April 7, 2022

The 17 Open division at the Red Rock Rave in Las Vegas had all the makings of being able to deliver an entertaining three days of qualifying action. Still, the unpredictable results produced a level that exceeded expectations. Drive Nation 17 Red, AZ Rev 17 Premier, Club V 17 Ren Reed and ID Crush 17 Bower all came into the event already holding bids. All were in play during Day 3 gold pools to create the possibility of trickle down. But no one foresaw how it eventually played out. Coast 17-1 outlasting Drive Nation for the 17 Open title and earning its bid didn’t so much turn heads as what happened behind the pair of finalists that did. It was two surprise semifinalists that did in Legacy Girls 17 Pyramid and Tstreet 17 Naseri. That’s where it got even more interesting. As it looked like Legacy and Tstreet rounded out the qualifying clubs, it was found out Legacy actually declined its Open bid. That brought Wave 17 Juliana back into the fold. Wave was in the silver bracket with Club V, AZ Rev and ID Crush. Since all three already had bids, the one Legacy declined fell to Wave. Below, we write about how the teams which qualified got there. COAST 17-1 (FIRST, 10-0) Day 1: d Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar 25-19, 25-20; d United 17 Arete 25-12, 25-11; d Forza1 17 UA 25-18, 25-23 Day 2: d Excel 17 National Red 25-16, 25-9; d Supernova 17 All Stars 22-25, 25-22, 15-9; d Aspire 17 Premier 25-16, 25-16 Day 3: d OJVA 17 Gold 25-8, 25-12; d Wave 17 Juliana 25-16, 27-25; d Legacy Girls 17 Pyramid 25-21, 25-21; d Drive Nation 17 Red 25-13, 16-25, 15-10   After Coast made the gold pools last month at the Salt Lake City showdown but was on the wrong end of tiebreakers and wasn’t able to qualify, you could say the So Cal club came to Las Vegas on a mission. Coast certainly performed like it. It went through the field unscathed, going 10-0 and dropping only two sets. One came against Drive Nation in the final. It was the second time this season Coast downed Drive Nation after picking up a victory over the Texas club at Triple Crown. “There has been huge improvement from Salt Lake City,” Coast setter Zoe Rachow said. “In Salt Lake City, we had a dip of emotion and play on the third day. This tournament we kept a level head and steady pace and we were able to keep pushing through together.” Coast opened up the third day with a dominating sweep against OJVA 17 Gold that put it on the cusp of qualifying. Up next was rival Wave with the winner earning a spot in the final four and almost assuredly a bid. Coast rallied from a five-point deficit midway through the second set to sweep, 25-16, 27-25. Once Drive Nation won its pool to create trickle down to at least fourth place, Coast had its bid for sure before playing and sweeping Legacy in the semis. The roster is built to be able to compete with anyone. Rachow has options all around her and gets everyone involved. Claire Little is the big arm on the left, while Milan Bayless is a feisty outside with smarts. Brooklyn Briscoe is a physical presence in the middle and combines with Jasmine Saran to give Coast two reliable scorers. Noemie Glover can be electric at times on the right. Then there’s libero Sydney Bold and DS Brooklyn Yelland making up a strong defensive backrow. Even with all the pieces, Coast doesn’t plan on settling anytime soon. “We can get better in every aspect,” Rachow said. “Passing, digging, hitting, setting, emotionally. Everything.” *** TSTREET 17 NASERI (FOURTH, 7-3) Day 1: d Flyers 17 APX 25-15, 27-25; d Aspire 17 Premier 25-22, 25-23; d Club Cactus 17 Mizuno 25-6, 25-9 Day 2: d Club V 17 Ren Matthew 25-21, 23-25, 15-11; d SynergyForce 17 Jeff 25-19, 27-25; d Drive Nation 17 Red 25-22, 13-25, 16-14 Day 3: d Omni 17 Rick 25-18, 25-17; d ID Crush 17 Bower 25-17, 25-19; l Drive Nation 17 Red 25-23, 25-21; l Legacy Girls 17 Pyramid 25-21, 28-26   There are different ways of looking at Tstreet’s quest to qualify in Open. As the No. 11 overall seed to start Tstreet should have been among the 12 teams divided up into four, three-team gold