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USAV 17 Open Preview and Predictions

It all comes down to this. USAV nationals are finally here! The 17s are scheduled to compete July 3-6 in Las Vegas. When it’s over, we’ll know the best team in the country and the club wearing the gold medal around its neck. Below, we check in on 17 Open. You can see how the teams stack up in our national rankings, see players to know, as well as check out our brief outlook plus our predictions for how it’ll go down.

Number of Teams: 36

Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (35):

  • 1. Hou Skyline 17 Royal TX
  • 2. Arizona Storm 17 Thunder AZ
  • 3. 1st Alliance 17 Gold IL
  • 4. MKE Sting 17 Gold WI
  • 5. TAV 17 Black TX
  • 6. Skyline 17 Royal TX
  • 7. OT 17 Aaron FL
  • 8. Circle City 17 Purple IN
  • 9. Nebraska One 17 Synergy NE
  • 10. Surfside 17 Legends CA
  • 11. Wave 17 Juliana CA
  • 13. HJV 17 Elite TX
  • 15. Mich Elite 17 Mizuno MI
  • 16. MAVS KC 17-1 KS
  • 17.  Co Jrs 17 Kevin CO
  • 18. Legacy 17-1 Adidas MI
  • 19. Coast 17-1 Rodrigo CA
  • 20. Idaho Crush 17 Bower ID
  • 21. Northern Lights 17-1 MN
  • 23. Dynasty 17 Black KS
  • 25. AZ Sky 17G AZ
  • 26. Excel 17 National Red TX
  • 27. Alamo 17 Premier TX
  • 28. VCNebraska 17 Elite NE
  • 29. Drive Nation 17 Red TX
  • 32. OT 17 Felix FL
  • 33. Triangle 17 Black NC
  • 34. CUVC 17 Open NC
  • 36. GP 17 Rox FL
  • 37. Austin Skyline 17 Royal TX
  • 38. AJV 17 Adidas TX
  • 39. Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar CA
  • 40. Club V 17 Ren Reed UT
  • 41. AVA TX 17 Adidas TX
  • 47. TAV 17 Haroun TX
  • Norco 17 Black (unranked)

 

5-Star Players to Know:

 

4-Star Players to Know:

 

Outlook:

Let’s begin with seedings. Fans can get wrapped up in overall seedings but what is far more important is how the pool overall measures up. Always better to get a lower overall seed and to end up in a more favorable pool than to receive a higher seed only to land in an overall harder pool. With that said, one thing that stood out was Co Jrs 17 Kevin receiving the No. 4 overall seed. Co Jrs is No. 17 in our Top 50 national rankings. Co Jrs is in Pool 4 with Circle City, Dynasty, Excel, AJV and Long Beach. Dynasty and AJV received at-large bids, so two of the three at-large teams are in the same pool which is a bit unusual given there are only three at-large teams (Drive Nation is the other). It’s impossible to make the pools perfectly even. I think Pool 1 – with Hou Skyline, TAV, Wave, Triangle, GP and Club V – is top heavy. There’s a clear gap between the top three teams in the pool and the remaining three. Remember, the top four teams in each pool advance to three-team pools on Day 3. Pool 2 is more of a wide open pool. Arizona Storm is a title contender. After that, Coast, Legacy, Alamo, CUVC and TAV Haroun could finish in any order behind Storm. As for Pool 3, 1st Alliance is the No. 3 overall seed, followed by AZ Sky, HJV, Drive Nation, ID Crush and Norco. I actually think HJV is the second-best team. I would think AZ Sky advances too. It’ll be interesting to see the fourth team coming out of that pool. Pool 5 to me is the most balanced and therefore could be the most challenging with OT Aaron, MKE Sting, Mich Elite, MAVS KC, VCNebraska and Austin Skyline. Austin Skyline had a very rough start to the season but was playing much better at the end of qualifying season and could be the best No. 6 team of any pool. As for Pool 6, it features Skyline, Surfside, Northern Lights, Nebraska One, OT Felix and AVA TX. I think the top four teams should advance, but Nebraska One is a very good team to be the No. 4 team in any pool.

Predictions:

Let’s go through the first and second-round of pool plays, then the challenge rounds before getting to the gold bracket and ultimate champion.

POOL 1 (predicted finish)

  • Hou Skyline 5-0
  • Wave 4-1
  • TAV 3-2
  • GP 2-3
  • Triangle 1-4
  • Club V 0-5

***

POOL 2

  • AZ Storm 5-0
  • Legacy 3-2
  • Coast 2-3
  • CUVC 2-3
  • TAV Haroun 2-3
  • Alamo 1-4

***

POOL 3

  • 1st Alliance 5-0
  • HJV 4-1
  • AZ Sky 2-3
  • ID Crush 2-3
  • Drive Nation 2-3
  • Norco 0-5

***

POOL 4

  • Circle City 4-1
  • Co Jrs 3-2
  • Dynasty 3-2
  • Excel 3-2
  • AJV 1-4
  • Long Beach 1-4

***

POOL 5

  • MKE Sting 4-1
  • OT Aaron 4-1
  • Mich Elite 2-3
  • MAVS KC 2-3
  • Austin Skyline 2-3
  • VCNebraska 1-4

***

POOL 6

  • Skyline 5-0
  • Nebraska One 4-1
  • Surfside 3-2
  • Northern Lights 2-3
  • OT Felix 1-4
  • AVA TX 0-5

*****

ROUND 2

POOL 1 (predicted finish)

  • Hou Skyline 2-0
  • Surfside 1-1
  • AZ Sky 0-2

***

POOL 2

  • AZ Storm 2-0
  • Mich Elite 1-1
  • Dynasty 0-2

***

POOL 3

  • TAV 2-0
  • 1st Alliance 1-1
  • Northern Lights 0-2

***

POOL 4

  • Circle City 1-1
  • Coast 1-1
  • MAVS KC 1-1

***

POOL 5

  • MKE Sting 2-0
  • Wave 1-1
  • Excel 0-2

***

POOL 6

  • Skyline 2-0
  • Legacy 1-1
  • ID Crush 0-2

***

POOL 7

  • HJV 2-0
  • Nebraska One 1-1
  • CUVC 0-2

***

POOL 8

  • OT Aaron 2-0
  • Co Jrs 1-1
  • GP 0-2

*****

CHALLENGE ROUND

  • Hou Skyline d Mich Elite
  • AZ Storm d Surfside
  • TAV d Coast
  • 1st Alliance d Circle City
  • MKE Sting d Legacy
  • Wave d Skyline
  • HJV d Co Jrs
  • OT Aaron d Nebraska One

*****

GOLD BRACKET

Quarterfinals

  • Hou Skyline d OT Aaron
  • 1st Alliance d MKE Sting
  • TAV d Wave
  • AZ Storm d HJV

 

Semifinals

  • 1st Alliance d Hou Skyline
  • AZ Storm d TAV

 

Final

  • AZ Storm d 1st Alliance

 

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