Recap and Standouts from Triple Crown 17s Championship

<p>Drive and A5. What a time to be alive.</p> <p>Whimsical, rhymes aside, both of these clubs entered Triple Crown NIT weekend with a lot of hype in the 17s division. A5 Mizuno 17-Jing had already experienced the thrill of winning a Triple Crown championship when the team did it last year as 16s. There were some new pieces in this year’s iteration, but there was no doubt that 17-Jing would be in the hunt.</p> <p>Drive Nation 17-Red carried a winning reputation of its own. Donning "Pingdom" warmup shirts in reference to their accomplished head coach, Ping Cao, 17-Red’s players represent some of the best volleyball talent that Texas has to offer. And there is, of course, a vast talent pool in this state.</p> <p>For A5, the march to the championship was defined by perfection. 17-Jing won every pool match on Saturday despite all three of those contests going to a deciding third set. When it was time to play clutch volleyball, A5 always prevailed. Wins over Madfrog, MAVS 816, MAVS KC, and OT 17 J John put the Georgia team in the finals.</p> <p>To my eye, Drive Nation just kept getting better as the weekend progressed. A three-set loss to Coast on opening day certainly did not deter the Texas team, and 17-Red pushed past AJV, Mintonette, in-state rival TAV, and NLQ champion 1st Alliance to reach the title match.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://x.com/a5volleyball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@a5volleyball</a> takes the first!<br /> <br /> Jurnee Robinson is going OFF. <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/TCVolleyballNIT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCVolleyballNIT</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qdam20cm7C">pic.x.com/Qdam20cm7C</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1495866502809100295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>The Finale</strong></p> <p>This match started out as a block party. A5’s <strong>Iyanna Garvin</strong> and <strong>Jaidyn Garcia</strong> got the party started with a big roof and an equally large celebration. Later, it was <strong>Milana Thornton</strong>’s turn to get involved at the net with Sydney Bray also helping out on the right pin.</p> <p>Drive Nation fought back and kept things close in the first set, however. <strong>Ceci Gooch</strong> had some terminal swings on the right side, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="122897" first="Lily" last="Nicholson"]</strong> continued to show why she was one of the best setters in Kansas City. Her pace and location were excellent.</p> <p>With the score tightening up, a few plays would ultimately determine the outcome of the first set. We continued to witness the extraordinary dominance of A5 outside hitter <strong>Jurnee Robinson</strong>, and she put up a huge solo block near the end of the first set that gave her team serious momentum. Robinson hammered two more crosscourt kills to give 17-Jing a 25-21 triumph in the first.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://x.com/a5volleyball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@a5volleyball</a> takes the first!<br /> <br /> Jurnee Robinson is going OFF. <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/TCVolleyballNIT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCVolleyballNIT</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qdam20cm7C">pic.x.com/Qdam20cm7C</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1495866502809100295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>As the second set began, the left sides in this match continued to find their groove. Robinson’s success hitting crosscourt was unmatched. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="141633" first="Bailey" last="Miller"]</strong> also delivered some massive swings for Drive Nation, which was on par for what she had done the entire weekend. Similarly terminal for 17-Red was the outstanding middle duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="141125" first="Leah" last="Ford"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="141120" first="Reese" last="Robins"]</strong>.</p> <p>Tough serving helped Drive Nation grow its lead, and Robins was impenetrable at the net. The Texas team seized this advantage and forced a third set with a 25-19 win in set two.</p> <p>On to the decider. Thornton made her presence felt early as she secured some crucial blocks for A5. <strong>Ashley Sturzoiu</strong> also made the most of her frontcourt rotations on the left pin and absolutely crushed her swings in the seam of the block. 17-Jing’s championship experience and competitive spirit really shined at this point, and this team looked destined for the repeat. Robinson put down match point to seal it, and A5 was a champion again.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://x.com/a5volleyball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@a5volleyball</a> 17-Jing finds Triple Crown glory again. <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/TCVolleyballNIT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCVolleyballNIT</a> <a href="https://t.co/WO0vZYfFQN">pic.x.com/WO0vZYfFQN</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1495877194018660359?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>