It was back on the opening day of the Triple Crown NIT in February when Dynasty 14 Black and A5 14-1 Helen went head-to-head as part of a loaded Power Pool A. A5 ended up winning the match in three sets and it remained the only time the two sides squared off as the season wore on.
That is until the two clubs were across the net from one another with the AAU 14 Open gold medal on the line Sunday at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
Not that this had any bearing on the outcome, but shortly before they started their pre-match warmups, A5 had already captured championships in both 12 and 13 Open and was looking to complete a dominating day in the Open divisions.
Dynasty had other plans.
Undefeated through the first three days and fresh off victories over Tri-State Elite 14 Blue in the quarterfinals and Legacy 14-1 Adidas in the semis, Dynasty kept the pressure on A5 and never allowed its opponent to gain any firm traction. It led to a sweep, 25-21, 25-22, as Dynasty finished on top, claiming gold and ending the four-day event with a perfect 12-0 mark. It’s a definite confidence booster as the club next heads to USAV 14 Open in July in Las Vegas early next month.
Though the usual unpredictably played a role in shaping how the 10-team gold bracket eventually stacked up, in the end it was the highest-ranked teams in Vballrecruiter’s Top 50 which held court. A5 entered the tournament ranked No. 4, followed by No. 7 Tribe 14 Elite Cardinal, No. 8 Dynasty, No. 12 Munciana 14 Chipmunks and No. 13 Legacy 14-1 Adidas. All but Munciana reached the semifinals. Munciana was eliminated by Legacy in a one-game playoff to close out Day 3.
While Dynasty seized the day, it didn’t pass without drama as the gold bracket played out. Early on, Legacy came from behind to get past K1 Bayamon 14 in three, 21-25, 25-22, 15-8 to reach the quarterfinals. K1 featured last year’s 13 Open MVP Decelise Champion, a 6-4, 5-star recruit who is capable of single-handily taking over matches and elevating her squad to victory. Legacy wound up rolling over OT 14 Laura, 25-21, 25-12, in the quarterfinals, but the other three contests all went the distance.
Dynasty fought past Tri-State Elite 14 Blue, 16-25, 25-20, 15-8. It was just the second set Dynasty lost during its run, with the other coming in a three-set victory over Adidas KiVA 14 Red to end Day 3 action.
KiVA, meanwhile, dropped a three-setter to A5, 25-19, 22-25, 15-7, in the quarters. That came right after Tribe clipped Kairos 14 Alpha, 26-28, 27-25, 15-13. Kairos held match point at 25-24 and thought it had won the match when a Tribe serve appeared to go long. However, it was ruled in – which I believe was the correct call as it looked to me it clipped the back line – extending the match and allowing Tribe to capitalize.
Unfortunately for spectators, the semifinals didn’t produce the same level of excitement as A5 swept Tribe and Dynasty downed Legacy in straight sets.
The tournament largely played out as expected in terms of the highly-ranked teams having the biggest say as to what happened. The biggest surprise was without a doubt Munciana not making the gold bracket as Munciana was my pick to win it all by beating Tribe in the final. Tribe’s only loss came to A5 in the semifinals. I did pick Legacy and A5 to get bronzes. A5 did one better, with Tribe and Legacy ending with bronzes.
In hindsight the final day really started to take shape on Day 2. That’s when Mintonette Sports m.41 upset OT Laura to win their pool. That placed OT Laura in the same pool as top-seeded Munciana on Day 3. With both A5 and Legacy winning their Day 2 pools, it meant either Munciana or OT Laura would wind up in the same pool with A5 and Legacy to create a blockbuster pool no matter what. With Munciana falling to OT Laura, it was Munciana falling into the do-or-die pool.
In other 14s results Sunday, it was A5 14-2 Earl sweeping TPV 14 Zulu, 25-23, 25-18, to claim the 14 Premier championship. A5 wrapped up going 13-0 and handed TPV its only defeat.
