March 16, 2023

The younger ages are a bit behind in their qualifying process but will quickly catch up in the coming weeks. On tap this Friday, Saturday and Sunday is the Northern Lights national qualifier in Minneapolis. Part of the action there features 14 Open, which we take a look at below. 14 OPEN Number of Teams: 28 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Teams: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (15): 1. TAV 14 Black 6. AP 14 Adidas 8. Drive Nation 14 Red 14. Forza1 14 One 17. Legacy 14-1 Adidas 24. GP 14 Rox 31. Hou Skyline 14 Royal 34. Northern Lights 14-1 37. Rockwood Thunder 14 Elite 39. Premier Nebraska 14 Gold 41. Kairos 14 Alpha 42. MKE Sting 14 Gold 43. PVA 14 Elite 46. Academy 14 Diamond 50. Triangle 14 Black   5-Star Athletes To Know Shaye Witherspoon OH Rockwood Thunder 14 Elite Nyla Livings OH TAV 14 Black Brynn Stephens S/RS TAV 14 Black   4-Star Athletes To Know Lexi Martin OH Drive Nation 14 Red Brooklyn Sippio MB GP 14 Rox Ansley Shafer L/DS TAV 14 Black Gentry Barker OH TAV 14 Black Mariah Akinsola MB TAV 14 Black Sophee Peterson S/RS TAV 14 Black Naomi Livings OH TAV 14 Black Cynthia Ockerman MB Legacy 14-1 Adidas Evie Pool MB Forza1 14 One Kiersten Moore S Forza1 14 One Ella Johnson OH Forza 14 One   Outlook/Prediction: There are no previously-qualified teams in the field, so it’s clear cut what has to happen to earn a bid. Teams must finish in the top three to qualify. Obviously, Triple Crown winner and top-ranked TAV 14 Black is a strong favorite to come out ahead of the pack. This will be the first national test since Triple Crown for many in attendance and no doubt some will be vastly improved even in the short amount of time. Over half the teams in the field are ranked in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50, so anything could happen given this age group. Both No. 6 AP 14 Adidas and No. 8 Drive Nation 14 Red are looking to back up their strong Triple Crown runs by qualifying in Minneapolis. A team like No. 14 Forza1 14 One is playing in its first national tournament and will look to catch up in a hurry with the rest. Legacy 14-1 Adidas, at No. 17, and No. 24 GP 14 Rox, are two more top contenders to get a bid. But as usual, there is likely to be a team from the lower-half of the rankings which breaks through. Northern Lights 14-1, Premier Nebraska 14 Gold and Rockwood Thunder 14 Elite are all candidates for that, or will it be someone else? The final comes down to TAV beating GP. Both gets bids. The third-place match is AP topping Drive Nation for the final bid.