April 19, 2024

The biggest development on the opening day of the third weekend of the Lone Star Classic came in 16 Open. That’s where unranked TAV 16 Blue upended No. 8 overall seed Arizona Storm 16 Thunder – ranked No. 3 in Vballrecruiter’s Top 50 – in the 1 v 3 contest. TAV 16 Blue closed out the day 3-0, taking over the No. 8 seed for Day 2 and redirecting Storm’s route in the process. Storm is among the 11 teams in 16 Open already qualified, so Storm is safe so to speak no matter the weekend’s results. The real ramifications is how it impacts the Day 2 pools. In this case, Storm becomes the No. 3 team in Pool 6, along with previously-qualified Hou Skyline 16 Royal and MAVS 816 16-1 and KC Power 16 Black, both still chasing bids. That means for MAVS 816 and/or KC Power to advance they are going to have to beat a highly-ranked team that already has a bid. TAV Blue becomes the No. 2 team in Pool 5, along with Madfrog 16 Green, GP 16 Rox and Kairos 16 Alpha. Both Madfrog and GP already have bids, so TAV Blue needs to beat another team with a bid to put itself in a position to advance. The top four seeds in Boiler Jrs 16 Gold, Skyline 16 Royal, Austin Skyline 16 Royal and TAV 16 Black combined to go 12-0. Madfrog, at No. 5, was the highest-seeded squad to fall. But even finishing 2-1 in its pool Madfrog finished first based on tiebreakers. GP and Pohaku 16-1 also lost as the No. 1 teams in their pools. Both finished second. GP finished behind MAVS 816, while Pohaku fell to Northern Lights 16-1. Meanwhile, the top seeds in 15 Open cruised on Day 1. The only No. 1 team in its pool to lose during pool play was Dynasty 15 Black. However, there was plenty of results to go against seed. AZ EVJ 15 Elite, the No. 4 team in Pool 2, went 2-1 and took second to move on. Memphis Metro 15 Elite was another No. 4 team to advance after coming in second in Pool 3. Flyers 15 Andy went 2-1 and is still in contention after making it out of Pool 4 as the No. 3 team. Looking ahead to Saturday’s action, there are two pools that have two teams each with bids. One is pool 5 with Hou Skyline 15 Royal and Madfrog 15 Green. The other is Pool 6 with Excel 15 National Red and PVA 15 Elite. The least amount of seeding fluctuation took place in 17 Open. For the most part, the day’s results played out according to seed in terms of teams advancing. Among the few exceptions was Arete 17 Navy Telos. As the No. 3 team in Pool 2, Arete beat No. 2 Academy 17 Diamond to take second place at 2-1 behind 3-0 Arizona Storm 17 Thunder. Beyond that, Austin Skyline 17 Royal, Alamo 17 Premier and Madfrog 17 Green all went 3-0 as the No. 2 team in their respective pools. Austin Skyline beat Northern Lights 17-1; Alamo downed Drive Nation 17 Red; Madfrog defeated Excel 17 National Red. Northern Lights, Drive Nation and Excel all still advanced after going 2-1 and taking second. The real drama in 17 Open comes from how the bid chase is positioned for Day 2. Hou Skyline 17 Royal is the only qualified team in Pool 1, with either Madfrog or Drive Nation likely to advance along with Hou Skyline. In Pool 2, Arizona Storm has its bid, as does Excel. Alamo had a strong Day 1 and with a victory over Excel could have a shot at qualifying on Day 3. It’s Pool 3 that holds three teams with bids in 1st Alliance 17 Gold, Austin Skyline 17 Royal and TAV 17 Black Haroun. With Tx Peformance 17 Black also in the pool, it’s likely two teams with bids move on. Pool 4 holds Skyline 17 Royal, which is qualified, as is Northern Lights. Both HJV 17 Elite and Metro 17 Travel are seeking bids. It might be the toughest pool on Day 2 in the division. As for Pool 5, MKE Sting 17 Gold, TAV 17 Black and AVA TX 17 Adidas are qualified. AJV 17 Adidas isn’t. AJV has a lot of work to do to keep its bid hopes alive. Pool 6 is the most intriguing pool to me. MAVS KC 17-1 is qualified, but Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal, Dynasty 17 Black and A5 17-1 Calvin are not. At the beginning of the year I would have though without question Tribe, Dynsty and A5 would all qualify. But it’s possible two of three won’t be around for gold pools on Day 3 and further hurting their chances of earning a bid. DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS Lowe leFeber MB Big Sky 15-1: A 6-1 middle from the Class of 2028, leFeber has a strong arm. She hits with power and provides a punch to the attack. Lyla Crowder MB 1United 15 Blue: Crowder is a 6-3 middle who brings length to the front row. She’s a scoring threat and someone who can put the ball away when her number is called. Rylie Coates S Alamo 15 Premier: A 6-0 setter/right side, Coates did well locating her sets. She has an easy release and plays with lots of poise. Kennedy Crider RS Alamo 15 Premier: Crider is a 6-0 right side who was playing all the way around. She elevates the offense with her ability to swing out of the back row as ell. Emerson Dorr S/RS Infinity VBA 15 Open: A 6-0 setter/right side and 3-star recruit, Dorr plays a key role with her versatility. She’s a steady presence who dishes well and finds ways to score. Carson Caraway OH Infinity VBA 15 Open: Caraway – a 4-star recruit – is a 6-2 attacker who is an integral piece of the attack. She