet. Drive Nation 15 Red is the No. 6 seed and already has its bid after coming in second at Northern Lights. That’s a little low of a starting seed for that team. I fully expect Storm and Drive Nation to be top-five finishers, so that should impact trickle down. Missing from the field is Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar, which came in second at Salt Lake and finished first at PNQ. Beach likely could’ve expanded trickle down to the top six if it were here. The seeding will play itself out though because no Day 1 pool is overloaded so it’s unlikely any contenders fall out because of it after Day 1. The pools appear balanced overall. Vision 15 Gold, seeded No. 7, is a team to watch. Vision defeated Surfside 15 Legends at PNQ last weekend. Surfside was the top seed there and considered the best team in the 15s in So Cal. Predictions: How do you go against a Storm-TAV final? The question is who wins? We’ll take TAV over Storm, with TAV obviously getting its bid. The other two bid winners will be Excel and Vision. *** 16 Open Number of Teams: 30 Number of Bids: 3 Previously Qualified Teams (2): Coast 16-1; Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar Thoughts: With only Coast 16-1 and Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar – which qualified last weekend at PNQ – having bids, it means finishing no worse than fifth place to qualify and that’s obviously only if Coast and Beach finish in the top five. We’ll see what Rockstar has in the tank after competing in Spokane last weekend. Coast earned its bid at Salt Lake, where it beat Arizona Storm 16 Thunder for the final bid. Coast opens as the No. 2 overall seed. Storm is No. 3. Wave 16 Brennan, making its qualifier debut, is the top seed. Wave, by finishing tied for 5th at Triple Crown, had the best showing of in team in the field in Kansas City. SG Elite 16 Rosh just missed qualifying this past weekend at PNQ, coming in fourth. The club starts seeded No. 8 overall. City Volleyball 16 Gold is the No. 4 seed and definitely figures to be in the mix on the final day. We’re not too sure about TX Performance 16s, which is the No. 5 Seed. Beach is seeded No. 6 with Momentous VBC 16 Dan at No. 7 and another club which could be in contention for a bid in gold pools. It’s hard to say where this field stacks up against the Salt Lake field but it’s probably a bit stronger overall. There’s no guarantee Coast or Beach help create any trickle down, so teams should go in thinking they need to finish top three to get a bid. Predictions: The only call I’m confident in making is Wave getting its bid. In fact, that’s my pick to win it all is Wave over Storm in the final. As for the remaining bid, I think San Gabriel finds a way to get it done. *** 17 Open Number of Teams: 38 Number of Bids: 3 Previously Qualified Teams (4): Club V 17 Ren Reed; Drive Nation 17 Red; AZ Rev 17 Premier; ID Crush 17 Bower Thoughts: Club V 17 Ren Reed is the top seed but it’s second-seeded Drive Nation 17 Red who should be viewed as the favorite to win the tournament even after playing this past weekend and qualifying at MEQ. Both are qualified and along with AZ Rev 17 Premier are likely to create some sort of trickle down. ID Crush 17 Bower is the fourth qualified team after gaining its bid this past weekend at PNQ, but while I expect Club V, Drive and AZ Rev to be in the top six overall when it’s all settled, Crush is right there on the border. I’m not sure Crush can crack the top six, so I don’t foresee Crush being involved in trickle down though Crush could make the top eight and play in the gold pools. Club V, AZ Rev and Crush were all at Salt Lake City. So was Coast 17-1, Sunshine 17 LA, AsicsWillowbrook 17 Gold, Aspire 17 Premier, Arizona Storm 17 Thunder and Excel 17 National Red, plus a few more, so there’s familiarity there. The biggest name club making its qualifier debut is Wave 17 Julianna and absolutely figures to factor into the qualifying race. Predictions: If there were no qualified teams, it would be very difficult to pick the three teams which would emerge with bids. But I’m going with a So Cal sweep – Coast, Sunshine and Wave all pick up Open bids this weekend. As for the overall winner, I’m picking Drive Nation over Coast in the final.

