I said it about the JVA Rock’N Rumble two weeks ago in Cleveland, and I’ll say it again about the Central Zone Invitational this past weekend in Indianapolis. These two-day tournaments go by fast! Almost too fast! The ink in the notebook barely is dry by the time a champion is named. But there’s no denying that the action happens quickly.
If you missed our coverage from Day 1, you can catch up on it here. As for Day 2, it was a whirlwind day as trophies were handed out to the Open division winners. Below is a recap of the day’s events from the top division. The Day 2 Show Stoppers and All-Tournament Selections are set to come out in the next day or two. Here’s a quick list of the championship results:
18 Open: Circle City 18 Purple d Legacy 18-1 Adidas 25-22, 25-20
17O: Academy 17 Tsunami d Boiler Jrs 17 Gold 20-25, 25-21, 15-11
16O: 1st Alliance 16 Gold d Circle City 16 Purple 25-22, 22-25, 15-8
15O: Mintonette Sports m.51 d Boiler Jrs 15 Gold 25-12, 25-20
14O: Elevation 14 Molly d Adidas KiVA 14 Red 25-23, 25-19
Whipping around, Elevation started as the No. 4 overall seed in 14 Open and finished as the champion, sweeping KiVA in the final. The victory avenged Elevation’s only loss, which came when KiVA swept Elevation in Saturday evening’s start to the Round 2 Power Pools. Those were the only sets Elevation dropped on the weekend, as the Ohio Valley Region club turned in a flawless gold bracket run Sunday. Elevation opened by sweeping Rockwood Thunder 14 Elite, then beat A5 14 Helen in the quarterfinals and Tri-State Elite 14 Blue in the semis.
The 14s were fun to catch this weekend, with lots of competitive matches taking place and learning of the next round of studs and standouts. Legacy 14-1 Adidas and Tri-State Elite 14 Blue tied for third, both losing just once. Tying for fifth was A5 14-Helen, Mintonette Sports m.41, MKE Sting 14 Gold and NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami.
Moving to 15 Open, Mintonette showed why it’s a threat to repeat after winning the USAV 14 Open gold last summer. Back in Indy, Mintonette had a rocky Day 1, dropping both matches in its power bracket. But that didn’t prevent Mintonette from making the gold bracket and once play kicked off Sunday it was all business. Mintontte didn’t drop a set on Day 2, opening with a sweep over Rev 15-1 Fuego. That was followed by straight-set victories over NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami and Elevation 15 Tony before downing Boiler Jrs. It was Boiler Jrs’ only loss on the weekend. Elevation tied for third with upstart Team Pineapple 15 Black. MKE Sting 15 Gold, NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami, TVC 15 Black and AVC Cle 15 Red tied for fifth.
It was an impressive performance turned in by 1st Alliance 16 Gold, which went 8-0 and only dropped just one set. It came in the final victory against Circle City, which suffered its only loss. 1st Alliance looked impressed, as it was hardly touched until Circle City took the eventual champs to three. Tying for third with strong efforts were Mich Elite 16 Mizuno and MKE Sting 16 Gold. Adidas KiVA 16 Red, Legacy 16-1 Adidas, Team Pineapple 16 Black and Tri-State Elite 16 Blue tied for fifth.
In 17 Open, Academy 17 Tsunami lapped the field, going 8-0 after getting past Boiler Jrs in the final. Academy beat Rock City 17-1 on Day 1 in pool play. Rock City was the other semifinalist, losing to Boilers. Academy topped Elevation 17 Ulland in the other semi. Adidas KiVA 17 Red, Circle City 17 Purple, NKYVC and Rev 17-1 Raptors finished tied for fifth.
Circle City 18 Purple put together a perfect weekend in 18 Open, going 8-0 without dropping a set. Circle City took down Lex United 87 Adidas, Elevation 18 Spinney and Tri-State Elite 18 Blue to reach the final.