pools on Day 3. From there, taking advantage of trickle down seemed realistic so qualifying shouldn’t have seemed like that much of a longshot. However, Tstreet wasn’t really on the bid radar. Mostly because Tstreet went after its USA bid in Salt Lake City, where it finished on top of the 17 USA division. Red Rock was Tstreet’s last qualifier of the season so going for Open was an easy call in hopes of improving its bid. Tstreet lost on Day 1 to Aspire 17 Premier but that didn’t derail the So Cal club. From there, Tstreet caught fire and rolled off six consecutive victories. It included beating Drive Nation on Day 2. That victory helped place Tstreet in a more manageable pool on Day 3 with ID Crush and OMNI 17 Rick instead of in one with AZ Rev and Sunshine 17 LA. Tstreet came out strong, sweeping both OMNI and ID Crush to make the top four and eventually secure its bid when Drive Nation joined the top four. Tstreet fought Drive Nation in a rematch in the semis before falling in two and wound up in fourth place after going down to Legacy in the third-place match. It didn’t matter at that point. “I thought our girls really, really played hard and battled every match,” Tstreet coach Naseri Tumanuvao said. “We took a huge leap in the right direction in terms of establishing a level of performance. I’m really proud of them.” It was an unbelievable run to be sure. Outside Eva Travis had

Coast 16-1 and Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar already had bids. Everyone else in 16 Open arrived at the Red Rock Rave in Las Vegas in hopes of joining them. One question was would the two previously-qualified clubs play a part in others bidding through trickle down or not? It was answered on Day 3 when both Coast and Long Beach had roles in trickle down going to fifth place and setting up an exciting conclusion in a winner-take-all match for the last bid between Drive Nation 16 Red and Seal Beach 16 Black. When that one was over – with Drive Nation prevailing in three sets to qualify – Wave 16 Brennan followed with a sweep over Long Beach to bring home the tournament title (and having qualified as well). Meanwhile, Vision 16 Gold also secured a bid by making the third-place contest, where it ended its weekend with a three-game victory over Coast. Below is how the bid winners’ weekend played out. WAVE 16 BRENNAN (FIRST, 10-0) Day 1: d SynergyForce 16 James 25-16, 25-22; d Idaho One 16 Blue 25-10, 25-9; d AZ Rev 16 Premier 25-23, 25-11 Day 2: d Club V 16 Ren Matt 25-13, 25-20; d Seal Beach 16 Black 25-20, 25-15; d SG Elite 16 Rosh 25-22, 25-18; d Momentous 16 Dan 20-25, 25-23, 15-8 Day 3: Drive Nation 16 Red 25-21, 33-31; d Vision 16 Gold 25-14, 25-16; d Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar 25-12, 25-15 Wave was deserving of the No. 1 seed. The SCVA region club has proven itself the best in the Premier Volleyball League so far featuring the best teams in So Cal. And Wave placed better than anyone in the Red Rock Rave 16 Open field back in February at Triple Crown. It seemed like a mere formality Wave would qualify in Las Vegas. Then again, much stranger things have happened and everyone knows nothing is a given. Wave’s performance though left nothing to chance. It went 10-0 and dropped one set in three days and concluded with an impressive victory in the final over Long Beach, which qualified the weekend before at PNQ. “Only dropping a set is something I’m really happy with,” Wave coach Brennan Dean said. “Seeing the consistency the team was able to show over the three days is really something we’ve been stressing and being prepared on Day 3 to show up.” Wave showed up all weekend. Not just on Day 3. The only time Wave appeared vulnerable was at the start of gold pools Sunday evening. Momentous 16 Dan grabbed the opening set and was neck-and-neck down the stretch of Game 2 before Wave forced a third set and rolled from there. Wave went on to sweep both Drive Nation and Vision to clinch its bid and reach the final. “I couldn’t be happier,” Dean said. “These girls are such a special group. They are