Easter Sunday at the Red Rock Rave shaped the bid races for the final day of competition on Monday. In fact, we already know one bid winner. It came in 18 Open. Seven qualified teams occupy eight of the gold-pool spots. The lone team without a bid is Tstreet 18 Chandler, which is guaranteed to qualify no matter what happens the rest of the way.
The 16, 17 and 18 Open divisions kicked off their two, four-team gold pools Sunday evening. So Tstreet went into that knowing it has its bid secured. It also means that the two remaining bids won’t be handed out as trickle-down can’t extend past eighth-place, so they’ll be added to the at-large pool.
The bid chase in 17 Open is intriguing. Four teams – Coast 17 Rodrigo, ID Crush 17 Bower, Surfside 17 Legends and Skyline 17 Royal – have bids. Three of them – ID Crush, Surfside, Skyline – are in Pool 2 together. Wave 17 Juliana, Excel 17 National Red, Club V 17 Ren Reed and Tx Performance 17-1 are seeking bids. Three of them will get it. One will not.
Wave opened gold action beating Excel, while Club V took down Coast in Pool 1. In Pool 2, ID Crush beat Tx Performance, while Skyline defeated Surfside in Sunday evening play.
In 16 Open, there are no teams with bids in the gold pool so it’s straight forward. The winners of the two gold pools will qualify. The two teams taking second place will play off for the last bid.
In Pool 1, 1United 16 Blue opened Sunday evening by topping AZ Rev 16 Premier. SCVC 16 Roxy swept AZ Sky 16 Gold. In Pool 2, Hou Skyline 16 Royal started off sweeping Club V 16 Ren Matt while Sunshine 16 LA upset Wave 16 Scott.
In the morning action, a big storyline came out of 17 Open. It involved Pool 2, which featured a three-way tie at 2-1 between ID Crush, Club V and AVA TX 17 Adidas. ID Crush finished first, Club V second and AVA TX third. That’s huge, because AVA TX is already qualified and with not advancing it made for four qualified teams in the final eight instead of five. Had AVA TX advanced along with ID Crush, the three remaining teams in the gold pools would already have bids wrapped up before the gold pools started. Instead, one unlucky team won’t qualify.
Wave picked up a victory over previously-qualified Skyline to win Pool 1 and take over the No. 1 seed for the gold pools. Tx Performance picked up a key victory over ARVC 17-1 Adidas in Pool 4 to take second place and advance, keeping its bid hopes alive.
The action in 16 Open was wild, as three of the four morning pools ended with three-way ties. In Pool 1, AZ Rev went 3-0 but second place went to Sunshine after ending tied with both Surfside 16 Legends and SynergyForce 16 James at 1-2 and earning the tiebreaker.
In Pool 2, Hou Skyline, SCVC and STVA 16 Mizuno all finished 2-1. Hou Skyline took first, while SCVC ended second. While it was dramatic on paper, Hou Skyline actually had the pool clinched based on tiebreakers before playing STVA in the last match, with SCVC also guaranteed to move on regardless the result.
Pool 3 was a three-team pool, with AZ Sky, Club V and 1United all going 1-1. AZ Sky took first. Club V and 1United actually both ended up advancing, as both clubs were victorious in their crossover matches with their opponents from Pool 4. Wave 16 Scott went 2-0 to win Pool 4, then beat AZ Sky in the crossover for seeding.
The 15 Open division was playing to get into one, four-team gold pool for Monday’s competition. Wave 15 Brennan, Tstreet 15 Asics, Forza1 15 One and AZ Rev 15 Premier ended up making it.
Wave went 3-0 in Pool 1. Behind Wave, Forza, Aspire 15 Premier and Club V 15 Ren Kalee tied at 1-2. It was Forza, though, earning the second-place tiebreaker. Club V came into the tournament as the top seed but wound up in fourth place in Sunday’s pool.
The bigger news came out of Pool 2, where previously-qualified Hou Skyline 15 Royal finished third and won’t be a part of Monday’s four-team gold pool. Instead, Tstreet went 3-0, with AZ Rev right behind at 2-1. With Hou Skyline not moving on, it means the two bids will go to the teams which finish first and second in the gold pool.
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DAY 2 SHOW STOPPERS
Ariel Chime MB Coast 17 Rodrigo: Chime – a 4-star Vanderbilt commit – has tremendous upside. Her length and size at the net takes up a lot of space on the block. She gets way up too on the attack and can go right over blockers.
Piper Mickenheim L/DS Excel 17 National Red: Mickenheim – a 3-star recruit – is a gamer. She has the ability to make big-time digs and keep her side in the rally.
Anna Barr RS Excel 17 National Red: A 3-star recruit, Barr brings size to the right side. She has a strong arm and can hammer balls at times.
