Big South: Three Things About Day 1
In a lot of ways it was a slow-going opening day at the Big South Qualifier in Atlanta. That doesn’t mean the action passed without anything uneventful happening though. Two top seeds were bounced from contention in their respective divisions, with both holding bids already and reducing the possible trickle down along with it. Also, we’ll have plenty more when the tournament concludes, including our substantial standout players we watched throughout the weekend. A few that are sure to make the list are Top Select 17 Elite setter/RS Nayelis Cabello, Wave 17 Juliana libero Koko Kirsch and A5 Mizuno 17 Jing outside hitter Jurnee Robinson. Others include SC Midlands 16 National middle Christina Greene, Miami Hype 16 Emilio right side Sarah Schnell and GP 15 Rox outside Victoria Hill. Below, we write about three talking points from Day 1. WAVE GOODBYE As usual, the biggest storyline from Day 1 of any qualifier is upsets. Friday at Big South, there were few to speak of but there was one big one that could potentially have big ramifications. In 15 Open, No. 2 overall seed Wave 15 Scott was eliminated from contention after going 1-2. Elevation 15 Crofton and Next Level 15-1 scored upsets over Wave and with it one of the four teams with bids already in the division was knocked out. In terms of trickle down, that now means it can go no lower than sixth place as OT 15 Randy, HPSTL 15 Royal and GP 15 Rox are the ones left with bids. Wave had qualified two weekends ago at the Red Rock Rave in Las Vegas, where it took fourth place. It earned Wave a high seed in Atlanta but the So Cal club won’t factor into the rest of the results here. The rest of the division played out relatively in order. The other noteworthy occurrence came in Pool 7, a three-team pool where all three clubs ended up moving onto Day 2. Jupiter 15 Elite took first place, with Top Select 15 Elite in second and Academy 15 Diamond in third. Top Select and Academy both needed to win crossover matches though to advance and both did so to remain in the hunt. MORE UPSETTING NEWS Playing in consecutive qualifiers presents its challenges but even then it was hard to predict what happened in 17 Open on Friday. Overall sixth-seed Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite was upset in Pool 6 by both Mich Elite 17 Mizuno and No Name VBC 17-1 and won’t be in contention the rest of the way. While Rockwood Thunder is sure to be disappointed, the team did earn its bid last weekend at Show Me so it won’t have an impact on RT’s qualifying hopes. However, it could have implications for the rest of the 17 Open division in Atlanta. Rockwood Thunder was one of four teams with bids but like 15 Open now only three remain so trickle down can’t go past sixth place. Still alive with bids are A5 Mizuno 17 Jing, OT 17 John and Wave 17 Juliana. They combined to go 9-0 on Day 1. Yet, with Wave’s opening seed it does make for an interesting Day 2 as both Wave and OT are together in Pool 2. ALMOST PERFECT PECKING ORDER The top teams in their respective pools faired very well in 16 Open. All moved on but one. The lone exception took place in Pool 2. There, the No. 3 team in the pool A5 Mizuno 16 Steve downed Paramount VBC 16-1 in the 2 v 3 match to go 2-1 and move on along with No. 2 overall seed Wave 16 Brennan. The only other result that kept the top 16 seedings from being perfect came in Pool 6. While the top teams in the pool both advanced the result flip-flopped when No. 2 HPSTL 16 Royal defeated No. 1 OT 16 Roberto. OT is coming off a qualifying performance last weekend at Show Me where it clinched its bid. OT and Wave are among seven teams with bids still in the hunt on Day 2. The other five are A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe, OT 16 Jason, Triangle 16 Black, Club V 16 Ren Wayne and Top Select 16 Elite. However, that number is guaranteed to be reduced down to at least six going into gold pools. Triangle, Club V and OT are all in Pool 4 for Round 2 on Saturday, so one is not going to make it out. That means at least two bids are going to get awarded as trickle down can extend to eighth place.
