This week’s edition of WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!? is brought to us courtesy of Wave 16 Kevin. At No. 26 in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50, Wave was the eighth highest-ranked team in 16 Open at the Red Rock Rave national qualifier in Las Vegas. Six teams ranked higher all finished above Wave at last month’s Triple Crown NIT.
None of that would make Wave a favorite this past weekend to bid let alone earn the gold medal. But after going 7-3 and finishing on top of the 16 Open standings, the question had to be asked. What just happened?
Las Vegas is becoming the place where this Wave group has breakthroughs. Last year as 15s, the team qualified for Open for the first time after finishing a surprise fourth. This year, Wave broke through and took it all.
The field this go around featured top contenders like No. 1 Surfside 16 PV Legends, No. 3 Drive Nation 16 Red, No. 6 HJV 16 Elite and No. 7 Arizona Storm 16 Thunder, not to mention No. 10 TAV 16 Black and No. 13 Coast 16-1. It’s the reason why Wave retooled its roster though, in hopes of being able to take a step forward like it accomplished this past weekend.
Outside Quinn Loper, setter/right side Ruby Hill and setter Emily Page were new additions who all played key roles in helping Wave win 16 Open. With returning players like outsides Nia Thompson and Mae Kordas and right side Keila Gabriel it’s given Wave more depth and roster flexibility.
Wave needed to beat Rage 16 Garren in a crossover match on Day 1 to remain in contention. Wave lost to HJV and unranked A4 Volley 16 Cassie on Day 2 but managed to advance based on having the best set percentage in a three-way tie at 1-2 with A4 and AZ Rev 16 Premier.
All that mattered though was Wave was positioned to take advantage of its luck and landed in a three-team pool with Surfside and Coast. For others, that might have doomed them. However, Wave was actually 2-1 on the year against Surfside before meeting in Monday’s gold pool and 0-1 against Coast, so there was familiarity. Wave pulled off two dramatic upsets, first edging Surfside 17-15 in the third before tackling Coast 15-10 in another Game 3.
The feel-good story seemed to be in its last chapter though, with TAV on the horizon in the semifinals. Not only was TAV favored, but should Wave lose it would have to face the loser between Drive Nation and Arizona Storm in the third-place contest.
Yet, Wave was not ready for the ride to end, first upsetting TAV in another wild conclusion, 16-14 in the third. That clinched the bid for Wave, so the pressure was off so to speak. But Wave wasn’t letting up and recorded another big upset in taking down Drive Nation in the final, 26-24, 26-24.
That overshadowed what was an intense showdown for third place and the last remaining bid between TAV and Storm. Storm was able to survive, winning Game 3, 15-12.
The qualifying action in 17 Open was a different type of thrilling. As highlighted on Day 2, with national No. 14 AZ Sky 17G and No. 15 Momentous 17 Dan out of contention and No. 13 Hou Skyline 17 Royal owning a bid, there was opportunity for others to capitalize.
At the top of the list to do so was third-ranked Drive Nation 17 Red. The rest of the contenders included No. 16 Wave 17 Juliana, No. 18 Vision 17 Gold, No. 20 Coast 17-1, No. 22 SCVC 17 Roxy, No. 35 SG Elite 17 Rosh and No. 49 Arizona Storm 17 Thunder.
Arizona Storm did its best to deliver another upset story, but it wasn’t meant to be. Storm advanced to the four-team gold bracket but lost to Coast in the semis. Drive Nation defeated Wave in the other semi before sweeping Coast in the final. Wave swept Storm for third place and the final bid.
Wave had a tough gold pool with Hou Skyline and SCVC. Meanwhile, Storm beat both Vision and A4 Volley 17 Tyler in its gold pool.
The bid chase in 18 Open ultimately boiled down to one three-team gold pool. Nine of the previously 11 qualified clubs advanced to the gold pools. As fate would have it, all nine were matched together in Pools 2-4. That left Pool 1 with three unqualified clubs in No. 2 Coast 18-1, No. 6 HJV 18 Elite and unranked TAV 18 Black.
The first and second-place finishers in that pool were guaranteed bids through trickle down. Coast downed both HJV and TAV while TAV slipped past HJV to take second place and earn its bid. The final Open bid will go into the at-large pool.
