What a total contrast 17 Open has been compared to 15 Open last week here at the AAUs Girls Junior National Championships in Orlando. With the 15s, we didn’t see any of the top six seeds lose until the third day. And even then, one of which lost still won its respective pool, while the other was the No. 6 seed which lost to the No. 7 seed in the 1 v 2 match in their pool. However, for the third consecutive day we watched the No. 1 overall seed go down, and for the second day in a row be eliminated altogether. First it was A5 17 Jing falling on Day 1, but A5 still managed to find its way to Sunday’s 12-team gold bracket and remains alive for a medal. Next, it was Summit 17 Blue Elite bowing out on Day 2 with a 1-2 showing. Following the unfortunate trend was Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal, which dropped contests to Northern Lights 17-1 and Kairos 17 Alpha in Pool A in going 1-2 and missing the gold bracket. If there’s one safe pick for the final day, it is that Kairos taking over the No. 1 seed is almost destined to lose, right? It’s been that type of unpredictable ride to this point and while a few teams are no doubt feeling fortunate to have survived Day 3, others who did not were surprising. Both VCNebraska 17 Elite and Boiler Jrs 17 Gold were knocked out of contention. Why was that surprising? They were the fifth and seventh highest-ranked teams competing from out Top 50 National Rankings. VCNebraska checks in at No. 25, while Boiler is just behind at No. 27. The other top-ranked teams pulled through in No. 5 A5, No. 9 OT 17 Aaron, No. 22 Tri-State Elite 17 Blue and No. 23 OT 17 Felix, as well as No. 26 Academy 17 Tsunami. Of the 13 ranked teams to begin, nine made the 12-team gold bracket. Others include No. 39 Top Select 17 Elite, No. 46 Miami Hype 17 Emilio, No. 48 Northern Lights 17-1 and No. 49 Mintonette Sports m.71. The ranked teams joining VCNebraska and Boiler Jrs outside the gold bracket are No. 38 Ku’Ikahi 17 RSB Wahine and No. 40 Adidas KiVA 17 Red. Both Ku’Ikahi and KiVA were eliminated on Day 2. As for Saturday’s third round of pool play, Tri-State Elite caught a bit of a break in finishing in a three-way tie at 2-1 with Legacy 17-1 Adidas and Boiler Jrs. Tri-State lost to Boiler, which had just lost to Legacy, and needed to beat Legacy to advance. Meanwhile, VCNebraska lost to Mintonette and OT Aaron to go 1-2. Top Select and NE Elite 17 Top Gun were both 1-1 heading into their 1 v 2 contest in Pool F, with only the winner advancing. Top Select prevailed, taking first ahead of Far Out 17 Black. *** 17 OPEN DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS Natalie De Paula S/RS Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal: With her two-way role, De Paula shoulders lots of responsibility and is a key part of the lineup. She’s a steady, quick setter who does well moving the ball around. As a hitter, she’s a springy lefty who takes a lot of swings in helping drive the attack. Elizabeth Havlicek MB Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal: Havlicek did her part in giving Tribe a middle presence. She puts up a solid block and can turn around and send it down with power. Amelia Wass de Czege MB TVA 17 Smack Megan: TVA did well making it to the third round. Wass de Czege was a force in the middle for her team. She has a huge arm and hits with tons of power. Amelia Haggins OH TVA 17 Smack Megan: Haggins, a Tulane commit, is an athletic outside who gets set a lot when she’s front row. She jumps well and can bring the heat on the outside. Sophia Adkins RS Tri-State Elite 17 Blue: Adkins, a Providence commit, holds down the right side with her strength and power. She opens the attack across the front row with her big arm capable of producing pounding kills. Audrey Kocon S/RS Northern Lights 17-1: Kocon was a big reason why Northern Lights remains in contention. She starred in her two-way role. She did a nice job running the attack and going against the flow. When hitting, she can bring the thunder with her heavy left-arm attack. Nora Wurtz MB NE Elite 17 Top Gun: Wurtz, a 4-star Creighton commit, is a 6-4 middle/right side who puts up a huge block. She’s also difficult to slow offensively with her ability to go over blocks and send balls down with authority. Carly Ries OH NE Elite 17 Top Gun: Reis, a 6-3 South Dakota commit, is another lengthy attacker defenses must be concerned about with the NE Elite attack. She can hit at a high contact point and has a fluid swing to match. Emerson Lionberger MB VCNebraska 17 Elite: Lionberger did well in her role in the middle, providing timely offense. She was taking advantage of her opportunities and giving VCNebraska a reliable option in the middle. Paisley Douglas L/DS VCNebraska 17 Elite: Douglas, a USC commit, is a speedy libero who does well covering and picking off shots. She’s a sound passer out of serve receive as well. *** Delaney Lawson OH Munciana 17 Pandas: A Utah State commit, Lawson carries a big offensive load swinging front and back row. She can unload at times and bounce balls straight down. Hattie Welker MB Mintonette Sports m.71: Welker is a lanky middle who helped Mintonette reach the gold bracket with her attacking and blocking. She did well getting her hands on balls and slowing down the attack. Taylor Bahnub OH Mintonette Sports m.71: Bahnub doesn’t back down, coming with aggressive swings and challenging blocks. She hits a hard ball and was taking care of business. Sarah Schnell RS Miami Hype 17 Emilio:
