One of the best parts of covering volleyball tournaments is seeing how they play out and then getting to make sense of the results. Bluegrass had plenty to sift through and tales to tell. The 14 Open gold medal went to host Adidas KiVA 14 Red. If you read the Preview and Predictions out last Thursday you would have seen KiVA picked to win it all in 14 Open.
KiVA entered ranked No. 13 in our latest 14s Top 50 National Rankings. That was one spot behind No. 12 Elevation 14 Molly, which opened as the top seed having won Central Zone in January. I called for a KiVA-Elevation final, but that matchup came in the semifinals with KiVA sweeping, 25-19, 25-19. Instead, it was KiVA getting past a streaking HPSTL 14 Royal in the final, winning in three, 25-15, 25-27, 15-8.
I say streaking in regards to HPSTL because HPSTL didn’t start off very strong but has come on as of late. Three weeks ago HPSTL fell twice to Mintonette Sports m.42 at the President Day’s Classic in St. Louis. However, just a week later HPSTL took second in 14 Open at the Sunshine Classic to earn its Open bid. There was no letdown either, as HPSTL navigated its way to the final in Louisville after clipping a sound Munciana 14 Chipmunks squad in the semis, 25-21, 10-25, 15-13. Munciana is ranked No. 18 nationally while HPSTL currently sits at No. 21. KiVA, meanwhile, lost just one match over the two days, falling to Munciana in Power Pool 2 action on Day 1.
Another predicted result happened in 17 Open, where No. 9 and Triple Crown winner NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami downed No. 21 and Central Zone champ Academy 17 Tsunami in the final, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12. In the preview I wrote, I speculated that NKYVC would avenge its Central Zone loss to Academy by beating Academy in the final in Louisville. Beating Academy in three was the only set NKYVC lost at Bluegrass, including beating No. 40 Adidas KiVA 17 Red and No. 41 Boiler Jrs 17 Gold in Power Pool 2 as well as No. 23 Tri-State Elite 17 Blue in the semifinals.
The 15 Open final came down to the two highest nationally-ranked clubs in the field in No. 3 Boiler Jrs 15 Gold and No. 8 NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami. NKYVC pulled off the modest upset, downing Boiler Jrs in straight sets, 25-19, 25-23. NKYVC struggled on Day 1 during Power Pool 2, losing to both No. 48 TVC 15 Black and No. 35 Team Pineapple 15 Black before coming on during Day 2.
It proved to be another hometown victory in 16 Open, as host Adidas KiVA 16 Red outlasted SPVB 16 Elite in the final, 18-25, 25-21, 15-9. KiVA entered as the third-highest ranked team in the field, sitting at No. 23 behind No. 11 Circle City 16 Purple and No. 19 AVC Cle 16 Red. Sports Performance entered unranked as it hadn’t played a travel tournament yet but certainly will be ranked in the Top 20 come the next update. KiVA, which lost a tough three-setter in Power Pool 2 to No. 24 Tri-State Elite 16 Blue on Day 1, was the only club to top SPVB in Louisville.
There was a surprise in 18 Open when No. 30 Elevation 18 Spinney upset No. 3 Munciana 18 Samurai in the final, 25-23, 26-24. Elevation lost its first match of the weekend to No. 15 Circle City 18 Purple in Power Pool 2 play before winning six matches in a row and winning gold.
Stay tuned for more coverage from Bluegrass as we still have the Day 2 Show Stoppers and All-Tournament teams to announce.
