Triple Crown NIT – Back to Back Titles for TAV 15 Black Jason
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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. It is being held in Kansas City, MO on February…
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Continue ReadingOne 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. It is being held in Kansas City, MO on February 17-19th. It brings together the toughest competition from all over the country. There are many storylines coming out of day three and we were front and center for a back to back title run.
The reigning USA Volleyball Open division national champions have looked great over the last few years against the best in the nation. They won this prestigious tournament this time last year. In order to prove that last year was no fluke, TAV 15 Black Jason was on a mission for the repeat title. It started off a little rocky in their opening match against a juggernaut of a squad in Arizona Storm 15 Thunder. They let the match slip away from their grasp, but from then on, this team got it all together. 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.
Club V 15 Ren Kalee has some players with some incredible fight in them. 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. This young lady is not afraid of anyone as she routinely battles at the net while running a solid 5-1 offense. Her ability to move the ball around to all of her hitters and send over timely setter dumps is very effective. I love how she uses her middles during defensive transition a lot. Her and middle Berkleigh Minnick have such a great connection that they are always on the same page with timing the quick sets. Berkley came up huge for her squad in the championship match time after time. Star outside hitter Ava Burgess can get up and throttle the ball from the left side. She is undoubtedly their biggest offensive weapon and they like to go to her a lot. When you see how she can unleash her raw power on the ball, you will understand for sure. Libero Jennifer Truong uses some flashy and quick footsteps to track down any ball that comes her way. Her serve receive passing and digging were one of the main reasons why this team was so dangerous in the tourney. Right side attacker Sienna Kuresa showed no fear as she scored by tooling the block a few times in the championship match. One of the best digging performances came from middle back Sitoafa Tausinga as she routinely ate up hard driven balls with ease. A lot of these bombs that she kept off of the floor were heard throughout the whole convention center. This squad has some talent that we will be following all season long. We have not seen the last of them for sure.
Texas 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 Brynn Stephens Brynn Stephens 6'2" | S Rock Hill | 2027 TX was masterful at moving the ball from pin to pin tiring out the Club V middles. She was running slides with her middle Nyla Livings Nyla Livings 6'2" | MB PRestonwood Christian | 2027 State TX and then pushing the ball out to her awesome outsides. The back row was fueled by some awesome ball control with libero Ansley Shafer Ansley Shafer 5'4" | DS/L Keller | 2027 State TX and defensive specialist Karsyn Evans Karsyn Evans 5'7" | DS/L Aledo | 2027 State TX . 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 Lexi 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 Gentry Barker Gentry Barker 5'10" | OH Lovejoy | 2027 State TX 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.
The first set started off with TAV going on an absolute tear through the competition. The defending champs flexed some serious muscle as they went up 17-11 causing Club V to take their first timeout. The set continued with more of the same as Club V called their second timeout at 20-11. 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. Set two started off a little differently as Club V showed why they were in the championship match. 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. Both teams then went on small runs and battled each other mightily. Every spectator was watching with anxiety as it looked like the battle that everyone thought it would be. Club V had the defending champs against the ropes with a 23-19 lead. They then stretched it to a set point at 24-19. However, 15 Jason did not want to prolong the inevitable and went on a solid run to bring it to a 23-24 score. Middle Nyla Livings Nyla Livings 6'2" | MB PRestonwood Christian | 2027 State TX went back to serve in a huge situation and Club V tried to ice her with a smart timeout. 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. After a fantastic rally by both teams, Gentry Barker Gentry Barker 5'10" | OH Lovejoy | 2027 State TX ran a beautiful pipe set out of middle back to go up with a match point of 25-23. Another solid serve caused Club V to swing slightly out of system and hit the antenna for the final point to TAV. The celebration began as the youngsters took the back to back championship at the Triple Crown NIT! I have a strong feeling that this will not be the last time this wonderful squad raises their hands in the air to celebrate. Stay tuned for more on their wonderful season.
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