Before getting to how the final day of the Triple Crown NIT unfolded, know that we have plenty more coverage coming in the days ahead. Beyond our Gold Medal Rundown below covering Monday’s action from the 12-18s division, we’ll have our Day 3 Show Stoppers, plus our All Red Hat Teams and a post-tournament write up sharing thoughts and perspective from the three days in Kansas City.
18s
With the quarterfinals set, the final day of the 18s carried its share of storylines. There was eventual champion Coast 18-1 – which defeated top-ranked TAV 18 Black in three sets, 24-26, 25-23, 17-15, in the championship match – and its recent victory earlier this month at the Ohio Valley 18s qualifier in Columbus, where the So Cal club went 9-0.
There was TAV, our No. 1 team in the country and winner of the Lone Star Classic, looking to solidify its reputation as the best. Club V 18 Ren Reed was coming off qualifying last weekend at the Salt Lake Showdown and was only playing in its second major tournament of the season.
Tri-State Elite 18 Blue captured the Central Zone Invitational title the same weekend Coast triumphed in Ohio. KC Power 18 Black already had two qualifier victories under its belt, finishing on top at the KC MLK Tournament and Northern Lights.
Two more qualifier champions were in the mix in 1st Alliance 18 Gold (Windy City) and Triangle 18 Black (Florida Fest). Then there was Madfrog 18 Green, which was another Open qualified team.
No matter which club left victorious, there was a tale behind it.
As for Coast, the San Diego based club was not looking like championship material on Day 1. Opening competition in Power Pool A, Coast lost to both Triangle and KC Power while picking up a victory over 1st Alliance, which was the team Vballrecruiter.com predicted to win 18s.
However, Coast turned it on for Day 2 and 3. It included sweeping 1st Alliance to start Monday’s quarterfinal action. Coast then swept Tri-State Elite in the semis before rallying past TAV in the final. It was TAV’s only loss on the weekend.
Club V and Tri-State finished tied for third, while KC Power and Madfrog tied for fifth. 1st alliance and Triangle wound up tied for seventh. It was a great showing for Triangle considering the North Carolina club lost junior right side Ryan Hunter, a 5-star Nebraska commit, to injury on Day 1.
The final results were also pretty good for us in regards to our national rankings. TAV (No. 1), 1st Alliance (2), Triangle (3), Madfrog (4), KC Power (5) and Coast (10) all entered ranked in the Top 10. Tri-State (23) and Club V (25) showed they deserved to climb the rankings in our next update.
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17s
The list of top contenders in the 17s divisions was impressive, starting with teams like Hou Skyline 17 Royal, MKE Sting 17 Gold and ID Crush 17 Bower. All three earned Open bids last month at the Northern Lights Qualifier.
There were also teams like Arizona Storm 17 Thunder, last year’s 16 Open champ, and 1st Alliance 17 Gold, the 16 Open runner up. Adidas KiVA 17 Red was coming off its victory at Central Zone earlier this month, where it defeated Legacy 17-1 Adidas in the final.
Then there was clubs like Mich Elite 17 Mizuno, Skyline 17 Royal, Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal and Nebraska One 17 Synergy which could beat anyone they step on the court with.
However, when the quarterfinals commenced Monday morning, our top-ranked team in Hou Skyline and the winner of Northern Lights was absent. That’s because Legacy surprised Hou Skyline in the Round of 16 to close play Sunday evening.
The unexpected team still in contention was Madfrog 17 Green. The North Texas Region club didn’t have the showing it would’ve liked last weekend at the Tour of Texas stop in Houston, but showed it can beat anyone at anytime here. Madfrog outlasted Skyline 17 Royal in three thrilling sets in the Round of 16 and then kept it going when it eliminated Mich Elite in the quarters Monday morning.
While 1st Alliance fought off KiVA in three sets in another quarterfinal, MKE Sting handled Storm in straight sets and Legacy did the same to Tribe. 1st Alliance then swept Madfrog in one semi as MKE Sting took down Legacy in straight sets.
It set up a showdown between our No. 3 (MKE Sting) and No. 4 (1st Alliance) teams from our Top 50 in the 17s final. Both teams were at Northern Lights together, but didn’t face off there.
Both were at Central Zone a season ago, but 1st Alliance didn’t return this season so Monday marked the first time the two clubs squared off in 2024.
After two lopsided sets, MKE Sting earned the upper-hand with the three-game victory, 17-25, 25-12, 16-14. Much like Coast in the 18s, MKE Sting didn’t have the best start to the weekend. Sting was upended by both Skyline and Arizona Storm on Day 1. However, after eliminating TAV 17 Black Jon to end Day 2, Sting kept the momentum rolling by earning payback against Storm in the quarters.
Storm tied with KiVA for fifth, while Mich Elite and Tribe tied for seventh. Like the 18s, our 17s rankings held up well. Arizona Storm (No. 2), MKE Sting (3), 1st Alliance (4), KiVA (6) and Mich Elite (7) all entered ranked in the Top 10. Tribe, meanwhile, opened the year at No. 1 before dropping to No. 16 in our latest update. Legacy sits at No. 13, while Madfrog, after its less-than-strong showing at the last Tour stop, dropped to No. 27.
