With only one 15 Open team – Austin Skyline 15 Royal – having a bid and in contention as gold pools kicked off on Day 3 at MEQ there was a probability of having to qualify without the benefit of trickle down. With the last four standing in Dynasty 15 Black, 1st Alliance 15 Gold, Circle City 15 Purple and Legacy 15-1 Adidas and spots for just three, not everyone could go home happy. It was Dynasty winning out, with 1st Alliance and Circle City grabbing bids and leaving Legacy on the outskirts. Below, we recap the 15 Open bid winners’ weekends in Indy.
DYNASTY 15 BLACK (FIRST, 9-1)
- Day 1: d MN Select 15-1 (25-12, 25-11); d TI Elite 15-1 (25-12, 26-24); d CUVC 15 Premier (25-11, 25-10)
- Day 2: d No Name VBC 15 (25-19, 23-25, 15-9); l Austin Skyline 15 Royal (26-24, 25-23); d Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite (25-22, 25-15)
- Day 3: d Boilers Jrs 15-1 (25-17, 25-17); d OT 15 Randy (25-17, 25-20); d Circle City 15 Purple (25-20, 25-18); d 1st Alliance 15 Gold (29-27, 25-12)
The first true test for Dynasty 15 Black came on Day 2. Having lost for the first time on the weekend to previously qualified Austin Skyline 15 Royal, the exit was closing in. Another loss to Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite would end Dynasty’s bid hopes before the final day. Dynasty responded well, sweeping Rockwood Thunder and not dropping another set along the way, including finishing its run by sweeping Triple Crown champion 1st Alliance 15 Gold in the 15 Open championship match. The victory before, a sweep against Circle City 15 Purple, officially clinched a bid for Dynasty.
“For us, it’s going to be about our defense,” Dynasty coach Brian Tate said. “Today was as good as defense as any team I’ve coached has ever played. We took blow after blow and were digging balls and transitioning well on offense. We got going and that really helped us push through and get ahead and not look back like we did in that second set (against 1st Alliance). The first set was the gutsiest set a team has ever played for me. We were down four points late and to grind it out and saving three set points was great.”
Dynasty doesn’t have the height and size as others in the 15 age group and so the focus on defense is a must. The players know they have to dig balls and keep points going. Then when “the block gets going, we are really, really effective,” Tate said.
Helping establish the scrappy tone Dynasty brings to the court is libero Hadley Porter. It’s a must, as no one on the roster is listed above 5-10 except for middle Isabel Glover. Outside Lauren Lopez is the team’s go-to on the left and had it going against 1st Alliance in the final. Lefty Ashlee Chavez can bring some physicality to the right side when she’s in. Another option Dynasty goes with is letting eighth-grade setter Ella Florez stay in and hit across the front row while Emma Christian takes her turn setting across the back.
After making a statement in Indy, the group will continue to look for ways to improve in hopes of finishing first when returning to Indy this summer for Junior Nationals.
“Consistent serve pressure has been an emphasis in our gym,” Tate said. “When we serve well and make teams predictable it allows our defense to go to work. When we get consistent serve pressure it’s hard to play against us.”
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1ST ALLIANCE 15 GOLD (SECOND, 9-1)
- Day 1: d NKYVC 15-1 (25-23, 25-8); d Core NJ 15 (25-7, 25-4); d Elevation 15 Crofton (25-19, 25-18)
- Day 2: d MKE Sting 15 Gold (25-11, 25-21); d Team Pineapple 15 Black (25-25, 25-23); Mintonette Sports m.51 (25-21, 25-17)
- Day 3: d MiElite 15 Mizuno (25-10, 25-23); d Skyline 15 Royal (20-25, 25-22, 15-11); d Legacy 15-1 Adidas (25-18, 25-23); l Dynasty 15 Black (29-27, 25-12)
Going undefeated and winning Triple Crown put 1st Alliance 15 Gold on the radar of every qualifying hopeful in 15 Open and yet the achievement of winning in Kansas City earned them no credit at MEQ other than being the top seed and the one everyone was coming hard for. After rolling through the first two days of competition, 1st Alliance’s first set loss put them on the brink of elimination. Just like that, 1st Alliance needed to win the next two sets against Skyline 15 Royal or it wouldn’t advance from the gold pool and play for a bid. Fortunately for 1st Alliance, it was a hole that it managed to dig out of and by the end of the next match 1st Alliance had its bid after downing Legacy 15-1 Adidas in straight sets. 1st Alliance had opportunities to close out the first set against Dynasty in the final before falling in two.