Read More »

The Week That Was (March 28)

April 1, 2022

Here’s a quick run through of some happenings in the world of volleyball for the week of March 28. The 18s qualifiers are all wrapped up! However, the field still isn’t complete. Four at-large bids remain. You can see all the qualified Open teams here for each age group. Surprisingly, all three bids went out in 18 Open at MEQ. They went to MN Select 18-1, KC Power 18-1 and Tri-State 18 Elite Blue. It was surprising because there were 13 teams with bids in the field. That was the same number of previously qualified teams that were at the SCVA 18 Qualifier the weekend before. Only one team qualified there. In Indy, MN Select, KC Power and Tri-State Elite all managed to push into the top eight. MN Select finished tied for third, while Power and Tri-State tied for fifth. MN Select caught a break on Day 2. After finishing in a three-way tie at 1-2, MN Select earned the second-place tiebreaker to stay alive. Tri-State had a great Day 2, beating previously qualified Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite and Northern Lights 18-1. Power downed previously qualified Dynasty 18 Black on Day 2 to make the gold pools. MN Select beat Tri-State head-to-head on Day 3 on its way to winning its gold pool. Both Power and Tri-State took second in their respective pools to gain their bids. *** The Pacific Northwest Qualifier took place as well for the older age groups and helped filled out the 18 Open field over the weekend too. NPJ 18 Forefront, Excel NW 18-1 Rox and Renovators 18-Allen all took advantage of trickle down in Spokane to claim their bids. Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar went 9-0 for the title. It’s the second qualifier victory for the So Cal club after Beach took home top honors in Salt Lake City as well. Absolute 18 Black and Rage Westside 18 Michelle finished 2-3. NPJ was fourth, while Excel NW and Renovators tied for fifth. The final day was uneventful. With two, three-team gold pools and Beach, Absolute and Rage in them, NPJ, Excel NW and Renovators had bids secured going into Day 3. San Gabriel Elite 18 Rosh was the tough-luck team. After beating Vision 18 Gold to open Day 2 action, SG lost a pair of tight three-setters to Renovators and Excel NW and wasn’t able to advance. A victory in either of those matches and SG would’ve had its bid. *** 17 Open at PNQ was a true race for one of the three bids because there were no previously qualified clubs in the field. That meant finishing in the top three to qualify. Madfrog 17 Green downed ID Crush 17 Bower in the final. The last bid went to AJV 17 Adidas after topping NorCal Black 17-1 in straight sets in the third-place match. Both Madfrog and ID Crush made the gold pools in Salt Lake but came up short of getting bids there. They were the best two teams in the field in Spokane so it was nice to see the pair meet in the final and qualify. Both lost on Day 1 but managed to still advance. Then they both went 3-0 on Day 2. OJVA 17-1 Gold and Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar were the other two teams filling out the gold pools and in contention on Day 3. However, both went 0-2 in their respective pools and missed out on a chance to bid. *** It was the same scenario in 16 Open in terms of trickle down. There was none at play because no teams in the field had bids yet. So another top-three showing was in order to qualify. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar swept past AJV 16 Adidas in the final as both picked up bids. In the third-place showdown Madfrog 16 Green clipped SG Elite 16 Rosh, winning 20-18 in Game 3 to qualify. Long Beach was certainly relieved to get its bid after its time in Salt Lake City earlier in the month. Beach played well on Day 3 in gold pools there but caught the bad end of the tiebreaker when it finished in a three-way tie at 2-1 but took third. That cost Beach playing for a bid. Beach’s only loss in Spokane came against Madfrog on Day 2. Beach swept Absolute Black 16-1 and SG Elite on Day 3 to qualify and reach the final. AJV opened Day 2 with a loss to Absolutebut rebounded with victories over OJVA 16-1 Gold and TAV Houston 16 Adidas to advance. AJV clinched its bid by beating Madfrog and Norco 16 Black in its gold pool. Madfrog was looking for some revenge so to speak. The North Texas club didn’t make it out of Day 2 pools in Salt Lake City in its first qualifying attempt. Madfrog captured its first seven contests – with five going three sets – at PNQ before getting uprooted by AJV and having to play SG for the final bid. *** With Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar having qualified in Salt Lake City, there was one team in 15 Open that already had its bid. That came into play as Beach finished third after beating Madfrog 15 Green in the third-place match. But by then Madfrog knew it had its bid regardless of the outcome. Madfrog was at Salt Lake City too and just missed playing for a bid there when it lost to Excel 15 National Red in gold pool play. Excel went on to fall to Austin Skyline 15 Royal in the third-place match. Madfrog had some bumps in Spokane, falling to ID Crush 15 Bower to close Day 1 and then to AJV 15 Adidas in gold pool. It created a three-way tie at 1-1 with NorCal Black 15-1. Fortunately for Madfrog it took second place. NorCal advanced to the final, earning its bid before going to down to champion Absolute Black 15-1, which also qualified. No doubt Absolute was on a mission in

Read More »

