July 5, 2024

There’s so much to get to as the third day of 16s and 17s continued on at USAV nationals in Las Vegas. However, nothing could top the developments in 16 Open. That’s because MKE Sting 16 Gold upset top-seeded and top-ranked Mintonette Sports m.61 in three sets, 14-25, 25-23, 16-14, in challenge play. Sting, ranked No. 27 nationally, went 2-3 during the first round of pool play to finish in third place in Pool 5. Sting then went 1-1 in its three-team pool, falling to TAV 16 Black before beating Premier Nebraska 16 Gold. It certainly gave no indication that Sting would be able to rise to the occasion, but crazy things happen at nationals and Sting delivered the biggest blow imaginable in defeating the AAU 16 Open champion in Mintonette. The morning round of pool play had its shockers as well. They mostly came in 17 Open, where MKE Sting 17 Gold, TAV 17 Black and OT 17 Aaron all were eliminated before challenge play. Sting came into nationals ranked No. 4 nationally, followed by TAV at No. 5 and OT Aaron at No. 7. To see none of them reach challenge play was a head scratcher. MKE Sting was upset by No. 34 CUVC 17 Open in pool play and then was eliminated entirely with a loss to No. 8 Circle City 17 Purple. OT Aaron was uprooted by No 20 Idaho Crush 17 Bower in its opening match. Even though OT Aaron managed to beat No. 1 Hou Skyline 17 Royal it didn’t matter. Hou Skyline still finished first followed by Idaho Crush as OT was knocked out based on tiebreakers. TAV was surprised by No. 15 Mich Elite 17 Mizuno and then fell to No. 3 1st Alliance 17 Gold to have its shot at advancing squashed. Nebraska One 17 Synergy, ranked No. 9, was also eliminated in pool play. Nebraska One lost to both No. 19 Coast 17-1 and No. 23 Dynasty 17 Black. Surfside 17 Legends, ranked No. 10, lost its opener to No. 39 Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar. However, Surfside still finished first in its pool after sweeping No. 18 Legacy 17-1 Adidas. Another storyline revolved around Wave 17 Juliana. Ranked No. 11 nationally, Wave struggled mightily in the first round of pool play going 1-4 and yet still advancing. However, Wave went 3-0 on Day 2, winning its pool then advancing to the quarterfinals after beating CUVC. Surprisingly, there was not much drama once the challenge round hit. Only two of the eight contests went to three. One was No. 6 Skyline 17 Royal fending off No. 16 MAVS KC 17-1, 19-25, 25-23, 15-11. The other saw Mich Elite outlast Coast, 21-25, 25-20, 15-11. Shifting gears to 16 Open, the most competitive pool based on rankings was Pool 5 featuring No. 4 Boiler Jrs 16 Gold, No. 8 Skyline 16 Royal and No. 10 Madfrog 16 Green. It was Skyline going 2-0, Madfrog 1-1 and Boiler Jrs 0-2. Another tough pool was Pool 6 with No. 7 SCVC 16 Roxy, No. 9 A5 16-1 Gabe and No. 11 Wave 16 Scott. SCVC finished first at 2-0, followed by Wave at 1-1 and A5 at 0-2. There was big upset in Pool 4 as No. 22 HJV 16 Elite took down No. 5 Austin Skyline 16 Royal. Both managed to advance as they both beat GP 16 Rox. One more major upset featured No. 30 Vision 16 Gold sweeping No. 12 Hou Skyline 16 Royal. Vision lost to No. 32 Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar in its earlier match and needed to beat Hou Skyline to have a shot at advancing. Vision wound up winning the pool while Hou Skyline took second and Long Beach was eliminated. Like 17 Open, the 16 Open challenge matches didn’t carry as much drama as anticipated. Of course, there was the gigantic upset produced by Sting. That was just one of two contests to go the distance. The other featured No. 19 Pohaku 16-1 clipping Vision, 25-22, 24-26, 15-10. 1st Alliance 16 Gold, ranked No. 13 nationally, swept Hou Skyline in a mini surprise. Legacy and Austin Skyline were forced to square off, with Legacy sweeping 25-23, 25-21. Not to be overlooked was the performance from Forza1 North 16 One. Ranked No. 20 nationally, Forza North stopped HJV in challenge play by sweeping 25-18, 25-23 to reach the quarterfinals. Here’s how the 16 Open quarters stack up: MKE Sting v 1st Alliance Skyline v Forza North Legacy v SCVC Pohaku v TAV   Here’s how the 17 Open quarters look: Skyline v Circle City Hou Skyline v MIch Elite 1st Alliance v Surfside Wave v Arizona Storm *** DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS There was tons of high-level action everywhere. Narrowing our Day 3 Show Stoppers list down was a challenging task. Below, we list those who we felt stood out the most to us during our time watching them compete. Reese Dunkle MB Circle City 17 Purple: Dunkle – a 4-star Stanford recruit – played a pivotal role in Circle City advancing to the quarterfinals. She brings a different dynamic to the front row. Her scoring ability really gives Circle City an added boost when she’s in. She’s also puts up a solid block and definitely made a tremendous impact. Brookelyn Hatton L/DS MAVS KC 17-1: Hatton – a 4-star Arizona recruit – is unflappable in the back row. She brings a defensive tenacity to the floor and never gives up on a play. She’s a sharp passer out of serve receive and covers well at the net. Addison Burke OH CUVC 17 Open: A 3-star Eastern Kentucky recruit, Burke was instrumental in CUVC upsetting MKE Sting and reaching the challenge rounds. She makes contributions all the way around as a six-rotation outside. She’s a smart attacker who knows how to score against bigger blocks. Lalelei Hall RS Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar: A Fresno State recruit, Hall gave Long Beach a big lift on