really well-rounded and have a lot of different ways to score.” Setter Amanda Saeger, middles Camden Bolane, Jenna Hanes and Sara Dahl, outsides Niki Egan and Charlee Ellena, right sides Sinclaire McComic and Ayva Moi, as well as defenders Maya Evens and Dakota Conway were all part of the roster last summer when Wave placed tied for 13th in 15 Open. Though the team doesn’t have much height other than in the middle, Wave can pass and defend and Saeger can distribute the ball around making Wave tough on any opponent it faces. “It’s a fun group to coach,” Dean said. “It’s not surprising to find success right now but they want to be on top at the end of the year. They know they need to get back in the gym and keep getting better. There are bigger teams out there that we need to figure out how to beat.” *** VISION 16 GOLD (THIRD, 8-2) Day 1: d Aspire 16 Premier 25-16, 25-21; l SG Elite 16 Rosh 25-22, 25-23; d SF Elite 16 Saga 25-14, 25-14 Day 2: d City Volleyball 16 Gold 25-18, 25-22; d Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar 25-23, 19-25, 15-7; d OP2 16-1 19-25, 25-19, 16-14; d Drive Nation 16 Red 25-16, 25-15 Day 3: d Momentous 16 Dan 25-23, 25-19; l Wave 16 Brennan 25-14, 25-16; d Coast 16-1 19-25, 25-19, 15-13 Vision spent the previous weekend in Spokane trying to earn a bid at PNQ before heading to Vegas for yet another chance. Having missed out on the gold pools there, the first logical step forward for the Nor Cal club was to at least put itself in a position to make something happen in the desert by getting in one here. Vision ran into SG Elite 16 Rosh on Day 1 and dropped the meeting in straight sets. From there, however, Vision closed by winning seven of its final eight matches. The only loss in that stretch came to Wave in gold pool play. Vision managed to make it that far after outlasting City Volleyball 16 Gold, Long Beach and OP2 16-1 on Day 2. Vision then really helped its cause by handling Drive Nation to open gold pools Sunday evening. With a victory over Momentous to start Day 3, Vision was playing for a spot in the final. The loss to Wave bumped Vision to the third-place match, where Vision downed Coast for an impressive showing. “We did well,” Vision coach Ron Whitmill said. “We played a lot better than we played at Spokane. Some of the girls really stepped up. The team looked good. I was really happy with the way they played.” Addison Carbonara, Katelyn Cook, Amaya Kuchibhotla, Allison Legates, Erika Maas, Michael Torkaman and Taylor Williams were part of the group that finished 33rd in 15 Open a season ago. Two key additions to the roster this year include setter Maya Baker and outside Cleo Hardin. “We were disappointed with how we performed in Spokane,” Whitmill said. “Not with not getting a bid but we just didn’t feel we played well.

Arizona Storm 15 Thunder made it two-for-two on the season. After winning and qualifying by taking first at the Salt Lake City Showdown last month, Storm was back at the Red Rock Rave in Las Vegas and was just as dominate. Storm lost just one set in both Salt Lake and Vegas, where Storm went 10-0 and bested the 32-team field. Storm topped upstart Tstreet 15 Curtis. While Storm had another outstanding outing, we want to focus on the teams that qualified in this story. Tstreet was one along with TAV 15 Black and Wave 15 Scott joining in on the bid action. Here’s how their weekends played out. TSTREET 15 CURTIS (SECOND, 5-5) Day 1: d Laguna Beach 15 Mark 25-7, 25-9; d APAC 15 Courtney 25-10, 25-10; l Club V 15 Ren Adam 25-23, 25-23 Day 2: l Aspire 15 Premier 25-19, 21-25, 17-15; l AZ Storm 15 Thunder 25-22, 25-16; d Rage Westside 15 Jen 25-12, 29-27; d Club V 15 Ren Adam 25-16, 25-13 Day 3: l Wave 15 Scott 25-16, 23-25, 15-13; d Drive Nation 15 Red 25-22, 25-15; l AZ Storm 15 Thunder 25-12, 25-10   Most know the adage. These tournaments are not about the number of matches a team wins but more about winning at the right time. Tstreet 15 Curtis is the perfect example of it. Though Tstreet – which opened as the No. 3 overall seed – finished 5-5 on the weekend, it