The fact remains that any Open division at the USAV Girls Junior National Championships is going to be the deepest, most competitive field of the year. From the get-go, the stakes are high with mega-matchups carrying significant weight.

Here’s a snippet toward that point.

On Court 25 at 8 am No. 19 Lions 15-1 and No. 28 Wave 15 Brennan met up. The only time you ever get a match like this to start a tournament is at the Triple Crown Sports NIT or other events that use a power-pool format. The major difference between those and what took place Friday morning at the Indianapolis Convention Center between Lions and Wave was this one actually mattered right from the start. Power pools are made for seeding purposes, when the top teams know they are advancing to Day 2 no matter what.