Triple Crown: Final Thoughts

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. 1^st 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 the day of two top contenders in No. 4 Drive Nation 16 Red and No. 3 1^st Alliance 16 Gold, which A5 defeated back-to-back in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively.

TAV 16 Black was upset in the Round of 16 by Coast 16-1. Coast had dropped to No. 32 in our National Rankings after suffering tough losses in regional play while playing without outside Ava Poinsett. Poinsett was back and so was Coast.

Credit goes out to both AVC Cle 16 Red and Excel 16 National Red. Both made the Top 16 after not starting off in power pools. Let’s look at how the Top 16 stacked up, with vballrecruiter.com’s national rankings and power pool placements as well:

1. Surfside 16 PV Legends (11, A)
2. Hou Skyline 16 Royal (5, A)
3. Arizona Storm 16 Thunder (1, A)
3. A5 16 Gabe (16, B)
5. Nebraska One 16 Synergy (12, D)
7. 1^st Alliance 16 Gold (3, A)
7. Coast 16-1 (32, A)
9. TAV 16 Black (6, B)
10. Legacy 16-1 Adidas (25, B)
11. OT 16 Roberto (33, C)
11. OT 16 JP (17, B)
13. AVC Cle 16 Red (28, n/a)
13. Drive Nation 16 Red (4, A)
13. Dynasty 16 Black (20, D)
13. Excel 16 National Red (35, n/a)

Other teams doing well were OT 16 Roberto, which finished tied at 11th with OT 16 JP. Dynasty 16 Black also showed up well earning a Top 16 finished after beginning in Power Pool D. Legacy 16-1 Adidas is another team that has had mixed results thus far. That’s why Legacy slide down to No. 25 in our latest rankings but started in Power Pool B and finished 10th.

Moving to the 15s, this division is going to be one wild ride, that was my biggest takeaway from watching in KC. This is an age group where we’ll see significant improvement by the time this summer rolls around. Last year’s 14 Open gold medalist in Indy in Mintonette Sports m.51 opened this season by winning 15 Open at Central Zone, but Mintonette did show vulnerabilities with losses to AVC Cle 15 Red and Tri-State Elite 15 Blue in seeding matches there. After losing to Austin Skyline 15 Royal on Day 2, Mintonette didn’t reach the Top 16 in KC.

Boiler Jrs 15 Gold, which finished runner up at Central Zone, finished tied for 11^th. But so much can happen in this division that it’s hard to call any of what happened in KC shocking. Austin Skyline is a very good team and seeing Austin Skyline and Mintonette on the same court in what amounted to a Round of 32 match shows how crazy this tournament is with its format and where teams match up matters.

In fact, Austin Skyine, with its size, appears it could be a real factor in the division. I haven’t even mentioned tournament winner Skyline 15 Royal. Skyline went to work on its roster this offseason. New members in middle Keoni Williams, outsides Skylar Jackson and Layla Austin and right side Taylor Clarke were all key parts in Skyline earning the gold. With Skyline performing well at the Tour of Texas and winning Triple Crown, I think it’s safe to say Skyline is playing the best of any 15s right now. That doesn’t mean Skyline is the best overall, only time will tell that.

SCVC 15 Roxy could be on a quickwe ascent than I saw coming. I had my eye on SCVC to do much better in the 15s than it did in the 14s. SCVC was close to upsetting both Mintonette and Forza1 North 14 UA in last year’s three-team pools at JNs. It was a sign SCVC could be on the rise as 15s. With the way outside Audrey Flanagan has blossomed and risen to 5-star status, anything is possible with this group this year.

Let’s see where the 15s Top 16 lines up with our national rankings and initial power pool placements:

1. Skyline 15 Royal (3, A)
2. SCVC 15 Roxy (16, B)
3. Austin Skyline 15 Royal (13, D)
3. AZ Sky 15G (17, B)
5. Legacy 15-1 Adidas (12, A)
5. Pohaku 15-1 (20, D)
7. Madfrog 15 Green (5, A)
7. TAV 15 Black (7, B)
9. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder (31, B)
10. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami (6, B)
11. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (2, A)
11. Hou Skyline 15 Royal (4, B)
13. A5 15 Bob (39, D)
13. Alamo 15 Premier (11, B)
13. AP 15 Adidas (37, C)
13. Wave 15 Brennan (9, A)

Arizona Storm 15 Thunder did start in Power Pool B, but we had Storm ranked at No. 31. That should change in the next ranking. A5 15 Bob showed up strong. After starting in Power Pool D, A5 tied for 13th. A5 started off at No. 39 in our rankings after finishing 17th at Central Zone with losses to AVC Cle 15 Red and Michio 15 National. However, A5 picked up a huge victory over Elevation 15 Tony in elimination play on Day 2. AP 15 Adidas took a couple tough losses early on and fell to No. 37 in our rankings. Yet, AP came back on in KC, finishing 13th out of Power Pool C. And I can’t forget about Pohaku 15-1, which started in Power Pool D but ended tied for fifth. And same goes for AZ Sky 15G. Sky did start in Power Pool B but we had them ranked No. 17 in the country before tying for third!

We haven’t released our 14s National Rankings yet, as we’ve been waiting for Triple Crown as the starting point. That being said, we don’t have a comparison like we do in the other age groups, but TAV 14 Black stood out above the rest, going undefeated after downing Drive Nation 14 Red in the final. It was really the showdown with Arizona Storm 14 Thunder that everyone wanted to see, with TAV downing Storm in three in the semifinals. It’s early, but TAV and Storm look like the two teams to beat. We’ll see how much that changes moving forward.

Tstreet 14 Carson was looking strong after downing Adidas KiVA 14 Red, Madfrog 14 Green and Legacy 14-1 Adidas in Power Pool A and then opening up Day 2 by sweeping Kairos 14 Alpha. However, Tstreet suffered its only loss the next round when it was clipped by AP 14 Adidas, 21-25, 25-19, 15-13.

AP had a great weekend and could be a team to watch this spring. AP finished tied for fifth, with its only loss coming to Skyline 14 Royal, which tied for third after losing to Drive Nation in the semis.

Central Zone winner Elevation 14 Molly wound up in 22^nd. Elevation lost its first match on Day 2 to Austin Skyline 14 Royal and was knocked out of contention.

We’ll continue to keep our eye on this division, as there is so much individual talent out there plus we’ll be tracking how the teams are measuring up the rest of the way.

As for the 18s, it was the division I watched the least. Drive Nation 18 Red, after outlasting Coast 18-1 in the final, continues to be the team to beat after winning Florida Fest and Lone Star. Coast has yet to clinch its bid but it’ll be in the Open field and showed it is one of the top contenders to be sure. The surprise was OT 18 John, which started slow this season and dropped to No. 37 in our rankings. OT opened in Power Pool D but finished tied for third with Munciana 18 Samurai.

It can be tough to know exactly where Munciana fits in with the rest of the 18s because it doesn’t play in qualifiers. Triple Crown is really the only time we get to see Munciana in action with the rest of the top 18s. Muncie’s only setbacks came to Coast and Drive Nation, with victories over Premier Nebraska 18 Gold and Sunshine 18 LA.

Here’s how the 18s Top 16 finishers compare with our national rankings and their initial power pool assignments: