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The Show Me Qualifier proved to be one of the best ones we’ve been at yet. vballrecruiter.com spent time throughout the three days watching and observing as many teams and players as we possibly could. Below are the liberos who caught our attention the most. 15 OPEN Keri Leimbach, Nebraska One 15 Synergy – Leimbach’s play helped Nebraska One to the 15 Open title. She’s very quick and flies around the court making up ground and tracking down balls.   McKenna Garr, Northern Lights 15-1 – It was a good weekend for Northern Lights in clinching a 15 Open bid. Garr – a three-star recruit – made some of her ups look too easy! She was also on point in serve receive with consistent first-ball contact. Avery Baker, MAVS KC 15-1 – MAVS has to rely on its ball control and defense to be competitive. Baker is not a flashy libero but she’s even-keeled and makes plenty of plays in the back row. Hadley Porter, Dynasty 15 Black – Porter is the backbone of the Dynasty defense. Her game has an intensity to it where it looks like she loves to compete and she’s just real steady in what she does. Julia Grace, NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami – Unfortunately for NKYVC, it didn’t advance as far as it would’ve liked. However, there’s no doubt Grace was a standout. She’s a four-star recruit and the first word that comes to mind is smooth. Avery Freeman, Circle City 15 Purple – Circle City is built on its ball control, with Freeman the anchor of the defense. She’s another three-star recruit who’s willing to sacrifice her body to keep rallies alive. Emma Ortiz, OT 15 Meg – OT couldn’t push itself into gold pool play but it wasn’t without effort. Ortiz was not missing her mark out of serve receive, consistently getting OT into system. 16 OPEN Faith Frame, Premier Nebraska 16 Gold – Frame was a standout everywhere this weekend. She garnered one of the MVP awards at the Under Armour Next Camp and performed consistently well throughout the weekend. She has a stoic demeanor on the court but has great command of the position. She’s a three-star recruit with potential to move up to four or even five stars in due time. Alleigh Dutton, Circle City 16 Purple – Dutton is another three-star recruit and showed why in helping Circle City to the 16 Open title and its bid. There aren’t many plays she doesn’t make and teams are reluctant to challenge her in serve receive. Luca Bredenberg, Northern Lights 16-1 – This three-star recruit was passing dime after dime in serve receive. She has a good platform and keeps things simple. Annalise Grant, Six Pack 16 – There were definitely moments where Grant was owning the position. She has a calm, easy-going approach with lots of upside to her game. Elizabeth Tabeling, NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami – What a weekend it was for NKYVC in taking second and qualifying. When on, Tabeling was as good as anyone in the division this weekend. She’s a four-star recruit with good range and she’s not afraid to stand in and dig big shots. Ryan McAleer, Dynasty 16 Black – This was a strong division for liberos and McAleer is yet another who stood out. This four-star recruit is very consistent and steady and is difficult to get balls past. Mya Bolton, KC Power 16-1 – Yet another three-star recruit making noise this weekend, Bolton is fun to watch with the spirit she plays with. This Power team has a scrappiness about it and Bolton is at the heart of it with her defense. 17 OPEN Jonna Spohn, Mintonette Sports m.71 – This Ole Miss commit is a three-star recruit. She can cover some ground around the court and is typically on point with her passing and defending. Alayna Pearson, KC Power 17-1 – Pearson is a three-star recruit committed to Texas AM. She flies around the court. And she brings tons of energy and excitement to the position! Heidi Devers, Dynasty 17 Black – Devers is another spirited libero with good energy. She also can cover well with her quickness. Jocelyn Healy, NE Elite 17 Vici – It felt like Healy was one of the more energetic liberos in the division. At the times we caught her, she was digging a ton of balls and extending rallies. Ava Roth, Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite – One of the things that came to mind watching Roth is she’s a hard worker and leaves it all on the court. She also showed great passing skills out of serve receive. She’s a three-star recruit committed to Arkansas. Meg Berkland, Iowa Rockets 17 – It was a great weekend for Iowa Rockets, which came within a victory of qualifying. Rockets is not a big team and has to rely on ball control and defense to hang. Berkland, who is a sophomore playing up, fits right in with her ability to pass dimes out of serve receive and keep plays alive with her effort. Kate Thibault, MN Select 17-1 – A three-star recruit committed to Oregon, Thibault had a good weekend holding down the back court. Her serve reception was on and she consistently made plays to give the offense another shot.

The first weekend of the Show Me Qualifier is in the books, with bids going out in 15, 16 and 17 Open. We’ll have more about what took place in those divisions in the next day or two, plus our standout players list featuring some of the top talent we witnessed in action. For now, here’s a quick rundown of how Day 3 played out. Dynasty 17 Black – which qualified originally at NEQ and captured first place the weekend before Show Me at the Sunshine Classic – had a rough Day 3 in gold pool play in Kansas City. In going 0-3, Dynasty finished in fourth place in Pool 2 and helped set up the only bracket match with a bid on the line in any of the three Open divisions. Premier Nebraska 17 Gold defeated MN Select 17-1 in the championship match. MAVS KC 17-1 and Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite ended up tied for third. With Premier Nebraska and MAVS already qualified, bids went out to MN Select and Rockwood Thunder. The third and final qualifying spot came down to the fifth-place match between Mintonette Sports m.71 and Iowa Rockets 17. Mintonette swept to land the final bid. Iowa Rockets was involved in prior drama even before getting to the fifth-place contest. Iowa Rockets was 0-2 and needed to defeat Rockwood Thunder in the 3 v 4 meeting in Pool 1. Iowa Rockets came through in three sets. When NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami fell to Premier Nebraska in the 1 v 2 match, Rockwood Thunder, Iowa Rockets and NKYVC ended in a three-way tie at 1-2. Rockwood Thunder took the second-place tiebreaker, with Iowa Rockets getting third and NKYVC taking fourth. Had Iowa Rockets lost to Rockwood Thunder, NKYVC would’ve played Mintonette for the final bid. In 16 Open, Circle City 16 Purple not only qualified but it took home top honors after outlasting NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami in three sets in the championship match. NKYVC, which earned a huge victory over Dynasty 16 Black in pool play, also earned its bid. Dynasty tied for third place with Premier Nebraska 16 Gold. Both already had bids. KC Power 16-1 and OT 16 Roberto tied for fifth. With KC Power already having a bid as well, OT Roberto picked up the final bid in 16 Open. Nebraska One 15 Synergy lost its first match on Day 1. Then lost its first match on Day 2. However, the Great Plains Region club was standing on top at the end after sweeping Dynasty 15 Black in the 15 Open final. Both already had bids so trickle down was in effect. Circle City 15 Purple and NE Elite 15 Matrix tied for third place. Circle City already owned a bid, but NE Elite did not and earned itself one. The last two bids went to Northern Lights 15-1 and HPSTL 15 Royal, who tied for fifth place. Northern Lights ended in third place in Pool 1 on the strength of a head-to-head victory over MAVS KC 15-1. Both finished 1-2. In Pool 2, the 1 v 2 match came down to HPSTL facing Mich Elite 15 Mizuno. Both were 0-2 and the winner would earn the last bid. HPSTL swept to make it happen.

One day remains at the Show Me Qualifier in Kansas City after Day 2 saw the hunt for the Open bids tighten up. vballrecruiter.com will have plenty of coverage in the days ahead, including our substantial standout players list when the three-day event concludes. Some of the players we saw today who are sure to be featured include Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite right side Claire Morrissey, NE Elite 17 Vici libero Jocelyn Healy and Illini Elite 17 Cardinal outside Kenna Wollard. A few more include NE Elite 15 Matrix right side Ashlyn Paymal, Six Pack 16 libero Annalise Gergen and Circle City 16 Purple right side Alexis Maesch. Below, we look at three storylines from Day 2 action. PATH TO A BID Three previously-qualified clubs began in each 15, 16 and 17 Open and all nine are in their respective gold pools for Day 3. The most intriguing division is 17 Open, where Premier Nebraska 17 Gold is in Pool 1 and MAVS KC 17-1 and Dynasty 17 Black are both in Pool 2. Joining MAVS and Dynasty in Pool 2 are Mintonette Sports m.71 and MN Select 17-1. What makes this division the most intriguing is seeing if MAVS can make the top three in its pool or not. Dynasty is favored to finish in the top three, as is Premier Nebraska in Pool 1. If all the teams with bids already land in the top three of their pools, then it takes the bracket matches out of play in terms of bidding as trickle down will go to sixth if needed. However, if MAVS – or Dynasty or Premier Nebraska for that matter – finish last in the pool then either the third or fifth-place match becomes a must-win contest for the final bid. In both 15 and 16 Open we seem destined to have the bids decided by the time gold pools end. In 15 Open, Dynasty 15 Black and Circle City 15 Purple share Pool 1. Nebraska One 15 Synergy is in Pool 2. It would take some big upsets in either pool for one of those three to finish in fourth place in their pool. It’s much more likely all finish in third place or better and that would have trickle down in play to sixth place if needed. It’s the same scenario in 16 Open. Dynasty 16 Black is in Pool 1, while KC Power 16-1 and Premier Nebraska 16 Gold are in Pool 2. Some crazy results would have to take place for one of those three to finish in fourth place in a pool so we seem to be looking at all three making the top six. *** WILD RIDES Outside of top-seeded Dynasty the results were all over the place in 15 Open on Day 2. Dynasty went 3-0 in Pool 1, where NE Elite 15 Matrix finished 2-1 as the No. 3 team to advance. NE Elite swept a showdown with Premier Nebraska 15 Gold in the 3 v 4 outing to secure second place. In Pool 2, HPSTL 15 Royal posted a 3-0 mark as the No. 3 team. HPSTL opened its day by topping Circle City and kept going from there with victories over Tulsa Power 15-1 and Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite. It left Circle City needing to beat Tulsa Power in the 1 v 2 match just to advance. Circle City swept and finished 2-1. MAVS 816 15-1 was the story of Day 1 and the team controlled its own fate as the No. 1 seed in Pool 3. MAVS squared off with Northern Lights 15-1 in the 1 v 2 contest, with the winner getting second place and a spot in the gold pool. Mich Elite 15 Mizuno had already earned first place by going 3-0 as the No. 4 team and setting up the must-win meeting between MAVS and Lights. Lights swept though, ending MAVS’ run. MAVS 816 upsetting Nebraska One on Saturday dropped Nebraska One into the No. 4 slot in Pool 4. That threw a wrench into that pool, as Nebraska One went 2-1 and grabbed second place. MAVS KC 15-1 and Skyline 15 Royal met in the 1 v 2 contest with both still having a chance to move on. But the only way Skyline could advance was by sweeping MAVS. MAVS captured the first set then eventually the match in three to finish 3-0 and take first place. But had Skyline swept, Nebraska One would’ve taken first and Skyline second. Granted, 17 Open wasn’t as wild a ride as 15 Open was, but it hardly played out according to seed. NKYVC 17 Tsunami started the fun by upsetting top-seeded Dynasty in the first match of Pool 1. NKYVC finished 2-1, losing its final match to PVA 17 Elite in three games. But NKYVC already had first place clinched regardless of the result based on tiebreakers. As for Dynasty, it faced MKE Sting 17 Gold in the 1 v 2 outing. Both were 1-1, so the winner advanced and the loser was eliminated. It was Dynasty sweeping to take second. Mintonette Sports m.71, the No. 1 team in Pool 2, made it out unscathed at 3-0. But it was Iowa Rockets 17, the No. 4 team, which managed to land in second by going 2-1. Iowa Rockets picked up key victories against Northern Lights 17-1 and Co Jrs 17 Kevin to make the gold pools. The No. 1 team in Pool 3 in KC Power 17-1 wasn’t so fortunate. Losses to Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite and MN Select 17-1 ended Power’s bid hopes. MN Select, the No. 2 team, rode a strong day to a 3-0 showing as the No. 2 team. Rockwood made it out at 2-1 as the No. 3 team. In Pool 4, both MAVS and Premier Nebraska were guaranteed spots in the gold pools by the time they met in the 1 v 2 match. Still, Premier Nebraska, the No. 2 team, took that one to finish

The race for the Open bids is underway at the Show Me Qualifier in Kansas City. vballrecruiter.com will have plenty of coverage in the days ahead, including our substantial standout players list when the three-day event concludes. Some of the players we saw today who are sure to be featured include Premier Nebraska 15 Gold outside Shay Heaney, Synergy 15-1 right side Carly Gilk and Nebraska One 15 Synergy middle Natalie Wardlow. As well as Premier Nebraska 16 Gold middle Mia Tvrdy, Northern Lights 16-1 libero Luca Bredenberg, and Pohaku 16-1 right side Kananihokuao Misipeka. Below, we visit three storylines from Day 1. IT’S ABOUT TIME The biggest story of the day sprung from 15 Open where No. 19 seed MAVS 816 15-1 went 3-0 in Pool 3 to advance. The highlight was an upset victory over No. 3 seed and previously-qualified Nebraska One 15 Synergy in the opening match of the day before finishing with sweeps of ECJ 15-1 and Front Range VBC 15-1 Black. MAVS 816 has to be saying FINALLY!! It was a stark turnaround from the Heart of America Region club’s first two qualifiers. As much as anything, bad luck had been ruling Day 1s for MAVS, which was knocked from contention on the opening day at both the Salt Lake City Showdown and MEQ last month. In Salt Lake, MAVS drew eventual tournament winner AZ Storm 15 Thunder in its Day 1 pool. An additional loss to ID Crush 15 Bower eliminated MAVS, who went on to capture its next six matches in a row to end the tournament. It was an even wilder ride in Indy. There, MAVS actually finished 7-1! But didn’t break its Day 1 pool after finishing in a three-way tie with Austin Skyline 15 Royal and Union 15-1 at 2-1. That means MAVS came into Show Me with a 13-3 record at qualifiers but will be playing its first Day 2 match while still in the mix for a bid! *** AS EXPECTED Nebraska One 15 Synergy was the only team with a bid in 15, 16 or 17 Open to drop a match Saturday at Show Me but still advanced from its pool. All the other previously-qualified teams went 3-0 in their respective pools, including Dynasty 15 Black and Circle City 15 Purple in 15 Open. Dynasty 16 Black, KC Power 16-1 and Premier Nebraska 16 Gold combined to go 9-0 in 16 Open, as did Dynasty 17 Black, MAVS 17-1 and Premier Nebraska 17 Gold in 17 Open. *** EXIT SIGN There were a handful of teams who weren’t able to advance from their Day 1 pools for one reason or another. While MAVS 816 was the surprise in 15 Open, Pool 2 was perhaps the hardest of the day featuring Circle City, OT 15 Meg and Premier Nebraska 15 Gold. Circle City, the No. 2 seed, advanced along with Premier Nebraska, the No. 3 team in the pool. Premier Nebraska outlasted OT in three sets in a key victory. The two, five-team pools also produced an unexpected exit for Boiler Jrs 15 Gold. The Hoosier Region club entered the weekend seeded No. 7 overall after making gold pools at MEQ last month. However, Boiler Jrs lost to Tulsa Power 15-1 and NE Elite 15 Matrix in its final two matches and took third in the pool. Both Tulsa Power (4-0) and NE Elite (3-1) moved on. A tough blow in 16 Open was MAVS KC 16-1 being shown the exit. MAVS was in a three-team pool with HPSTL 16 Royal and TIV 16 Asics Black. MAVS went 1-1 and finished second. That put MAVS in a crossover match with USA South 16 Premier, which was the third-place team from three-team Pool 7. USA South took the match, 17-15 in the third, to remain alive. KC Power 16 Red was the No. 3 team in Pool 2 but snuck past OP2 16-1, the No. 2 team, to advance and remain in contention. Another interesting result came from Pool 1, where UPVBC 16 Open, Iowa Rockets 16R and Nebraska Jrs 16 Black all tied at 1-2. It was Nebraska Jrs, the No. 4 team in the pool, which earned the second-place tiebreaker to break pool.   We knew coming in Pool 2 in 17 Open was going to be a difficult one to get out of and it proved to be the case indeed. Mintonette Sports m.71, the No. 1 team in the pool, and PVA 17 Elite, the No. 2, both advanced after finishing 2-1. Mintonette owned the head-to-head result. Mintonette’s day was thrown a curveball when it lost its opening match though to Six Pack 17. However, Six Pack couldn’t take advantage of the upset and fell to Tx Performance 17s in the 3 v 4 outing and ended 1-2. Mintonette then needed to beat PVA to avoid the three-way tie at 1-2. After finishing fourth in Salt Lake City, Co Jrs 17 Kevin didn’t receive any favors and was made the No. 3 team in Pool 6 to start here. Co Jrs made it out of the three-team pool by going 1-1 after falling to MN Select 17-1 and beating HPSTL 17 Royal. In another three-team pool, Pool 8, Northern Lights 17-1, Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite and NE Elite 17 Vici all finished 1-1. Northern Lights grabbed first place based on tiebreakers, while Rockwood Thunder and NE Elite both advanced to Day 2 after winning crossover matches. That meant only MKE Sting 17 Gold moved on from Pool 7.

