With the Red Rock Rave national qualifier ending with Wave 16 Kevin finishing on top of 16 Open, it was one of those What Just Happened?!? moments we all love in volleyball. The latest edition of What Just Happened is on the other end of spectrum unfortunately. It features HPSTL 16 Royal, which started as the No. 2 overall seed in 16 Open at MEQ in Indianapolis. HPSTL is one of three teams already owning an Open bid after earning one at Sunshine Classic.
However, after HPSTL was eliminated on Day 1 after going 1-2, the question must be asked, what just happened?!?
In the preview I wrote I had a hunch we wouldn’t see any of the qualified teams – GP 16 Rox and Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal being the other two – factoring into any possible trickle down but I hardly thought we would see any of them gone after Day 1?
Coming into Sunshine two weeks ago, HPSTL hadn’t taken any poor losses. The main issue was it wasn’t picking up any quality victories either except for one over Austin Skyline 16 Royal and avenging a loss to Tri-State Elite 16 Blue. Both those results happened at Triple Crown. HP picked up big wins at Sunshine over A5 16 Gabe, GP, Tribe, Skyline 16 Royal and Mich Elite 16 Mizuno on its way to qualifying. That not only inspired hope of HPSTL finding its groove, but is what gave HPSTL the No. 2 overall seed here in Indy.
It was so shocking I haven’t even mentioned the teams to beat HPSTL yet, which were unranked CUVC 16 Beast and USA South 16 Premier. CUVC went 3-0 as the No. 2 team in the pool to take over the overall No. 2 seed. USA South went 2-1 and grabbed second. Tons of credit to both those clubs for picking up such a quality victory!
It was a wild day elsewhere in 16 Open as well, including No. 9 seed Team Pineapple 16 Black eliminated after going 1-2. I actually had Team Pineapple, at No. 29 nationally, ranked one spot ahead of No. 30 HPSTL in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50.
Both No. 38 Co Jrs 16 Shannon and unranked Union 16-1 UA upset Team Pineapple. Co Jrs was upset by unranked MOD Elite 16 Blue but still won the pool at 2-1 after finishing in a two-way tie with Union.
Adidas KiVA 16 Red – seeded No. 3 overall and ranked No. 23 in the nation – was upset by unranked Boiler Jrs 16 Gold. Boiler Jrs won the pool at 3-0 while KiVA went 2-1. KiVA was not the highest-ranked team to lose from our Top 50 however. Dynasty 16 Black – ranked No. 15 – and No. 17 Austin Skyline 16 Royal were in the same pool on Day 1, so something had to give. Dynasty won the pool at 3-0 as the No. 2 team. Austin Skyline moved on at 2-1 as those two flip seeds. We’ll consider that a win for the national rankings over the seedings.
The rest of the top-ranked teams all finished 3-0, including No. 8 A5, No. 11 Circle City 16 Purple, No. 12 Mich Elite, No. 14 MKE Sting 16 Gold, No. 16 Legacy 16-1 Adidas and No. 18 Tribe.
The other big news from 16 Open was unranked Adrenaline 16 Doug going 3-0 as the No. 3 team in Pool 8. Adrenaline upset both No. 40 NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami and No. 44 GP. GP went 2-1 and finished second while NKYVC went 1-2 and was knocked out of contention.
Also, unranked Adversity 16 Adidas upset No. 31 Alamo 16 Premier in Pool 10. That was key because Adversity advanced as the No. 3 team while Alamo finished 1-2 and was eliminated as the No. 2 team in the pool.
The results from 17 Open were not as all over the place. The No. 11 overall seed and No. 1 team in Pool 11 in Alamo 17 Premier went 1-2 and finished in third. Both No. 41 Boiler Jrs 17 Gold and Michio 17 National uprooted Alamo. Boiler Jrs finished 3-0 to win the pool. Considering I don’t have Alamo ranked in the Top 50, it didn’t come as that much of a surprise to see Boiler Jrs win the pool.
