SEATTLE, WA - April 24, 2008
Far Westerns JO Qualifier
WVBA is in the midst of their final weekend of qualifying for bids to this year's USA Volleyball Junior Olympic tournament.

WVBA Mizuno 14 and Mizuno 14-Red were in Reno last weekend while the remaining five Academy teams will compete this weekend in Reno. The Far Westerns Junior Olympic Qualifier is the last of the nine national qualifiers and will conclude on Sunday.

So far WVBA has earned three bids to JOs, which will be held in Dallas the last week of June through the first week of July. WVBA Mizuno 17 earned an Open Division bid in Spokane on March 30th. Both WVBA Mizuno 18 and Mizuno 14 earned bids in the Club National Division at the PSR Prime Time tournament the first weekend of April.

Week #1 of Far Westerns left both Academy 14s teams out of bid contention after the second round of pool play. WVBA Mizuno 14 ended up 9th overall in the Open Division while Mizuno 14-Red ended up 17th in 14 Open.

WVBA Mizuno 18 has finished just behind a bid winner in each of their first two Open Division qualifier tries. They finished first at the PSR Prime Time tournament earning a Club National Division bid. They will be playing in the PM wave in Reno. They begin play as the overall #7 seed and the #1 seed in their first round pool Friday afternoon. They are joined in Pool 7 by #2 Laguna Beach MS 18-1 from So Cal, #3 Ohana 18-1, and #4 Idaho Stars.

WVBA Mizuno 18-Red will be playing in the AM wave in Reno on Friday. They will be competing in the Club Division and come into the tournament as the #29 overall seed out of 85 teams. They are the #2 seed in their round 1 pool along with #1 Skyline National Red 18-1 from Texas, #3 OVC Red 18-1 from NorCal, and #4 Capital City Red 18-1 from Carson City, NV.

WVBA Mizuno 17 earned an Open Division bid at the PNQ in Spokane by finishing 5th and benefiting from two teams finishing ahead of them previously qualified. They will be playing in the AM wave on Friday and enter the tournament as the #6 overall seed. They are joined in Pool 6 by #2 Arizona Juniors, #3 Northern Nevada 17-1, and #4 Empire Mizuno 17-1 from Santa Rosa, CA. The Far Westerns 17s field features 7 teams that are already qualified out of an eventual Open Division field of 28 teams.

WVBA Mizuno 16 finished 3rd at Prime Time which leaves them hunting for any bid at this point. Academy 16s will be playing in the Open Division in Reno. They begin play in the PM wave on Friday. They come into the tournament as the #24 overall seed and the 3rd seed in their pool. They are joined in Pool 8 by #1 Skyline RoShamBo 16-1 from Texas, #2 High Country 16 Kim from Utah, and #4 Club Red 16-1 from Arizona.

Far Westerns - cont'd
WVBA Mizuno 15 finished 2nd at the PSR Prime Time tournament and may be in line for a reallocated Club American Division bid. However, they control their own destiny this weekend in Reno and have a chance to earn an Open Division bid. They will be playing in the PM wave on Friday and come into the tournament as the #7 overall seed and #1 in Pool 7. They are joined in that pool by #2 Skyline RoShamBo 15-1 from Dallas, #3 Crush Third Degree 15-1 from Nor Cal, and #4 Sport Shack 15-1 from Beverly Hills, CA.

PSR Prime Time Tournament
Two more WVBA teams have punched their tickets to Dallas to participate in the 2008 USA Volleyball National Championship tournament.

WVBA Mizuno 18 went undefeated on Saturday and defeated KJ 18s, Sudden Impact 18s and Puget Sound 18s on their way to earning the Club's second bid to 2008 Junior Olympics in Dallas.

WVBA Mizuno 14 also cruised to a first place finish over Narrows Power Surge to pick up the Academy's 3rd JO bid on Saturday. Mizuno 14s went through the field of U14 teams without dropping a single set.

WVBA Mizuno 18-Red also finished strong with a 1st place finish in the Copper Division of the U18 Power League despite having a team with only two seniors, two juniors and six sophomores.

WVBA Mizuno 17 worked their way to a 2nd place finish behind KJ 17s on Saturday.

WVBA Mizuno 16 finished 3rd in the U16 Prime Time tournament. Their last hope for a bid will come at the end of April at the Far Western JO Qualifier in Reno where they will compete in the Open Division.

WVBA Mizuno 15 lost in the finals of the U15 Prime Time tournament to finish 2nd. The Academy 15s will hope for a re-allocation Club American Division Bid that may come to our region at the end of April. Otherwise they pin their hopes on an Open Division bid in two weeks in Reno at the Far Western JO Qualifier.

WVBA Mizuno 14-Red also missed a bid on Saturday at Prime Time. They will look to earn an Open Division bid in Reno in two weeks as they play in the Far Westerns week 1 field April 19-21.