GJNC Previews: TAV 17 Black

<p>The most important moment of the season is just around the corner for teams from the 15s, 16s and 17s age group from around the country as the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from June 26-July 5.</p> <p>As many as 728 teams are expected to compete in the 15 divisions for these three age groups and the state of Texas will, of course, be well-represented in the tournament with more than 50 teams expected to make the trip to Nevada.</p> <p>During the next few weeks, we’ll use this space to present the Lone Star state representatives in the tournament, recapping their performances during the club season and highlighting some of their top prospects.</p> <p><strong>TAV 17 Black</strong></p> <p>Part of the Texas Advantage Volleyball Club from the Dallas area, TAV 17 Black is one of the strongest teams in the entire country and will compete for gold in the 17 Open division. The tournament will mark the end of an era as it will be the last of legendary head coach Ping Cao ahead of the team. His group of players seems determined to give him a proper farewell as the team has been in fantastic form in 2021 securing a 59-8 win record so far and having lifted as many as five trophies already, including the ones of the Adidas Lone Star Classic, the Northeast Qualifier, the Tour of Texas and the Texas President’s Day Invitational.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CPhNWbKrcMK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CPhNWbKrcMK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Texas Advantage VBC (@tavvolleyball)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p> <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="140392" first="Aniya" last="Clinton"] – Outside Hitter – HS: Midland – 2022</strong></p> <p>A middle blocker turned into an outside hitter in her club team, [player_tooltip player_id="140392" first="Aniya" last="Clinton"] has been thriving on her new position a she can use her athleticism and extraordinaire physical tools to impact more aspects of the game. Her 6’1” size and her impressive leaping ability put her in position to score a point any time the ball goes her way and her blocking is also really strong, something she brought from her time in the middle. She’s still working on some of the technical aspects of her game but has shown quick improvement and will only get better working with one of the best programs in the state. Clinton ranks 21^st on our 2022 Prep Dig State Ranking.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/10923324/5e9fbae90c54210cf0dcb622" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="119921" first="Janet" last="deMarrais"] – Outside Hitter – HS: Grapevine – 2022</strong></p> <p>One of TAV 17 Black’s main strengths is the amount of power the team has on the pins and [player_tooltip player_id="119921" first="Janet" last="deMarrais"] is a big part of it. The 6’2” outside hitter is such an offensive force that she can score from anywhere on the court. DeMarrais is not only big and technical, but she’s also got the mindset of a big-time player and always delivers in crunch time. She has already registered 835 kills for her high school team Grapevine in just three seasons. Her blocking is another really strong part of her game and something her team hugely benefits from. She ranks 25^th on our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings and has already secured a future at the collegiate level after she committed with Missouri.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11368374/5e62f54123473e0eccb21469" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="99504" first="Ava" last="Roberts"] – Right Sider – HS: Mansfield - 2022</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="99504" first="Ava" last="Roberts"] is the last piece of TAV 17 Black’s Big Three. A six-foot right sider, she’s yet another strong and reliable offensive option for the team. She can hit a handful of different sets and that gives her the ability to play as a middle blocker too if needed. Regardless of the spot she’s at, Roberts will hit the ball hard and most likely score the point. She has great accuracy on her kills too and you can tell that the ball always went where she wanted it to. She’s coming from a strong high school season in which her great all-around game was highlighted with 247 kills, 22 aces, 50 blocks and 84 digs. Roberts ranks 33^rd on our 2022 Prep Dig State Rankings and has recently committed to Dartmouth College.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11696581/5fc58a0e19b03d09c0a74ad9" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>