The highest-seeded clubs spent the opening day of the Bluegrass Tournament in power pools, their spots in Sunday’s challenge rounds guaranteed. For the rest, it was business as usual, aiming to break pool to remain in contention. Those that managed to stay in the hunt will get their shot at pulling off upsets of the power pool participants on Day 2 when the gold medals will be awarded.
In 14 Open, Elevation 14 Molly – the top seed and winner of Central Zone – looked good in going 3-0 by sweeping Far Out 14 Black, HPSTL 14 Royal – which has already qualified for 14 Open – and Munciana Indy 14 Otters.
Munciana 14 Chipmunks was the only other power-pool squad to go 3-0 in the 14s as Muncie took care of Adidas KiVA 14 Red, AVC Cle 14 Red and Lex United 14 Adidas all in straight sets. For seeding purposes, it was NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami gaining first place in Power Pool 3 after finishing tied with Tri-State Elite 14 Blue at 2-1. NKYVC swept the head-to-head against Tri-State to get first.
Of the non-power pool teams, Alliance 14 Ren, Maverick 14 Elite and Circle City 14 Purple all went 3-0 in winning their pools. However, it was EliteVBTC 14 Black which arguably had the best day of any 14 Open team. Elite went 3-0 as the No. 3 team in Pool 5 to drastically improve its seeding.
Another age group going off in the morning was 16 Open, which featured two power pools. SPVB 16 Elite shined in one of them while the other pool featured mixed results. SPVB took down a solid group of teams in Circle City 16 Purple, Munciana 16 Blaze and NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami. In the other pool, AVC Cle 16 Red, Adidas KiVA 16 Red and Tri-State Elite 16 Blue all finished at 2-1 overall and 5-3 in sets. KiVA took first based on points percentage, followed by AVC and Tri-State. OPVC 16 Robinson was the fourth team in the pool and went 3-0 against the stiff competition. It started with AVC outlasting Tri-State in three games. Tri-State then clipped KiVA in three before KiVA closed out the pool by edging AVC in three.
The top teams in 17 Open all finished 3-0 in their respective pools. Triple Crown champ NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami fared the best of the trio. NKYVC was the only one not to lose a set, sweeping Boiler Jrs 17 Gold, Adidas KiVA 17 Red and Hurricanes Category 7 in Power Pool 2. Tri-State Elite 17 Blue was part of a perfect Power Pool 3. And by perfect I mean every match in the pool went to three sets! That’s a long day for everyone involved, but it was Tri-State prevailing in all three it played. Union 17-1 UA finished 2-1 followed by Elevation 17 Ulland at 1-2 and Illini Elite 17 Cardinal at 0-3.
The same thing was close to happening in Power Pool 1. Central Zone champ Academy 17 Tsunami sweeping Team Pineapple 17 Black in the opening match was the only one of the six not to go the distance. Academy eventually took the pool by fending off Memphis Academy 17 Red and Maverick 17 Elite.
The biggest result in 15 Open came with AVC Cle 15 Red knocking off top-seeded Boiler Jrs 15 Gold in Power Pool A. That’ll shake up the seedings for Sunday’s challenge pools and beyond. AVC finished on top at 3-0, having also downed Tri-State Elite 15 Blue and SPVB 15 Elite.
Both second-seeded NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami and third-seeded Elevation 15 Tony lost as well in their pools. That’s only going to shake up the seedings further. In Power Pool B, it was Team Pineapple 15 Black at 3-0 which wound up in first place. TVC 15 Black also picked up a big victory over NKYVC to finish at 2-1, ahead of NKYVC at 1-2. Far Out 15 Black topped Elevation in the last match of Power Pool C to finish 3-0. Elevation came in second at 2-1.
DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS
Melina Schrader S Munciana 16 Blaze: Schrader does a great job moving the ball around and mixing it up for an undersized offensive group overall. She has precise location and puts the ball in a hittable window very consistently.
Shanese Williams MB/RS Munciana 16 Blaze: I’m glad I caught Williams again. There was simply too many players to write about from Triple Crown and Williams certainly could have been mentioned for her play on Day 2 against Drive Nation 16 Red. Williams was doing her thing again, banging away from the right side and adding pop to the Munciana attack.
Lilly Howell MB Munciana 16 Blaze: Howell is the tallest player for Munciana and she made an impact across the front row. She has a big arm and Munciana likes to take advantage of that, setting her as often as they can when she’s lined up on the left.
Aubrey Anders MB AVC Cle 16 Red: Anders is a quick jumper. She gets up quick and is tough for defenses to time. She also showed off a nice arm putting balls down to the ground.
Bella Bullington OH SPVB 16 Elite: There’s no questioning that Bullington – a 4-star recruit – has a massive arm. She was blasting balls repeatedly. She’s another quick jumper who just gets off the floor and lets it rip!
