February 23, 2023

There is no tournament like the Triple Crown NIT. Most everybody can agree on that, with the collection of USAV and JVA teams coming all together in one respective age division plus the format making for a unique event. It’s different from the national championships, but the national championships still carry the highest stakes. Both tournaments are highly competitive, but what does make Triple Crown stand on its own is the format. I touched on it briefly in the preview, but after Day 1 it’s an elimination tournament for everybody involved. That doesn’t happen elsewhere and it’s why we saw such crazy results in the 17s Division, when the three top-ranked team in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 all dropped out of contention before the quarterfinals. In a normal pool format, A5 17 Jing, Dynasty 17 Black and TAV 17 Black on losing on Day 2 would make headlines regardless, but all would likely still be in the tournament come Day 3 because they would still advance from pool. It would jumble up the seedings for the final day, but none would have been eliminated. That wasn’t the case on Day 2 in Kansas City, when all three were upset. I already wrote enough about that here. You can catch up on all the Triple Crown coverage here. I’ll start by checking in on the final results of the 17s. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami was definitely a surprise in taking home the gold medal, getting past one of the big three when it upset A5 in the Round of 16 on Day 2. I mean, NKYVC was a competitive bunch last year, winning the Show Me Qualifier and tying for fifth in 16 Open in Indy, so it’s never surprising to see this team competing with the top squads and finishing high in the standings. But considering NKYVC tied for fifth at Central Zone three weeks ago playing without Julia Hunt and losing to Academy 17 Tsunami and Rock City 17-1, it was hard gauging how NKYVC would fare with teams like A5, Dynasty and Premier Nebraska 17 Gold already qualified from Northern Lights plus other clubs who did well there too in the field in KC. With that, NKYVC started off in Power Pool C. Additionally, after its Central Zone performance, NKYVC fell from No. 12 to No. 28 in our Top 50 rankings. Meanwhile, OT 17 Aaron did start off in Power Pool A and was a huge surprise. I personally would not have place OT Aaron in Power Pool A but OT won a big match against Drive Nation 17 Red in the semis. OT Aaron went 0-3 on Day 1 with losses to TAV, A5 and Drive Nation but picked up solid victories over both Madfrog 17 Green and Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite on Day 2 to stay alive. AZ Sky 17G tying for bronze with Drive Nation was out of the blue. Drive Nation sits at No. 13 in our Top 50, while AZ Sky is No. 35 nationally and didn’t even begin the tournament in one of the four power pools! That’s unbelievable. Here is a rundown of the Top 16 finishers, where they currently sit in our Top 50 and what power pool they began in: 1. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami (28 – national ranking, C – power pool) 2. OT 17 Aaron (23, A) 3. Drive Nation 17 Red (13, A) 3. AZ Sky 17G (35, n/a) 5. Momentous 17 Dan (24, B) 5. Co Jrs 17 Kevin (6, B) 7. Premier Nebraska 17 Gold (9, A) 7. Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite (10, C) 9. Triangle 17 Black (7, D) 10. Miami Hype 17 Emilio (48, n/a) 11. 1st Alliance 17 Gold (4, B) 11. A5 17 Jing (1, A) 13. Academy 17 Tsunami (34, B) 13. Madfrog 17 Green (11, C) 13. TAV 17 Black (3, A) 13. VCNebraska 17 Elite (27, C)   There were definitely intriguing results, with Momentous 17 Dan and Miami Hype 17 Emilio finishing highly. Academy 17 Tsunami went undefeated in 17 Open at Central Zone and backed that up with a strong outing in KC. Some teams I thought we might see in the Top 16 that weren’t is of course Dynasty, followed by clubs like HJV 17 Elite, Top Select 17 Elite, Wave 17 Juliana and Coast 17-1. The 16s division was calmer in terms of upsets, but if what we saw at Triple Crown in this division holds true for the rest of the season we are in for a treat. Surfside 16 PV Legends coming out ahead of the field would have been difficult to predict. Even though I was expecting Surfside to take a step forward this season with the roster changes it made, winning Triple Crown early on is a major development. Kaci Demari is a 5-star recruit who was the big arm on the 15s last year who has new faces surrounding her on the 16s. Middle Kalyssa Blackshear, L/DS Olivia Foye, outside Simone Roslon, right side Preslie Saunders and setter Isabella Jones all played key roles this weekend who weren’t on the roster a year ago. Beyond Surfside, many of the top contenders were in the mix on Day 3, setting up an intense conclusion to the 16s. It was a serious slugfest between national No. 5 Hou Skyline 16 Royal and top-ranked Arizona Storm 16 Thunder in the semifinals, with Hou Skyline getting the upper hand. Surfside held off A5 16 Gabe, which has had an up-and-down season but performed very well in KC, in the other semi. A5 turned in big victories over Hou Skyline 16 Royal and TAV 16 Black at the Tour of Texas but had tough losses to Team Pineapple 16 Black and Tri-State Elite 16 Blue at Central Zone. When A5 opened up Day 1 in KC losing to AZ Sky 16G it looked like it could be a long weekend for A5. Yet, that was before A5 reeled off six consecutive victories. A5 ruined

