Legacy Shines At Triple Crown With 16-1 Title

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taking home a Triple Crown title is right up their with any other club championship throughout the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='430319' first='Legacy' last='Volleyball Club'] brought home one title this past weekend at the 2024 event, while coming close to competing for a second.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Legacy 16-1 ADIDAS played up to its expectations to win the championship, while 17-1 ADIDAS was once again in the mix for the 17U title, reaching the semifinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a recap of who led the Legacy squads to great runs at Triple Crown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Legacy 16-1 ADIDAS – First Place</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Legacy 16-1 ADIDAS has felt like it was one of the best teams in the nation early in the 2024 club season. However, some slip ups in bracket play kept it from having an Open title to their credit yet. Well, they made sure their first title of 2024 was a big one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Legacy came home with the Triple Crown 16U title. The squad actually dropped their opening match of the weekend in three sets, but rallied to win their next eight. That included a big rubber match with Mintonette Sports in the final, which Legacy took 26-24, 18-25, 15-7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You don't win Triple Crown without a wealth of talent and Legacy certainly isn't lacking there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This past weekend really showcased how elite their hitting is. We all know <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226909' first='Kayla' last='Nwabueze'] </strong>is as explosive as it gets, but she really showed how high she can raise her game during Monday's final matches. She powered through the best blockers in the country and teams had no answer for her when she got a good look at the ball. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226875' first='Ella' last='Andrews'] </strong>brings a different game to the middle at 6'4”, but she's also a key asset that gives Legacy a dominant middle presence on the floor at all times. Both are also relentless with their blocking efforts and make things easier or the rest of the defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":507340,"width":"310px","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/DSC05456.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-507340" style="width:310px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='226886' first='Gabby' last='DiVita']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the outside, its certainly fair to say <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226886' first='Gabby' last='DiVita'] </strong>belongs in the conversation with the best outsides in the country at 16U. She went toe-to-toe with the best at her position and outplayed each one. Her decision-making and motor can't be matched and she's clearly got that competitive fire. DiVita has already accomplished a great deal in her young club career, and done so as the offensive leader. No moment has been too big and that was clear in the final, where DiVita put up another double-digit kill total.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Credit also to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226888' first='Aubree' last='Deshetsky']</strong>, who came through with some very important kills when DiVita was in the back row. Deshetsky had some big finishes late in the third set of the final and was able to quickly adjust to what wasn't working against the Mintonette defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The title wouldn't have been possible without setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226907' first='Eva' last='Long'] </strong>and libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226908' first='Meredith' last='Martin'] </strong>either. Long is the one getting the ball to all these outstanding hitters and putting up some athletic sets in tough scenarios. She's got a great feel for her teammates and brings the best out of them. Martin was a dig machine all weekend and got under some awfully difficult attacks. This was a big showcase for Martin to establish herself in a very elite class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Legacy 17-1 ADIDAS: 3^rd Place</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was an interesting weekend for Legacy 17-1 ADIDAS, as they opened Triple Crown with three straight, three-set losses before rallying off four consecutive wins and reaching the semifinal. There it suffered a 25-23, 25-21 to eventual champion, MKE Sting 17 Gold.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The up-and-down weekend speaks to the resiliency of the team and how close they are to being the team to beat nationally in 17 U.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156295' first='Campbell' last='Flynn'] </strong>is well established as one of the top players in the country, regardless of age. The 6'3” setter and Nebraska commit makes her elite play look pretty effortless. She mixes things up so well that defense just can't keep her in check. Flynn knows just when to play a dump and leave opponents feeling helpless.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend you saw Flynn really getting the best out of middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156299' first='Olivia' last='Grenadier']</strong>. The Colorado commit dealt with an injury for most of the prep season this fall, but this past weekend saw her really look like her old self. The connections between Flynn and Grenadier were lightning fast and brought plenty of thunder. There was no stopping them when they were in-system.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Flynn has also been taking <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156313' first='Marie' last='Laurio']</strong>'s game to another level. The Syracuse commit has been turning up her attacks another level and brought the hammer this weekend to fight through some strong blocking. As what tends to happen with Flynn at setter, the game seems to be moving slower (though it's faster in reality) and more seamlessly for Laurio.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->