Black and Gold Brawl Championship

The Black and Gold Brawl hosted at Titan Sports Complex in Jenks, Oklahoma saw over 130 teams all under one roof. The winner of each division is awarded a check to cover their entry fee to the AAU national championships. This is a big draw that helped bring in teams from 6 different regions to battle for the prize. There were only two divisions that saw championship matches involving both Oklahoma teams, the 15s and the 16s. Let's take a look at the 16s and how both teams got to the championship and how Charge 16UA Tulsa won it all.

Quarter Finals: Legend 16 Black (NT) over #1 overall seed STL Crossfire 16 T1 (GW) 25-17 25-20, Virago 16-1 over 417 MoJrs 16 National Black (HA) 12-25 25-23 15-12, Charge 16UA Tulsa over UPVBC 16 Elite 25-12 25-17, and Club MVP 16-1 (HA) over KNVBC 16 Showtime (HA) 27-25 25-18.

Semi Finals: Virago 16-1 over Legend 16 Black (NT) 13-25 26-24 15-10 and Charge 16UA Tulsa over Club MVP 16-1 25-11 25-19.

Championship: Charge 16UA Tulsa over Virago 16-1 25-14 25-13.

As you can see from the scores above. Charge 16UA Tulsa, ranked 21st IN THE NATION, cut through the competition like a hot knife in butter. They were a perfect 12-0 in sets and did not allow a single team to score 20 points in any sets against them. They easily dominated the competition on both the offensive and defensive ends.

Whereas, Virago 16-1 had one of the wildest rides imaginable. They had to win THREE STRAIGHT 3rd set dog fights to punch their ticket to the ship. Started the day with fighting off the upset against a solid and scrappy Owasso Summit 16-1 crew. Then began Virago's turn to be on the other side of the coin. Facing #288 in the nation, 417 MoJrs 16 National Black in the quarterfinals. After going down big in set one 12-25, they had to muster up a tight 2 point win in set two. Down 8-10 in the 3rd, Makenna Layton Makenna Layton 5'8" | S/OH Vanguard Academy Of Broken Arrow | 2027 State OK gets a huge kill to spark a 7-2 run for Virago 16-1. A multitude of hitting errors followed for MoJrs that ultimately also ended it for them and gave Virago the upset win.

It didn't get any easier with match #3. After Legend 16 Black (Currently ranked inside the top 500 in the nation) took a commanding 13-25 set 1 victory, Virago had their backs against the wall. They however rallied to win the second set 26-24, forcing the intriguing 3rd set. At the halfway point, we saw Legend holding a 8-7 lead but it was almost all Virago from there. In the next 7 points we saw Virago get two big blocks, 3 kills and an ace to finish them off. Upset #2 complete and championship in front of them.

Charge 16UA Tulsa: They are the real deal folks! I'm not sure which aspect of the game they are better at. They are pretty darn good at everything. Pin hitters like Blaire Barber Blaire Barber 5'11" | RS/OH Jenks | 2028 State OK , Faizah Omotayo Faizah Omotayo MB/RS Jenks | 2027 State OK , Madilyn Hill Madilyn Hill 5'11" | OH Owasso | 2027 State #93 Nation OK and Evelyn Goodwin Evelyn Goodwin OH/DS/L Regent Prep | 2027 State OK are a real problem for teams. Mix that with the power from Emma Wilson Emma Wilson 6'2" | MB/OH Bixby | 2027 State OK , Emmerson Meador Emmerson Meador 6'0" | MB Broken Arrow | 2027 State OK and Addison Doyle Addison Doyle 5'7" | MB/OH Claremore | 2027 State OK out of the middle position and i'm not sure who you are supposed to try and stop. Excellent setting and back row play from Ana Appel Ana Appel 5'10" | S/RS Victory Christian | 2026 State OK , Hailey Robl Hailey Robl DS/L Broken Arrow | 2027 State OK , Addie Ray Addie Ray 5'10" | S/RS Sand Springs | 2027 State OK , and Naomi Ross Naomi Ross DS/L Victory Christian | 2028 State OK and they are just as good defensively as they are offensively. This team has multiple top 3 finishes this season. Next month they begin their treck towards earning a USAV bid. Good luck to them!

Virago 16-1: What a scrappy group of girls! Never quit mentality paired with 10 players playing as 1 team gets you a team you can not overlook. Emma DeArmond Emma DeArmond RS/MB Catoosa | 2027 State OK , Makenna Layton Makenna Layton 5'8" | S/OH Vanguard Academy Of Broken Arrow | 2027 State OK , and Grace Baughman Grace Baughman 5'10" | S/RS Claremore | 2027 State OK are all 6 rotation players who find all sorts of ways to add value to the team. Elena Ramirez Elena Ramirez 5'1" | DS/L Edison High School | 2027 State OK , Madison Godding Madison Godding 5'7" | DS/L Claremore | 2027 State OK , and Maggie Leach Maggie Leach DS/L Bishop Kelley | 2026 State OK are the heart and soul of the back row for them. Julia Timms Julia Timms 5'6" | OH/MB Verdigris | 2027 State OK , Lena Eller Lena Eller 5'8" | MB/OH Skiatook | 2027 State OK , Bella Hoisington Bella Hoisington RS/OH Claremore | 2027 State OK and Kameron Cozort Kameron Cozort 5'7" | MB Bixby High School | 2027 State OK all are players who contribute in the front row. This team has had a multitude of upsets this season already. They have 5 top 5 finishes so far. They are still searching for their first outright championship win. Good luck to them as well!