Simone Roslon OH Surfside 17 Legends: Roslon – a 3-star recruit from the Class of 2026 – is a smart hitter. She sees the court and block well, finding open seams and exploiting holes in the defense.
Olivia Foye L/DS Surfside 17 Legends: A 3-star Princeton commit, Foye covers the backcourt very well. She’s hardly ever out of position and can make tough digs look easy.
Tenesyn Frye S ID Crush 17 Bower: A 4-star Houston commit, Frye is a lanky setter. She’s active, always moving with the ability to move the ball around and vary her sets on the move.
Bellamie Beus OH ID Crush 17 Bower: Beus – a 4-star Class of 2026 recruit – is so physical. She was crushing shots at times and overwhelming defenders with her power.
Audrey Hollis S FRVBC 17 Black: Hollis – a UCSD commit – is a tall setter with a nice touch and consistent spotting.
Jaidyn Jager OH Coast 18 Ozhan: Jager – a 5-star Indiana commit from the Class of 2025 – is a heady outside who sees the court well. She has a big arm but can also frustrate defenses with well-placed roll and off-speed shot.
Taylor Deckert L/DS SCVC 18 Roxy: Part of the Class of 2025 and 5-star USC commit, Deckert is an effortless defender who makes patrolling the backcourt look routine. One of her strengths is her ability to anticipate.
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Taylor Harvey MB Club V 18 Ren Reed: Harvey – another 5-star commit from the Class of 2025 – is a game-changing middle. The future Texas star is both wirey and long who gets way up over the net both blocking and attacking.
Hannah Benjamin OH A5 18 Marc: A 5-star Kentucky commit, Benjamin has a lively arm and can absolutely bash balls at times. When that happens, she simply overwhelms the defense with the speed of her shots.
Lolo Lambert OH Madfrog 18 Green: A 4-star Arkansas commit, Lambert can bring the heat on the outside. She has a wicked arm and hits with a ton of power and pace.
Malayah Long S VCNebraska 18 Elite: A 4-star Marquette commit, Long has firm command of the offense. She shows consistent location and the ability to work with off balls to still get her hitters good looks.
Suli Davis OH TAV 18 Black: A 5-star BYU commit from the Class of 2025, Davis is a physical presence on the attack. She hits with so much power and authority that she just overpowers defenders at times.
Cari Spears OH TAV 18 Black: Spears – a 5-star Texas commit from the Class of 2025 – is another attacker who can take over matches at times and thunder kills in impressive fashion.
Jaela Auguste MB Hou Skyline 18 Royal: A 5-star Florida commit, Auguste was a handful in the middle. She was a force on both sides of the ball, shutting down opposing middles while slamming balls down on offense.
Kirra Musgrove S/RS Hou Skyline 18 Royal: With her length combined with the ability to set and hit makes Musgrove a special talent. The 5-star Texas AM commit from the Class of 2025 plays a vital role with all she brings to the lineup.
Evan Hendrix OH AZ Rev 18 Premier: A 4-star TCU commit, Hendrix is an explosive hitter. She gets up off the court quicky and combined with her fast arm, she can let shots fly from corner to corner.
Tristen Raymond S AZ Rev 18 Premier: Raymond – a 3-star Pepperdine commit – set and hit last year on the 16s but moving up to the 18s this year she’s running a 5-1. She has a nice touch and knows how to get her hitters involved.
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Kamaluhia Garcia RS Ku’Ikahi 18 Wahine RSB: Garcia – a 4-star Iowa commit – is a six-rotation right side with a lively arm. When the moment arises, watch out, she can let loose in a flash.
Leylah Duran MB AZ Sky 16G: Duran was coming up clutch in the middle. She was providing a scoring boost as she was delivering when her number was called.
Vivian Hickman S AZ Sky 16G: A 3-star recruit, Hickman is a smooth disher who doesn’t get rattled. She does well getting her various hitters involved in the attack.
Avery Poulton OH Club V 16 Ren Matt: Poulton – a 4-star recruit – has lots of potential. She’s a high-flying pin who can extend way up and drill shots over the block and down.
Presley Thompson L/DS Wave 16 Scott: A 4-star recruit, Thompson is a sound passer and defender. She doesn’t get tested much in serve receive as a result. She does read and react well and is positioned to make plays.
Taylor Johnson MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal: Johnson is an explosive middle who can bring the wow factor to the attack when the opportunity presents itself.
Zamari Christensen S Club V 15 Ren Reed: A 4-star recruit, Christensen makes her team better with the way she can run the offense. She’s a steadying presence with a soft touch and ability to spread the ball around.
Pearson Noone L/DS Hou Skyline 15 Royal: Noone was getting after it defensively. She was playing sound defense and extending rallies for her side.
Jordan Morrow OH Hou Skyline 15 Royal: Morrow – a 3-star recruit – was thundering swings down at times. She’s a strong hitter with the ability to light it up.