We told you all that there was going to be plenty of post-Triple Crown NIT coverage. It’s been a couple of days since the action stopped in Kansas City but we are still going strong! We are almost wrapped up with our Triple Crown articles. I still have a finishing write up to do, but below you can learn about our Day 3 Show Stoppers from the 15-18s divisions. DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS Keoni Williams MB Skyline 15 Royal: Williams is a game-changing 5-star recruit who has helped elevate Skyline to national championship contenders with what she brings to the floor. Her length and size are almost impossible to deal with at this age group.   Layla Austin OH Skyline 15 Royal: Austin is another 5-star recruit who joined the roster this year and is making huge impacts. She’s an all-around gamer with the ability to rip the ball and help carry the offensive load. Taylor Clarke RS Skyline 15 Royal: Clarke was huge all weekend, shining on the final day as Skyline captured the 15s division. The lefty gets up and lets loose, taking aggressive swings and giving Skyline an added dimension to the attack.   Skylar Jackson OH Skyline 15 Royal: Like the three above, Jackson is also new to the roster and clearly has helped Skyline to a step forward this season. She’s another outside who contributes in a variety of ways and does well when her number gets called. Christa Wilburn OH Austin Skyline 15 Royal: It could be a big season for Austin Skyline, which looks ready to be a contender in the 15s. Wilburn was that six-rotation steady outside that every successful team needs to rely on. Syndey Lund S Austin Skyline 15 Royal: A 4-star recruit, Lund is an incredible talent with lots of length and size at the net for a setter. She has a soft touch and puts her hitters in good spots to do damage. Raegan Ramirez L/DS Austin Skyline 15 Royal: Ramirez is a new addition to the roster and she has fit in nicely at the libero spot. She was playing sound defense and making plays on the regular to help out defensively. Taylor Boice MB SCVC 15 Roxy: Boice, a 3-star recruit, was a definite factor in the middle as SCVC left KC with the silver medal. She was a strong scoring presence, coming through often when set. She also was touching her share of balls while blocking. Milly McGee S SCVC 15 Roxy: SCVC has pieces to be sure but can’t overpower opponents so it’s important to be able to take advantage of all the pieces and it can with McGee running the offense. She does well riding the hot hand but also mixing it up and keeping defenses guessing. Audrey Flanagan OH SCVC 15 Roxy: Flanagan is a current 3-star recruit who showed up as a potential 5-star recruit in our next updates. She was simply lights out! She’s lengthy and has a whip of an arm. She was attacking front and back row and definitely proved she’s a name everyone needs to know. Jordyn Joppru MB AZ Sky 15G: AZ Sky surprised by tying for third place and one reason was the performance of Joppru. She makes herself known when she checks in. She makes plays on both sides of the ball as she brings her physicality to the net. Brooklyn Jenkins OH AZ Sky 15G: Jenkins, a 6-1 outside, was also key for AZ Sky. She was ripping balls and scoring clutch point after clutch point in helping lift Sky to the bronze.   Marianne Garcia L/DS AZ Sky 15G: Garcia was strong as well, giving Sky a defensive presence and one who was frustrating opponents with the plays she was making keeping rallies alive. Eva Long S Legacy 15-1 Adidas: Long, a 3-star recruit, is a fun setter to watch. She plays with lots of energy and she does well working in all the pieces Legacy can throw at opponents. Meredith Martin L/DS 15-A Adidas: Martin is a wall in the back row and does a great job at keeping Legacy in system when the ball comes her way. She’s a sound passer and is rarely off target. Gabby DiVita OH Legacy 15-1 Adidas: A 5-star recruit, DiVita is the go-to left who can carry an offense and cause defenses headaches trying to slow her. She has a whippy arm and can hit to different spots on the court equally well. Danielle Whitmire S/RS TAV 15 Black: Whitmire is an all-around stud. The 5-star recruit has next level written all over her. She’s a strong setter with a nice release and with her height she can also score well across the front using her wide range of shots. Kinsley Young MB TAV 15 Black: Young is a physical, powerful middle and she’ll get the ball when the team is in system. She’s a tough attacker to slow because of her strength and ability to blow up blocks. Kylie Kleckner OH TAV 15 Black: Kleckner, speaking of blowing up blocks, was doing that well with her aggressive swinging. She was not holding back and if she wasn’t tooling blocks she was going around them and sending down loud kills. Kaci Demaria OH Surfside 16 PV Legends: Demaria, a recently-named 5-star recruit, proved herself among the top outsides in the division. Demaria has had the length but has added much more power to her attack this season and with it helped Surfside to the 16s gold medal. Olivia Foye L/DS Surfside 16 PV Legends: Foye joined the team this year and stood out big time with her play in the back row. Even with Demaria, Surfside doesn’t have the overall offense as other teams and relies a lot on its passing and defense. Foye was great in the back row. Kalyssa Blackshear MB Surfside 16 PV Legends: Blackshear is a 4-star recruit teetering on becoming 5-stars. She’s a presence in the middle with