While Alamo was the only No. 1 team from a pool not to advance, a few No. 2 teams didn’t move on either. Team Pineapple 17 Black – ranked No. 50 – Union 17-1 UA, HPSTL 17 Royal and CHAVC 17 Black all finished at 1-2 as No. 2 teams in their respective pools and are out of contention.
A couple of other upsets didn’t eliminate teams but will shake up the seedings for Day 2. Pohaku 17-1, ranked No. 48, took down No. 19 Metro 17 Travel. Metro is one of three teams already owning a bid in the field. Also, No. 37 Elevation 17 Ulland upset No. 21 Academy 17 Tsunami to win Pool 7.
Beyond that, the top-ranked teams all fared well. Second-ranked Dynasty 17 Black, No. 5 Triangle 17 Black – both which have bids already – No. 7 1st Alliance 17 Gold, No. 8 Co Jrs 17 Kevin, No. 9 NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami, No. 11 Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite and No. 17 KC Power 17 Black all finished 3-0 and won their respective pools.
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DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS
Larsen Terrill S Mintonette Sports m.61: A 3-star recruit, Terrill is a smooth operator. She locates well on the regular and sets a consistent, clean ball.
Callie Krueger L/DS Austin Skyline 16 Royal: Krueger – a 4-star recruit – commands the back row. She showed great range, covered well and was passing dimes.
Makayla White MB Austin Skyline 16 Royal: White was making herself known in the middle. She was touching balls blocking and turning around and giving her team a scoring threat on the other side.
Katie Gielas OH Elevation 16 Goller: Gielas – a 4-star recruit – was providing offense and giving her team a lift. She has a big arm and can unload when she catches one.
Brookelyn Zeuch L/DS Elevation 16 Goller: Zeuch was defending well, picking up cross court shots and chasing down loose balls.
Campbell Flynn S Legacy 16-1 Adidas: A 5-star recruit, Flynn is in total control of the offense. She does a great job locating and putting her hitters in winnable matchups.
Zari Gillispie MB OPVC 16 Robinson: Gillispie is an athletic middle who can impact both sides of the net. She moves and jumps well and puts up a solid block. She can also get off the ground and send balls straight down on the attack.
Shelby Ignash MB Mich Elite 16 Mizuno: Ignash showed up strong in the middle. She was taking big, aggressive swings and challenging the defense to make plays.
Elena Maynulet OH GP 16 Rox: A 4-star recruit, Maynulet brings heat on the outside. She’s a lanky outside with a quick arm swing that leads to impressive kills.
KK Green S/RS GP 16 Rox: Another 4-star recruit who is part of the lineup, Green brings her versatility to the court. She’s a solid setter with consistent accuracy. She’s also a heady attacker who can help provide points on offense.
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Kristen Simon L/DS Adidas KiVA 16 Red: Simon – a 4-star recruit – holds down the back row at a high level. She’s a skillful passer and defender and she doesn’t rattle.
Billie Reiter S MKE Sting 16 Gold: Reiter – a 3-star recruit – has a nice delivery and locates consistently. She does well connecting with her various hitters and running a balanced attack when in system.
Asia Harvey OH A5 16 Gabe: The high-flying 5-star recruit is capable of putting on a personal highlight show. She’s an explosive attacker who rips the ball.
Gigi Smith MB A5 16 Gabe: Smith – a 3-star recruit – was making plays at the net. She was doing well disrupting shots by putting up a strong block.
Hazel Alevok MB Wildfire 16 Corey: A 3-star recruit, Alevok adds a different dynamic to the front row with her length and reach. She’s very long and blockers have a tough time getting hands on the ball as she can go over blocks with ease.
Lily Wedman S KC Power 16 Black: Wedman is a solid setter who did well locating. She has nice hands and rarely was off her mark.
Julia Grace L/DS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami: Grace – a 4-star recruit – was making defending look easy at times. She was also passing dimes from serve receive.
Emsley Venard S NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami: A 3-star recruit, Venard sets a nice ball and also does well moving it around and not over-relying on any one hitter.
Emily Goering OH EU 16 Black: Goering is a six-rotation outside who takes plenty of swings. She stayed aggressive with her swings and was a solid scoring option.
