When we look back at the Sunshine Classic at the end of qualifying season, it very likely will stand as the toughest one for the 16 and 17 Open divisions. The depth of both fields played out on Day 3 in a highly-anticipated conclusion and with it delivered its share of drama and excitement.
While it didn’t come as a surprise to see nationally-ranked No. 2 Arizona Storm 17 Thunder finish on top of 17 Open and punch its bid to nationals, it most certainly was a shock to see Storm’s final opponent and another bid winner in Arizona Sky 17 Gold.
AZ Sky came into the weekend ranked No. 41 in Vballrecruiter’s Top 50 rankings and did well positioning itself to make a move Monday. With upsets of No. 28 Sky High Adidas 17 Elite and No. 37 GP 17 Rox, AZ Sky moved onto the semifinals where it was matched up with No. 8 Skyline 17 Royal. While Sky’s gold-pool victories were minor upsets, sweeping Skyline and earning a bid was a major one.
It left Skyline in need of beating No. 15 TAV 17 Black in the third-place match to pick up the final bid, which it did with a sweep. TAV took down both No. 10 Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal and No. 25 HJV 17 Elite in its gold pool before running into the buzz saw that was Arizona Storm in the semis.
Storm, meanwhile, had no issues with any of its contests Monday. The eventual champ only saw an opponent break 20 points in one of the eight sets played. It included downing No. 9 Legacy 17 Adidas and No. 39 Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar in gold-pool action. Storm finished the weekend a perfect 10-0 with its only set loss to AVA TX 17 Adidas in the opening match Saturday morning.
As for Skyline, it fended off No. 23 OT 17 Aaron in Game 3, 15-13, to win its pool and advance. Skyline’s loss to Sky in the semis was the only one on the weekend for Skyline.
As for 16 Open, nationally-ranked No. 2 Mintonette Sports m.61 matched Storm’s effort in 17 Open by going a perfect 10-0 and taking home the title as well as qualifying. Like Storm, Mintonette also beat a surprise finalist in No. 24 GP 16 Rox.
GP was dealt a blow along the way. After sweeping No. 25 Vision 16 Gold in its first gold pool match, GP lost outside hitter Jordin Southall to injury in the third set against No. 13 WPVC 16 Armour Black. Trailing at the time, GP managed to rally and pulled it out 15-13.
The other two semifinalists were No. 2 Skyline 16 Royal and No. 10 Arizona Storm 16 Thunder. While Skyline rolled through its gold pool with victories over No. 41 Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal and unranked Tribe 16 Elite Navy, Storm had a slugfest with No. 14 A5 16-1 Gabe to win its pool.
A5 was leading 24-18 before a fierce Storm rally pulled it out and eventually led to a three-set victory, 26-24, 14-25, 15-11.
It left Storm facing GP in one semi and Skyline and Mintonette dueling in the other. Mintonette and Skyline have plenty of history. It features Mintonette beating Skyline in the 15 Open championship at AAUs while Skyline returned the favor and downed Mintonette in the 15 Open gold medal match at the USAV GJNC. The two also met on Day 1 at Triple Crown two weeks ago, with Skyline prevailing in three.
The latest chapter went Mintonette’s way, but not before a thrilling comeback. Skyline was leading 12-9 in Game 3 before Mintonette used a 6-0 run to close it out and advance.
In the other semi, GP kept its hot hand going by outlasting Storm in three sets.
It set up a showdown between Skyline and Storm for the final bid. However, it seemed all the drama had been tapped out by that point as Storm swept handily, 25-15, 25-14, to secure the last remaining bid and end the weekend 9-1.
