Recap and Standouts from Triple Crown 18s Championship

<p>It felt like these two teams were meant to be here. Two squads with vast championship experience and a wealth of talent faced off in Kansas City for the Triple Crown NIT 18U title.</p> <p>Aside from one slip-up in pool play to Houston Skyline, it was a dominant weekend for Munciana 18 Samurai. Their run through the Elite bracket was punctuated with emphatic wins over AZ EVJ, OT 18 O Felix, Club V, and PVA.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://x.com/MuncianaVB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MuncianaVB</a> 18 Samurai is looking absolutely dominant right now. They’re moving on to the Elite semifinals! <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/TCVolleyballNIT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCVolleyballNIT</a> <a href="https://t.co/KB9lv9XElP">pic.x.com/KB9lv9XElP</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1495779689117458441?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>Sunshine 18 LA forged a similar path with one three-set loss in pool play to A5. Wins over Academy, Rockwood Thunder, Houston Skyline, and Tri-State put this high-flying group into the finals.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>For the Crown</strong></p> <p>The first set of this championship match delivered all the hard-hitting action we were expecting. For Sunshine, the pin-hitting duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159518" first="Elia" last="Rubin"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159519" first="Kerry" last="Keefe"]</strong> continued their dominance that began from the moment Triple Crown started. The other side of the net featured two elite left sides in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85813" first="Eva" last="Hudson"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85822" first="Avery" last="Ross"]</strong>. Their ability to get on top of the ball quickly is at the core of Munciana’s success.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">[player_tooltip player_id="159518" first="Elia" last="Rubin"]. Still bringing it for <a href="https://x.com/SunshineVball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SunshineVball</a>. <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/TCVolleyballNIT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCVolleyballNIT</a> <a href="https://t.co/OEINtigtnC">pic.x.com/OEINtigtnC</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1495841875605008384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">[player_tooltip player_id="85822" first="Avery" last="Ross"] elevates so effortlessly for <a href="https://x.com/MuncianaVB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MuncianaVB</a> 18 Samurai. A perfect fit for this fast offense. <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/TCVolleyballNIT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCVolleyballNIT</a> <a href="https://t.co/jXrflbdcUg">pic.x.com/jXrflbdcUg</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1495848277035692038?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>18 Samurai claimed an early lead. Setter [player_tooltip player_id="85810" first="Ella" last="Bostic"] had a great showing as she frequently gave her hitters split-block opportunities. Sunshine battled back, though, as Rubin demonstrated that she can terminate in any rotation. Middle blocker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="162752" first="Lucia" last="Scalamandre"]</strong> got involved at the net, too.</p> <p>Munciana built on their lead with Ross taking more assertive swings at the net. Soon, though, the comeback was on for the team from California. Scalamandre reached her serving rotation and proved that middle blockers can hold their own behind the line. Sunshine earned a 25-23 victory in the first.</p> <p>From there, Munciana clawed back into the match with Hudson remaining the star of the show. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85914" first="Ramsey" last="Gary"]</strong> also made some impressive defensive plays at the libero position and did not look out of place as a 2023 in an 18s match. She formed a great duo with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="102747" first="LonDynn" last="Betts"]</strong>, another defensive specialist with a vital role on this team. 18 Samurai forced a deciding third set with a 25-22 triumph in the second.</p> [caption id="attachment_181269" align="alignright" width="422"]<img class="wp-image-181269" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/02/IMG_7533-crop-3138x2061-1645595761-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="422" height="277" /> Thomas-Nathan[/caption] <p>The tiebreaker would carry on the same trends we saw in the first two sets. Back-and-forth action persisted. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="162788" first="Danielle" last="Thomas-Nathan"]</strong> put down some big swings on the left side for Sunshine, and setter [player_tooltip player_id="159522" first="Kelly" last="Belardi"] did an excellent job at running a fast tempo to the pins.</p> <p>Once again, Munciana was faced with a late deficit that needed to be overcome. That’s when you lean on Hudson. This ultra-physical outside hitter was clutch throughout the match, and she was the focal point of everything that 18 Samurai did.</p> <p>Eventually, the two teams found themselves in a 14-14 tie in the winner-take-all set. After trading blows, Bostic and middle blocker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="85828" first="Lovie" last="Wallace"]</strong> stood tall at the net and secured a 17-15 win and a championship weekend for Munciana.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://x.com/MuncianaVB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MuncianaVB</a> 18 Samurai pulls it off in extra points!<br /> <br /> A 17-15 victory in the third set puts Munciana above the rest in 18s. <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/TCVolleyballNIT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TCVolleyballNIT</a> <a href="https://t.co/6A0wigmFSJ">pic.x.com/6A0wigmFSJ</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1495857575270793216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>