Red Rock Rave Preview And Predictions

April 1, 2022

The SCVA’s Red Rock Rave takes place Saturday-Monday in Las Vegas. vballrecruiter.com is going to be in attendance for the event. Below, we take a look at 15-17 Open and make our predictions for the division and bid winners. 15 Open Number of Teams: 32 Number of Bids: 3 Previously Qualified Teams (2): Arizona Storm 15 Thunder; Drive Nation 15 Red Thoughts: Arizona Storm 15 Thunder, which won Salt Lake City, was an easy pick for the top seed. TAV 15 Black was a solid pick for the No. 2 seed. TAV did not play at Triple Crown and is making its qualifier debut. I do think No. 3 Tstreet 15 Curtis is perhaps over seeded. Aspire 15 Premier, seeded No. 9, and ARVC 15 Adidas, seeded 11, both finished ahead of Tstreet at Salt Lake City. So did Excel 15 National Red, which came in fourth in Salt Lake and is seeded one spot behind Tstreet. Drive Nation 15 Red is the No. 6 seed and already has its bid after coming in second at Northern Lights. That’s a little low of a starting seed for that team. I fully expect Storm and Drive Nation to be top-five finishers, so that should impact trickle down. Missing from the field is Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar, which came in second at Salt Lake and finished first at PNQ. Beach likely could’ve expanded trickle down to the top six if it were here. The seeding will play itself out though because no Day 1 pool is overloaded so it’s unlikely any contenders fall out because of it after Day 1. The pools appear balanced overall. Vision 15 Gold, seeded No. 7, is a team to watch. Vision defeated Surfside 15 Legends at PNQ last weekend. Surfside was the top seed there and considered the best team in the 15s in So Cal. Predictions: How do you go against a Storm-TAV final? The question is who wins? We’ll take TAV over Storm, with TAV obviously getting its bid. The other two bid winners will be Excel and Vision. *** 16 Open Number of Teams: 30 Number of Bids: 3 Previously Qualified Teams (2): Coast 16-1; Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar Thoughts: With only Coast 16-1 and Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar – which qualified last weekend at PNQ – having bids, it means finishing no worse than fifth place to qualify and that’s obviously only if Coast and Beach finish in the top five. We’ll see what Rockstar has in the tank after competing in Spokane last weekend. Coast earned its bid at Salt Lake, where it beat Arizona Storm 16 Thunder for the final bid. Coast opens as the No. 2 overall seed. Storm is No. 3. Wave 16 Brennan, making its qualifier debut, is the top seed. Wave, by finishing tied for 5th at Triple Crown, had the best showing of in team in the field in Kansas City. SG Elite 16 Rosh just missed qualifying this past weekend at PNQ, coming in fourth. The club starts seeded No. 8 overall. City Volleyball 16 Gold is the No. 4 seed and definitely figures to be in the mix on the final day. We’re not too sure about TX Performance 16s, which is the No. 5 Seed. Beach is seeded No. 6 with Momentous VBC 16 Dan at No. 7 and another club which could be in contention for a bid in gold pools. It’s hard to say where this field stacks up against the Salt Lake field but it’s probably a bit stronger overall. There’s no guarantee Coast or Beach help create any trickle down, so teams should go in thinking they need to finish top three to get a bid. Predictions: The only call I’m confident in making is Wave getting its bid. In fact, that’s my pick to win it all is Wave over Storm in the final. As for the remaining bid, I think San Gabriel finds a way to get it done. *** 17 Open Number of Teams: 38 Number of Bids: 3 Previously Qualified Teams (4): Club V 17 Ren Reed; Drive Nation 17 Red; AZ Rev 17 Premier; ID Crush 17 Bower Thoughts: Club V 17 Ren Reed is the top seed but it’s second-seeded Drive Nation 17 Red who should be viewed as the favorite to win the tournament even after playing this past weekend and qualifying at MEQ. Both are qualified and along with AZ Rev 17 Premier are likely to create some sort of trickle down. ID Crush 17 Bower is the fourth qualified team after gaining its bid this past weekend at PNQ, but while I expect Club V, Drive and AZ Rev to be in the top six overall when it’s all settled, Crush is right there on the border. I’m not sure Crush can crack the top six, so I don’t foresee Crush being involved in trickle down though Crush could make the top eight and play in the gold pools. Club V, AZ Rev and Crush were all at Salt Lake City. So was Coast 17-1, Sunshine 17 LA, AsicsWillowbrook 17 Gold, Aspire 17 Premier, Arizona Storm 17 Thunder and Excel 17 National Red, plus a few more, so there’s familiarity there. The biggest name club making its qualifier debut is Wave 17 Julianna and absolutely figures to factor into the qualifying race. Predictions: If there were no qualified teams, it would be very difficult to pick the three teams which would emerge with bids. But I’m going with a So Cal sweep – Coast, Sunshine and Wave all pick up Open bids this weekend. As for the overall winner, I’m picking Drive Nation over Coast in the final.

Read More »