The first weekend of the Show Me qualifier is Saturday-Monday in Kansas City. vballrecruiter.com is going to be on hand providing coverage. We start with our Preview and Predictions of the Open divisions. 17 Open Number of Teams: 29 Number of Bids: 3 Previously Qualified Teams (3): Dynasty 17 Black; MAVS 17-1; Premier Nebraska 17 Gold Thoughts: Dynasty 17 Black, fresh off its victory at Sunshine last weekend, starts as the No. 1 overall seed and is one of three qualified teams in the field. MAVS 17-1 opens as the No. 4 seed. Premier Nebraska 17 Gold is seeded No. 5. Mintonette Sports m.71 and KC Power 17-1 are seeded in between at No. 2 and 3 respectively. Mintonette wasn’t done any favors however. The Ohio club has PVA 17 Elite and Six Pack 17 in its Day 1 pool. That’s a tough assignment for all involved and one of the three teams is going to have a long weekend having not advanced after the opening day. One team that seems sure to finish higher than its initial seeding is Co Jrs 17 Kevin, which starts as the No. 22 seed. Co Jrs nearly qualified at Salt Lake City and should be in the mix here as well. Co Jrs is in a three-team pool with No. 6 seed MN Select 17-1 and HPSTL 17 Royal. The way the format works all three could potentially move on if the second and third-place teams can both win crossover matches. Topeka Impact 17-1, at No. 7, and Northern Lights 17-1, at No. 8, round out the top eight seeds. The question is always how might trickle down play out. Dynasty seems like it’ll be able to contribute to trickle down by placing in the top four. But can MAVS and Premier Nebraska help push it down to sixth? Prediction: I think Dynasty can go back-to-back this weekend, beating KC Power in the final. KC Power gets its bid, along with MN Select and Northern Lights.   *** 16 Open Number of Teams: 29 Number of Bids: 3 Previously Qualified Teams (3): Dynasty 16 Black; KC Power 16-1; Premier Nebraska 16 Gold Thoughts: The seeding appears more balanced in 16 Open than 17 Open. Obviously, Dynasty 16 Black is a heavy favorite and opens as the No. 1 seed chasing its third qualifier victory of the year. Premier Nebraska 16 Gold, which qualified along with Dynasty earlier at Northern Lights, is the No. 5 seed. KC Power 16-1, which earned its bid at MEQ, opens as the No. 3 seed. They are the only qualified teams so trickle down can’t exceed sixth place. NKYVC 16 Tsunami is the No. 2 seed and a strong candidate to get its bid. It missed qualifying at MEQ by one victory. Circle City 16 Purple, the No. 7 seed, was in the same gold pool as NKYVC in Indy. MAVS 16-1, the No. 8 seed, was also at Indy and tied for fifth. OT 16 Roberto, the No. 6 seed, was at Sunshine last weekend along with Pohaku 16-1. Pohaku finished 11th and OT Roberto 13th, but they start together in Pool 6 in KC. Another team to watch for is Six Pack 16, which tied for fifth at MEQ. Six Pack was in the same gold pool as Dynasty in Indy but may catch better luck this time around. Prediction: It’s going to take a special effort to prevent Dynasty from winning its third qualifier. Therefore, it’s difficult to pick against Dynasty winning it all, beating KC Power in the final. NKYVC, MAVS and Circle City qualify. *** 15 Open Number of Teams: 34 Number of Bids: 3 Previously Qualified Teams (3): Dynasty 15 Black; Circle City 15 Purple Nebraska One 15 Synergy Thoughts: Dynasty 15 Black and Circle City 15 Purple gained bids at MEQ and open seeded 1 and 2 respectively. Nebraska One 15 Synergy picked up its bid at Northern Lights. Everyone is out to join them. Skyline 15 Royal, MAVS KC 15-1, Boiler Jrs 15 Gold, Mich Elite 15 Mizuno and MKE Sting 15 Gold were all in gold pools at MEQ and are among the teams who should be in the mix once more. As well as Northern Lights 15-1, which opens as the No. 6 seed. An interesting twist is there are two, five-team pools on Day 1. Those teams all have to play four matches the first day. Only the first and second-place finishers advance, so that’s a different situation to be in. Prediction: As for the winner, the pick is Skyline over Dynasty. Northern Lights and MAVS join Skyline in qualifying.