“I think overall it was a solid weekend,” 1st Alliance coach Jocelynn Birks said. “The first two days we started off pretty solid. We didn’t drop a set. We came into this one where Day 3 competition is better and the nerves higher. We were on a roller coaster today. Our passing and serve receive is our bread and butter and that broke down a little bit. We weren’t serving as aggressive and let some teams get going. But, I’m proud of them and how hard they fought. Dynasty is a really great team. Their outside got going and we couldn’t slow her down.”
Any team with outside Abigail Vander Wal and her length and game is going to be competitive. 1st Alliance has nice pieces around her and it makes the Great Lakes club one of the most formidable in the division. It can be difficult breaking down the serve receive with Vander Wal holding up along with DS MaTaia Lawson. Opponents rarely challenge libero Ava Young in that regard.
Hannah Kenny is a smart sparkplug of a two-way contributor, setting in the back and hitting on the right across the front. Kameron Blizniak, the other setter making up the 6-2, has good touch in connecting with Kenny on her back sets.
1st Alliance clearly showed it can hold up to the target it created for itself by winning Triple Crown. MEQ is consistently one of the toughest qualifiers of the year and a runner-up showing only furthers the notion of 1st Alliance as a gold medal contender come Nationals.
“That’s obviously what we came here to do this weekend was getting an Open bid,” Birks said. “We would have liked to have had this (championship) but getting the bid was the top priority. I think we have a lot of room for growth. This is a great team and it’s going to keep getting better. Playing in a championship on Day 3 is always a good thing. I hope they keep it up.”
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CIRCLE CITY 15 PURPLE (THIRD, 9-1)
- Day 1: d Jupiter Elite (25-17, 25-10); d MiElite 15 Elite (25-18, 25-6); d AVC Clev Rox 15 (25-22, 25-15)
- Day 2: d MiElite 15 Mizuno (25-18, 20-25, 15-12); d ECJ 15-1 (25-20, 25-19); d HPSTL 15 Royal (25-19, 20-25, 18-16)
- Day 3: d MKE Sting 15 Gold (25-18, 25-15); HJV 15 Elite (25-17, 25-21); l Dynasty 15 Black (25-20, 25-18); d Legacy 15-1 Adidas (25-18, 25-15)
There were question marks surrounding Circle City 15 Purple entering MEQ. Whereas clubs like Dynasty 15 Black, 1st Alliance 15 Gold and Legacy 15-1 Adidas among others had participated in a deep field like Triple Crown, there was no doubting the home team’s three days in Indy were going to be its toughest tournament to date.
Add in that Circle City coach Jenna Tedros said her team didn’t practice well leading up to the event and it was a guessing game as to where Circle City would land when the dust settled. Going 6-0 between Friday and Saturday placed Circle City in the top 12 come Sunday, where it played some of its best volleyball. That led to Circle City sweeping MKE Sting 15 Gold and HJV 15 Elite – allowing 20 points only once – and reaching the final four. Still, a stellar weekend was close to seeing its good vibes vanish after a setback to Dynasty in the semis placed Circle City in the third-place match against Legacy for the final bid. There were no lingering effects though as Circle City pulled that one out in straight sets to finish on a positive note.
“I’ll tell you we did not have the best practices going into this tournament,” Tedros said. “We told them it’s go time and we can’t have any slow starts. They have to focus and dig deep. Yesterday and Friday they played phenomenally. This morning in beating Sting and HJV, who are two great teams, they were unstoppable. We got jabby against Dynasty with a lot on the line, but I’m proud of them for beating Legacy who they lost to last year.”
Tedros’ message to her group before facing Legacy was to relax and not make the moment bigger than it was. This was Circle City’s first qualifier and she was confident the team would qualify eventually, so she just wanted her girls to relax and be themselves.
“It’s a great feeling,” she said of qualifying. “Now we can go to work on getting better. We want to play well at KC and Windy City and this takes the pressure off.”
Circle City is built a lot like Dynasty. It’s not going to beat anyone because of its size. Middle Reese Dunkle – at 6-2 – is the tallest member and a strength in the middle with her ability to run the slide and hit with pace. Middle/right side Ellen Zapp is the only other listed at 6-0 or taller. But setter Isabelle Brown does a nice job of running the offense and putting her hitters in good spots. Keira Lucas is a capable scorer on the pin, while Logan Bell provides some pop when she gets a hold of one on the outside. Libero Avery Freeman helps anchor a defense that is built on its ball control.
“They are hard to beat when they are zoned in,” Tedros said. “We’re smaller. We have ball control kids. We need to work on our blocking and our offense, though they do a good job with their shot selection.”
