As loaded as the 17 Open division is in 2022, predicting how any qualifier may play out is as difficult as it’s ever been. The only thing that was known for sure was that the three available Open bids were sure to go out at Show Me but it was anyone’s guess how it would all play out. If anyone had Premier Nebraska 17 Gold running the table and producing a perfect weekend at 10-0 in matches and 20-0 in sets then congratulations on that pick. Of course, Premier Nebraska secured its bid way back in January at the Northern Lights Qualifier so there were still the qualifying spots to fill out. Those went to second-place MN Select 17-1, third-place Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite – who tied with MAVS KC 17-1 – and fifth-place Mintonettte Sports m.71, who didn’t benefit from trickle down and needed to defeat Iowa Rockets 17 in bracket play to secure its bid. Below, we tell the tales of how those teams’ weekend played out. PREMIER NEBRASKA 17 GOLD (FIRST, 10-0) Day 1: d IPVA 17 Black 25-13; 25-14; d TIV 17 Asics Black 25-15, 25-7; d NKYVC 17 Tsunami 25-17, 25-13 Day 2: d Illini Elite 17 Cardinal 25-20, 25-17; d NE Elite 17 Vici 25-19, 25-15; d MAVS KC 17-1 25-20, 25-23 Day 3: d Iowa Rockets 17 25-21, 25-12; Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite 25-19, 25-22; NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami 25-19, 25-20; d MN Select 17-1 25-15, 27-25 The Northern Lights 18s Qualifier had a bit of twist this season by adding 17 Open and offering three bids back in January. Premier Nebraska joined 1st Alliance 17 Gold and MAVS KC in taking advantage and qualifying early. For Premier Nebraska, the only national tournament in between that one and this past weekend at Show Me was Triple Crown in February. If rust was of any concern, Premier Nebraska didn’t show any and instead played like a team eager to get back to competition and stake its claim as one of the title contenders come Nationals. “The biggest thing this weekend was already having the bid sometimes teams start looking at the finish line instead of continuing getting better,” Nebraska Premier coach Joe Wessel said. “We already had the bid but we didn’t want to take that for granted. We needed to prove why we earned the bid and show we can be one of the best teams in the nation.” The fact that Premier Nebraska was moving through the weekend without losing a set was on their minds but it remained unspoken about until sweeping MN Select in the final and completing the perfect weekend. The run also included beating NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami twice, plus MAVS KC and Rockwood Thunder. “They kept it quiet until we beat MN Select,” Wessel said. “Then it was the first thing they said was that they didn’t lose a set all weekend. We went 20-0 but no one made a big deal of it until it was over.” There’s a lot to like about Premier’s lineup, starting with vballrecruiter.com five-star recruit and right side Grace Heaney. She’s just one of many options Premier throws at opponents, with four-star recruits Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Alanna Bankston being two more. Then there’s middles Kailey Hrbek and Brooklyn Fuchs and outside Stella Adeyemi for setters Ivy Leuck and Reese Booth to utilize as well. Olivia Mauch – a five-star Class of 2024 recruit – and Makenzie Dyrstad can take turns trading off between libero and DS. “We can make changes to our lineup,” Wessel said. “We have an athletic, versatile team. Some matches we can play girls on the right side. Other matches we can play them on the left side. We have two really good defensive players that we switch up at times too. We don’t really have a set lineup. We do run a true 6-2 so all 10 girls can showcase their talents.” *** MN SELECT 17-1 (SECOND, 8-1) Day 1: d Co Jrs 17 Kevin 25-10, 25-22, 25-17; d HPSTL 17 Royal 27-25, 25-22, 25-23 Day 2: d Madfrog 17 Black 25-21, 25-14; d Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite 25-16, 25-23; d KC Power 17-1 19-25, 25-23, 18-16 Day 3: d Dynasty 17 Black 21-25, 25-16, 15-11; d MAVS KC 17-1 18-25, 25-21, 15-6; d Mintonette Sports m.71 25-20, 30-28; l Premier Nebraska 17 Gold 25-15, 27-25 Last month at MEQ, MN Select needed to win its gold pool – one that included Circle City 17 Purple – to have a shot at qualifying. At Show Me, it wasn’t so cutthroat for MN Select, which merely needed to finish in the top three in its gold pool to stay in the hunt for a bid. MN Select ended up taking matters into its own hands, downing Dynasty 17 Black, MAVS KC and Mintonette before falling to Premier Nebraska in the final to qualify without any trickle down. “We cut down on our errors,” MN Select coach George Padjen said. “We have some physical hitters and we can be really good offensively. We have a great setter but if we can’t pass we can’t get good swings. We were passing better and Stella (Swenson) was making good decisions getting everyone looks.” MN Select redesigned its roster that finished 13th in 16 Open last summer. Among those back are outsides Avery Bolles and Marlie Hanson. Plus middle Kate Simington and libero Kate Thibault – both three-star recruits. That left room for many newcomers, including the five-star recruit Swenson and her sister and outside hitter Olivia Swenson – a three-star recruit. Another key addition was 6-4 right side and four-star recruit Sydney Schnichels. Joining the trio was also L/DS Sophia Johnson and middles Annika Veurink and Kaia Caffee, a sophomore like the Swenson sisters and another five-star recruit. The focus moving forward for the group is continuing tightening up its play and taking some of the close sets that have gone against them. In the team’s last four qualifier losses
