Triple Crown NIT – Back to Back Titles for TAV 15 Black Jason

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most anticipated tournaments at the beginning of each club season is the Triple Crown NIT because of all of the talent that will be under one roof.&nbsp; It is being held in Kansas City, MO on February 17-19^th. &nbsp;It brings together the toughest competition from all over the country.&nbsp; There are many storylines coming out of day three and we were front and center for a back to back title run.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The reigning USA Volleyball Open division national champions have looked great over the last few years against the best in the nation.&nbsp; They won this prestigious tournament this time last year.&nbsp; In order to prove that last year was no fluke, TAV 15 Black Jason was on a mission for the repeat title.&nbsp; It started off a little rocky in their opening match against a juggernaut of a squad in Arizona Storm 15 Thunder.&nbsp; They let the match slip away from their grasp, but from then on, this team got it all together.&nbsp; After the stumble, this talented squad went on a magical run to the championship match against another tough opponent in Club V 15 Ren Kalee.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":512171,"width":"176px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Club-V-15.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-512171" style="width:176px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Club V 15 Ren Kalee has some players with some incredible fight in them.&nbsp; Everything starts with their big-hearted setter Zamari Christensen who despite her smaller size, continues to prove that she can play with the big dogs.&nbsp; This young lady is not afraid of anyone as she routinely battles at the net while running a solid 5-1 offense.&nbsp; Her ability to move the ball around to all of her hitters and send over timely setter dumps is very effective.&nbsp; I love how she uses her middles during defensive transition a lot.&nbsp; Her and middle Berkleigh Minnick have such a great connection that they are always on the same page with timing the quick sets.&nbsp; Berkley came up huge for her squad in the championship match time after time.&nbsp; Star outside hitter Ava Burgess can get up and throttle the ball from the left side.&nbsp; She is undoubtedly their biggest offensive weapon and they like to go to her a lot.&nbsp; When you see how she can unleash her raw power on the ball, you will understand for sure.&nbsp; Libero Jennifer Truong uses some flashy and quick footsteps to track down any ball that comes her way.&nbsp; Her serve receive passing and digging were one of the main reasons why this team was so dangerous in the tourney.&nbsp; Right side attacker Sienna Kuresa showed no fear as she scored by tooling the block a few times in the championship match.&nbsp; One of the best digging performances came from middle back Sitoafa Tausinga as she routinely ate up hard driven balls with ease.&nbsp; A lot of these bombs that she kept off of the floor were heard throughout the whole convention center.&nbsp; This squad has some talent that we will be following all season long.&nbsp; We have not seen the last of them for sure.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":512172,"width":"175px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/DSC_0174.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-512172" style="width:175px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='431308' first='Texas' last='Advantage'] Volleyball 15 Black Jason has very few holes in their game.  We have written about them a few times this season and every adjective used to describe their play has been completely warranted.  In the championship match,  setter [player_tooltip player_id='532413' first='Brynn' last='Stephens'] was masterful at moving the ball from pin to pin tiring out the Club V middles.  She was running slides with her middle [player_tooltip player_id='534300' first='Nyla' last='Livings'] and then pushing the ball out to her awesome outsides.  The back row was fueled by some awesome ball control with libero [player_tooltip player_id='534316' first='Ansley' last='Shafer'] and defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='433561' first='Karsyn' last='Evans'].  Due to a recent injury, the team has had to reshuffle the lineup just a bit and uses Evans in the right back zone to play defense and she was amazing in this match both serving and passing/digging.  Shafer looked like a magician out of left back by popping up balls that were destined to hit the floor.  I was thoroughly impressed with [player_tooltip player_id='534308' first='Lexi' last='Martin'] on the left side as she scored very well for her team.  She is a tall volleyball prospect who looks like she is ready for the big show right now.  Onita Davis did such a wonderful job at the net blocking for TAV.  The star of the match, for me, was outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='534291' first='Gentry' last='Barker'] who put on a phenomenal showing of how to play the left side position.  This young lady scored from every location on the court with absolute bombs to her opponent.  I think, with this showing, that she just proved her spot as the best volleyball player in the country in her grad class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first set started off with TAV going on an absolute tear through the competition.&nbsp; The defending champs flexed some serious muscle as they went up 17-11 causing Club V to take their first timeout.&nbsp; The set continued with more of the same as Club V called their second timeout at 20-11.&nbsp; The blocking of TAV's entire front line was just too much for Club V to handle as the set ended with TAV coming out as the victor 25-13.&nbsp; Set two started off a little differently as Club V showed why they were in the championship match.&nbsp; With awesome ball control and amazing defense, Club V went on a run and caused TAV to call their first timeout at the Utah squad led 16-13.&nbsp; Both teams then went on small runs and battled each other mightily.&nbsp; Every spectator was watching with anxiety as it looked like the battle that everyone thought it would be.&nbsp; Club V had the defending champs against the ropes with a 23-19 lead.&nbsp; They then stretched it to a set point at 24-19.&nbsp; However, 15 Jason did not want to prolong the inevitable and went on a solid run to bring it to a 23-24 score.&nbsp; Middle [player_tooltip player_id='534300' first='Nyla' last='Livings'] went back to serve in a huge situation and Club V tried to ice her with a smart timeout.&nbsp; She did not back down and pushed through the pressure of a timeout by serving a beautiful ace to tie it up at 24 all.&nbsp; After a fantastic rally by both teams, [player_tooltip player_id='534291' first='Gentry' last='Barker'] ran a beautiful pipe set out of middle back to go up with a&nbsp; match point of 25-23.&nbsp; Another solid serve caused Club V to swing slightly out of system and hit the antenna for the final point to TAV.&nbsp; The celebration began as the youngsters took the back to back championship at the Triple Crown NIT!&nbsp; I have a strong feeling that this will not be the last time this wonderful squad raises their hands in the air to celebrate.&nbsp; Stay tuned for more on their wonderful season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As always stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following us, Prep Dig Family!&nbsp; Don't be afraid to interact with us.&nbsp; We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments.&nbsp; Keep them coming!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->