placed ahead of everyone else not named Arizona Storm. Storm downed Tstreet, 25-12, 25-10, in Monday’s 15 Open final but it didn’t matter much to Tstreet at that point. The bid was in hand and that was anything but a guarantee when the season kicked off months ago. “It’s a really big deal for us,” Tstreet coach Curtis Yoder said of qualifying. “This is a team early in the season where we weren’t quite sure of how we would measure up in Open. We have a lot of great pieces but we were figuring things out so for us to get a bid is huge.” One setback early on this season was the loss of setter/right side Ruby Hill to injury but she’s since been back and helped stabilize the rotation running a 6-2 with Sophia Saad in Vegas. Tstreet was also down to two middles before calling up Maya Brown to help out and Yoder praised her play over the weekend. Combined with Memphis Burnett, they provided scoring options out of the middle so Tstreet wasn’t so pin heavy with outsides Quinn Loper and Brianna Brewer, as well as right side Lola Padilla. With Kyra Zaengle at libero, Tstreet also played defense well at times. “We’ve just been getting better every single day at practice and just chipping away,” Yoder said. “This team has huge upside. I’m excited to get back into the gym and keep working with them.” Tstreet’s timing helped out tremendously, winning when it needed to. After starting Day 1 by winning its first two matches, Tstreet fell to Club V 15 Ren Adam and was knocked into the same Day 2 pool as Storm. When Tstreet lost to Aspire 15 Premier first and then Storm it was sitting at 0-2 and looking at an exit from contention. However, Tstreet swept Rage Westside 15 Jen in a key result. That forced a three-way tie at 1-2 with Rage and Aspire, but it was Tstreet sweeping Rage that allowed Tstreet to take second and advance. A victory in three sets would’ve obviously still force the three-way tie, but it would’ve been Rage advancing instead in that scenario. Alive for gold pools, Tstreet capitalized. First, Tstreet downed Club V on Sunday evening in a rematch. But, Tstreet stumbled against Wave and was 1-1 with a clash against Drive Nation 15 Red – a team already qualified – waiting. Tstreet sprung the upset and eventually finished in a three-way tie with Drive Nation and Wave at 2-1. Tstreet owned the first-place tiebreaker to move onto the final and face Storm. Tstreet still would’ve had a path to the bid had it lost to Drive Nation. Yet, in that scenario Tstreet would have been the third-place team and faced Coast 15-1 for the last bid in the fifth-place match. As it happened, Coast didn’t get that opportunity as trickle down only went to fourth place. “I thought it was a really good weekend for our team,” Yoder said. “We are learning what it takes to play at this level. We were a little bit fortunate but we did the job to get here to the final. That was not our best match but we were here to see how we measure up against the best in the nation so we can get to work on things and get better.” *** TAV 15 BLACK (THIRD, 8-2) Day 1: d Vinaka 15-1 25-12, 25-18; d Over The Top 15 Blue 25-15, 25-11; d SG Elite 15 Rosh 30-28, 25-19 Day 2: d ARVC 15 Adidas 26-24, 25-15; l Wave 15 Scott 17-25, 25-22, 16-14; d AZ Rev 15 Premier 25-17, 25-23; d Excel 15 National Red 25-20, 25-21 Day 3: l AZ Storm 15 Thunder 25-19, 25-16; d Coast 15-1 25-21, 25-16; d Wave 15 Scott 20-25, 25-16, 15-11   It’s been a quiet season to date for TAV 15 Black. The North Texas region squad didn’t attend Triple Crown in February and didn’t play in a qualifier in March. That meant TAV was making its first national appearance in Las Vegas. Though TAV accomplished what it came for in qualifying, perhaps expectedly it wasn’t an overly sharp performance. “I don’t think we played very well all weekend for what our standards are,” TAV coach Arthur Stanfield said. “We struggled. We won matches but we struggled.” It’s not a knock really. Most everyone knows the lofty expectations of TAV but in reality TAV only lost one match that it probably shouldn’t have. It came on Day 2 when