2025 will be the 26th year for the Shell Price Challenge

On July 4^th, 2017 the KC volleyball world received the shocking news of the passing of Michele (Shell) Price. Shell was involved with Heart of America Volleyball for over 30 years. Many players started out in the sport, playing on Shell’s teams, in the tournaments she ran in her backyard as well as the summer quads league.
Shell was an HOA tournament director and site manager for more than 20 years. You could find her in the Davies Complex, every weekend of the volleyball Season the last 10 years and at KCK Community College in the years before that.
One of her favorite events always was the Silver Heart Challenge Cup. The typical teams that play in this event just enjoy the opportunity to play a lot of matches in a larger field than the usual one-day tournament. To commemorate Shell Price, HOA decided to name this event after her.

When: February 8 & 9, 2025

Schedules: Schedules will be posted on AES, about 10 days before the event:

Format: 3 rounds of pool play, followed by single elimination playoffs. We will run all 4-team pools (as much as possible). Play starts Saturday morning at 8 am with the first round of pool play. The second round of pool play is Saturday afternoon (complete around 7 pm). On Sunday morning we start the third round of pool play and we wrap on Sunday afternoon with single elimination playoffs. The tournament will finish between 4 and 5 pm on Sunday. Typically teams play 10 or 11 matches.

Match format: In 4-team pools, all pool play is 2 sets to 25 points, starting at 4-4. Playoff matches are best 2 out of 3 sets format. First 2 sets to 25 points, starting at 4-4. Third set, if needed, is to 15 points, starting at 0-0.

Tie Breaking procedures Shell Price Challenge
All matches in pool play are automatic 2 sets or automatic 3 sets. There is NO match play. In AES, teams will show a win-loss record for matches. We ignore the match records shows as we do not play full matches. Ties will NOT be broken on the match percentages. The records that will be considered, are SET percentages to determine if there are ties.

Ties within Pools:
2 teams have the same record in SETS after pool play:

1. Head to Head Set record in the match
2. Overall Point percentage
3. Point differential between tied teams (points won minus points lost)
4. Overall Points won
5. Flip a coin

3 teams have the same record in SETS after pool play:

1. Head to Head Set record between the tied teams
2. Overall Point percentage
3. Point differential between tied teams (points won minus points lost)
4. Overall Points won
5. Flip a coin

4 teams have the same record in SETS after pool play:

1. Overall Point percentage
2. Overall Points won
3. Flip a coin

Ties between Pools:
To determine best 3^rd’s or 4ths:

1. Overall Set percentage
2. Overall Point percentage
3. Overall Points Won
4. Flip a Coin

It is possible that a team that won 2 matches in pool and lost one (2-1), will have a better match record than the team that beat them (and split their two other matches (1-0), as no credit is given in the system for the ties. The teams have the same SET record (4-4) which is what counts and what creates the tie. In this scenario, the team with the 1-0 match record is going to win the tie. The head-to-head match breaks the tie.

Officiating: R1’s are provided for all matches. Teams will be responsible to provide the rest of the work team. A rostered coach (head or assistant) has to be the R2 or the Scorer for the match.

Credentials: All coaches are to wear their HOA credentials visible at all times. Coaches who do not have a picture on their credentials will have to check in and show a picture ID, to get a wristband to prove that their identity is checked. Coaches from other regions will have to show their membership card and a picture ID at check in. These coaches will receive credentials and wristbands for the event.

Locations: Facilities that will be used are the Sports Pavilion Lawrence, , New Century Fieldhouse in Gardner, OKUN Fieldhouse in Shawnee, MAVS facility in Lenexa, HomeField in Olathe and the Davies complex in Kansas City, KS. Divisions will be assigned to facilities, about 6 weeks before the event.

We are pleased to announce the playing locations for the Shell Price Challenge:

12’s Division:
13’s Division:
14’s Division:
15’s Division:
16’s Division:
17’s Division:
18’s Division:

Facility Policies: Outside food and coolers are prohibited at all these facilities. Chairs can NOT be brought in at OKUN, New Century and the Sports Pavilion Lawrence. We are blessed with good access to great facilities. Please help us to be able to keep renting those facilities for future events by abiding to the facility policies.

Hotels: You can find hotel information on the HOA website. These are hotels that work with HOA and have special rates for us. You do not need to stay in any of these hotels if you prefer other opportunities.

Out-of-region teams: Teams that are not registered with the Heart of America region of USA Volleyball, but are registered with another region, can sign up for this event, by mailing their Webpoint roster, together with their entry fee and a note with the tournament and division to sign up for to the HOA office: 548 South Coy Street, Kansas City, KS 66105. Make your check out to HOA.

Entry Fee: The entry fee for this event is $ 400. There is no charge for spectator admission.