USAV GJNC 15 Open Champs – Dallas Skyline 15 Royal Yun

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most difficult aspects of the club volleyball season is to earn the elusive bid to USA Volleyball's Girls Junior National Championship.&nbsp; This year, the prestigious event was held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas from June 25^th til July 3^rd.&nbsp; Prep Dig covered the event from start to finish.&nbsp; This article will be highlighting the champions of the 15 Open Division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dallas Skyline 15 Royal Yun</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The tournament is a grueling one that tests everyone multiple times due to the fact that every team has a legitimate shot at beating everyone.&nbsp; These teams are the best of the best and each of them has a story to tell.&nbsp; Dallas Skyline 15 Royal Yun has their own story from a long season of ups and downs that culminated in winning the biggest prize that there is in our wonderful sport.&nbsp; Let's take a look at how they accomplished it.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming in as the third seed overall to this prestigious tourney puts a target on your back that some players just can't handle, but these young ladies are built from a different cloth.&nbsp; They only dropped one match all tournament long and battled with everyone.&nbsp; It is as if they were playing with a chip on their shoulder or playing for something bigger than themselves.&nbsp; They had a mission and showed everyone that you cannot stop players from completing their destiny. You could see it in their eyes in every match and we witnessed players coming together to take what was theirs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The championship match pitted two squads who know each other very well against each other.&nbsp; Some would say that these two teams are cross-town rivals seeing that they are two of the top teams in the North Texas region who always compete for players and titles.&nbsp; TAV 15 Black have owned the age group this year as they have won some prestigious tournament titles over the talented field.&nbsp; A lot of college coaches and scouts I spoke with had TAV taking the title once again.&nbsp; But Dallas Skyline 15 Royal Yun said, “Hold my water and watch this!”&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The match started off with TAV holding a comfortable two to three point lead throughout the first set and they never lost it as they won 25-20.&nbsp; They had strong play from their stars like libero [player_tooltip player_id='580658' first='Caitlin' last='Carrizales'], right side [player_tooltip player_id='765096' first='Sarah' last='Floyd'], outsides [player_tooltip player_id='580713' first='Trinity' last='Johnson'] and captain [player_tooltip player_id='746528' first='Kate' last='McGough'].&nbsp; Setters [player_tooltip player_id='743783' first='Evann' last='Beville'] and [player_tooltip player_id='548605' first='Norah' last='Hicks'] were masterful in moving the ball around and feeding their thoroughbreds.&nbsp; Middles Nicole Jacobsen and [player_tooltip player_id='765100' first='Katie' last='Wawersich'] proved to be very tough to battle with at the net.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second set felt different as Skyline showed just how tough they were.  No matter what happened, they never lost their fight and battled to win 26-24.  Setters [player_tooltip player_id='625506' first='Chloe' last='Kim'] and [player_tooltip player_id='579842' first='Sadie' last='Lovato'] played with tons of heart as they played some awesome defense against the right side attack from TAV's [player_tooltip player_id='765096' first='Sarah' last='Floyd'].  They both also moved the ball from pin to pin to keep the defense guessing.  I also loved how they ran the middles early and often to keep the opposing middles honest and at base.  Speaking of middles, [player_tooltip player_id='580657' first='Blake' last='Buljan'] proved that she was a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball.  Most will see the end result of the play, but true volleyball enthusiasts will see exactly how she does it with super fast transition footwork and driving hard toward her setter for a true first tempo attack.  Libero [player_tooltip player_id='720774' first='Addison' last='Tucker'] did such a great job commanding the back row against a very aggressive opponent.  Her serve receive and digging were on point when her team needed her at the highest level possible.  Pins [player_tooltip player_id='531615' first='Aleah' last='Edmond'], [player_tooltip player_id='580697' first='Mary-Christine' last='Crutcher'] and [player_tooltip player_id='721043' first='Taylor' last='Johnson'] were powerful and very difficult to stop throughout the match.  Each of them had some huge blocks and jaw-dropping kills that almost felt like they should be worth multiple points each.  The third set was over from the beginning.  Skyline took total control early and had TAV on their heels with big plays on both sides of the ball.  They won 15-10 and capped off a magical run through a very tough division.  Every single one of them deserves to enjoy this title and the part they played in overcoming tons of adversity this season to be crowned champions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are many more amazing teams and players that will be written about.&nbsp; 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; You can also DM me on Instagram or X by searching @CoachMikeDZ.&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 reposting on X, Instagram or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->