Audrey Asleson S SPVB 16 Elite: Asleson is currently a 3-star recruit who’ll be moving up to 4 stars in the next update. She’s a smoother disher with a clean, consistent release and she locates well.
Isabela Haggard S/RS Adidas KiVA 16 Red: If I was handing out a personal pick for Day 1 MVP, it would go to Haggard. She was a key ingredient to KiVA’s lineup. She was playing with lots of energy and spirit, was setting well and was swinging with a purpose in helping her team in many ways.
Bailey Blair MB/RS Adidas KiVA 16 Red: Blair brought versatility to the lineup, with the ability to play either in the middle or on the right. Either way, her arm and ability to put balls away with power remains the same.
Caroline Moore RS Tri-State Elite 16 Blue: Moore was delivering from the right side and helped allow Tri-State to spread out its attack. Tri-State has flashier hitters but Moore was effective and efficient, tooling blocks or finding hole and going through them.
Emsley Venard S NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami: I thought Venard did a solid job running the show and putting her hitters in favorable positions.
Ava Tilden OH NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami: Tilden is a 4-star recruit who was showing off her whippy arm. She caught a few swings that were eye-opening. She definitely has a tall ceiling.
Carsyn Comer OH Munciana 14 Chipmunks: I liked the grit and determination Comer plays with. She keeps coming. She definitely has potential and is one to keep tabs on as she continues moving up the ranks.
Lola Waleskowski OH NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami: Waleskowski was taking big cuts on the outside and wasn’t holding back. She was also serving tough and helping her team score points that way as well.
Maria Schulte S/RS NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami: Schulte is a glue piece in the lineup, setting and hitting. She’s a heady player who made a couple nice out of system plays.
Lucy Moriarty L/DS HPSTL 14 Royal: Fresh off of qualifying for 14 Open last weekend at Sunshine, Moriarty and company were back at it. Moriarty was passing well out of serve receive and doing a nice job of digging balls.
Kate Sherry OH HPSTL 14 Royal: Sherry is a bit undersized but that doesn’t stop her from coming with the heat. Sherry was an aggressive attacker who kept the pressure on the defense.
Riley Loehfelm OH Far Out 14 Black: Loehfelm is a lanky outside with plenty of upside. She’s one of the mainstays in the lineup and she’ll take swings out of the back row.
Kyla Williams AVC Cle 14 Red: This is the second time this season seeing Williams in action and she’s a difference maker in the middle. She brings height to a smaller AVC group and she can torment undersized blockers across the net by simply going right over them.
Morgan Gaerte OH Team Pineapple 17 Black: A 5-star Notre Dame commit, Gaerte is long and because of it tough to slow down. She’s the focal point of the Team Pineapple attack and it’s easy to see her next-level ability.
Sophie Ledbetter L/DS Academy 17 Tsunami: Ledbetter is one of those liberos who simply gets the job done. She’s unassuming and doesn’t draw attention to herself and she’ll make all the plays around her on a consistent basis.
Leah Richmond S Academy 17 Tsunami: Richmond, a 3-star recruiter committed to Wester Michigan, is an under-control setter with nice hands. She locates accurately and she does well not getting over-reliant with the big arm of Alaleh Tolliver.
Kiana Dinn S/RS Tri-State Elite 17 Blue: Dinn is a volleyball player. Period. She’s a bit undersized, but the 3-star recruit is committed to Pitt. She’s a leaper, one who elevates quickly and attacks the block and defense with her aggressiveness. She’s also a strong setter and fills a valuable role.
Alivia Skidmore OH NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami: A 3-star recruit committed to Western Kentucky, Skidmore was taking massive swings and crushing balls! There were a few times when it looked like she might deflate the ball she connected so hard.
Chloe Smith OH Adidas KiVA 17 Red: Smith has a whippy arm and can also really connect when she catches one. She was helping power the KiVA attack along nicely.
Emma Closurdo RS Adidas KiVA 17 Red: Closurdo is a bit undersized on the right but don’t tell her that. She’s ferocious on the attack and takes violent swings.
Ella Holloway RS Memphis VBA 17 Red: A 6-3 right side, Holloway is a presence at the net. She’s an impactful blocker and brings her share of offense across the front.
Campbell Miles L/DS Union 15-1 UA: There was a stretch when it seemed like no ball would get down in front of Miles, a 3-star recruit. She did a great job picking up hard-hit cross court balls and keeping in team in the point.
Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: Ward – a 5-star recruit from the Class of 2027 – delivers the types of kills where you hear it in the reaction of those watching. If you’re into that type of entertaining, she’s definitely worth catching.
Sophia Davis RS Elevation 15 Tony: Davis brings size to the right side. She puts up a solid block and can’t be forgotten about on offense either as she can help deliver points.