Megan Fitch OH Alamo 16 Premier: The 5-star outside is a big piece of the puzzle for Alamo. She’s the go-to on the left and can pound balls down time and time again.
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Lola Sageer OH VolleyFX 16 Mantra: Sageer is another key piece who does a lot for her team. She’s a six-rotation mainstay with a strong arm and delivers her share of kills.
Ella Seeger OH MJVA 16 Elite: Seeger is a free-swinger and challenges blockers well. She’s not afraid to let it fly and was a key part of the offense.
Elizabeth Hall L/DS MOD Elite 16 Blue: Hall was taking care of the back row nicely. She was digging cross court shots well and also showed a serve capable of scoring points.
Hadley Porter L/DS Dynasty 16 Black: A 3-star recruit, Porter doesn’t blink in the back row no matter who is swinging. She’s a strong defender who moves and covers very well.
Ryan Hunter RS Triangle 17 Black: Hunter – a 5-star recruit – is a game-changing right side. She’s elevated Triangle to national title contender with her massive arm and ability to bounce balls hard off the floor.
Sophia Matthews L/DS Triangle 17 Black: Matthews passes a lot of court in serve receive and for good reason. She’s a sound passer and a scrappy defender.
Natalie Depaula S/RS Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal: A 3-star recruit, Depaula is an all-around gamer and brings her competitiveness to the lineup. She does a fine job setting, locating well with a nice release. She also has a loose arm and can help pick up the offense across the front.
Kalina Calvillo OH Alamo 17 Premier: Calvillo – a 3-star recruit – was bringing it on the attack. She was not holding back, taking aggressive swings and delivering on a regular basis.
Thea Carter MB Alamo 17 Premier: Carter – a 3-star Rice commit – certainly knows how to get the job done. She moves well and gets up decent too and that makes her factor offensively and defensively. She has a nice arm and was scoring more times than not while also putting up a wall of a block.
Alysa Walker OH Alamo 17 Premier: Walker – a 3-star Air Force – commit doesn’t need to wait until college to start flying. She’s does that every time she jumps. She gets in the air in a hurry and with her quick arm is a threat any time she swings.
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Darbi Ricketts OH OPVC 17 Day: Ricketts is a bit undersized on the left but don’t tell her that. She’s a big-swinging outside who hits a heavy ball and is definitely not intimidated by bigger blockers.
Madelyn Luers MB OPVC 17 Day: Count Luers among the middles who was making lots of plays. She was getting touches on shots and helping slow down attacks. She was also a reliable option on offense as she did well finding the open spots on the floor.
Jersey Loyer OH Summit 17 Blue Elite: Loyer – a 3-star recruit – is a bit undersized but has a lively arm and can let loose with it.
Makenzie Miller MB Pohaku 17-1: A 5-star middle from the Class of 2025, Miller and her powerful arm were on display plenty. She was getting set over and over and was hammering balls for clean winners.
Taryn Dewese S TVC 17 Black: Dewese is an under-the-radar setter who showed very nice hands and smooth release. Her accuracy was high as well.
Alexa Strandberg OH AVC Cle 17 Red: Strandberg’s length is a real factor. She’s very tall for an outside and that allows her to go over the block easily.
Kaylee Musick S Mintonette Sports m.71: A 3-star Florida International recruit, Musick does well guiding the attack. She has a nice release and sets a hittable ball consistently.
Grace Nelson OH 1st Alliance 17 Gold: Nelson – a 4-star Kansas commit – doesn’t need to be a flashy hitter to bring the heat and power. She’s a physical attacker with a booming arm and scores plenty of points.
Lauren Roediger MB MAVS KC 17-1: Roediger was a scoring machine. She showed off a really nice arm capable of producing plenty of power. Even when defenses knew the set was coming, they weren’t slowing Roediger down.
Chloe Meester OH Adrenaline 16 Doug: Meester has huge potential and upside. She’s a long outside hitter with a good arm and was a big part of the Adrenaline attack and why they went 3-0 on Day 1.