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16s
It was not the start Legacy 16-1 Adidas was expecting but it was the ending the Michigan club was aiming for. After losing its opening match of the weekend to Wave 16 Scott, Legacy put the loss in the rearview mirror and forged full speed ahead. When it defeated Mintonette Sports m.61, 26-24, 18-25, 15-7, in the championship match the ride was over and Legacy was the 16s champion.
It was the third time the two border-state clubs lined up opposite one another in this young season. Mintonette beat Legacy at the Nike Classic last month, with Legacy earning revenge two weeks ago with a victory at Central Zone. If we are lucky, this isn’t the last time the sides go at it this season.
It really shouldn’t have caught anyone off guard to see those two teams in the final. But, it definitely caught everyone by surprise to see Sports Performance 16 Elite tie for third place with TAV 16 Black. That’s because SPVB tied for fifth at Central Zone two weeks ago, going 3-3. But in KC, against the toughest competition this country has to offer, the Illinois club went 7-1, only falling to Legacy in the semifinals in straight sets, 25-20, 25-13.
The other semi featured Mintonette and TAV producing an instant classic. TAV went ahead 12-11 in the third set, only for Layla Hoying to deliver a timely block to tie it at 12. TAV hit out the next two shots, but leading 14-12 Mintonette wasn’t able to close it out quite yet. TAV closed to 14 all and had a swing to go ahead, but Lyla Stewart changed course with her massive block. Hoying then followed on the next point tooling the block out of bounds to move on.
Rounding out the Top 8 was 1st Alliance 16 Gold and SCVC 16 Roxy tying for fifth, and Arizona Storm 16 Thunder and Skyline 16 Royal tying for seventh.
Legacy, which finished a distant ninth at Central Zone, came into Triple Crown ranked No. 7 in our latest Top 50 16s rankings. Mintonette held down the No. 2 spot. Skyline was the top-ranked team, while SCVC was No. 6. Storm wasn’t far behind at No. 11, but SPVB was No. 30 and 1st Alliance No. 25.
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15s
First off, the 15s was dealt a major upset when Munciana 15 Blue eliminated top-ranked Tstreet 15 Naseri in the Round of 16. That took out a top contender, but it still left No. 2 Arizona Storm 15 Thunder and No. 3 TAV 15 Black in the Top 8. In a rematch of last year’s 14 Open final, Storm topped TAV in Day 1 Power Pool A action. However, when the two clubs met up again Monday in the semifinals, it was TAV taking the contest in three, 25-21, 22-25, 15-10, and reaching the final.
Once there, TAV swept Club V 15 Ren Kalee, 25-13, 26-24, despite missing Sophee Pederson for the tournament due to injury. While TAV re-established itself as the team to beat in the 15s, Club V had a remarkable weekend in taking second.
Storm wound up tying for third with OT 15 Randy. KC Power 15 Black and Munciana took fifth, with A5 15-1 Kelly and Central Zone champ Legacy 15-1 Adidas ending in seventh.
TAV’s only loss was its first contest of the tourney against Storm. As for Club V, the Utah club was undefeated heading into the final. Both Storm and OT were also unbeaten entering the semis, with Club V outlasting OT in three sets, 25-20, 23-25, 15-11. Club V also eliminated Munciana, 26-24, 25-23, in the quarters.
While Tstreet, Storm and TAV came into the event ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3 respectively, Legacy was No. 7 and OT No. 10. A5, at No. 11, and Munciana, at No. 12, wasn’t far behind. But Club V was sitting at No. 19.
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14s
By virtue of beating Madfrog 14 Green at the Tour of Texas Dallas Stop in January, HPSTL 14 Royal owned the No. 1 spot in our 14s national rankings. Madfrog came into Triple Crown ranked No. 2. As chance had it, the clubs found themselves opposite of each other in the 14s final. It was Madfrog evening the season serious by taking the showdown in three, 23-25, 27-25, 15-10. It allowed Madfrog to finish the weekend a perfect 9-0 and establish itself as the team to beat in 14s.
Munciana 14 Chipmunks and TAV 14 Black finished up third. Coast 14-1 and OT 14 Laura tied for fifth, with A5 14-1 Helen and Tstreet 14 Tara grabbing seventh. As it played out, Munciana and A5 met up in the quarters. A5 raced to a 9-0 lead in Game 3 but it wasn’t over just yet. Munciana reversed its fate and somehow came back to win, 16-14.
Tstreet, meanwhile, went 0-3 on Day 1 before steadying out. It included beating Legacy 14-1 Adidas in a seeding match Sunday, then knocking out both OT 14 Alex and Tribe 14 Elite Cardinal. Munciana lost to Tribe in a Sunday seeding match before knocking out Elevation 14 Molly and Legacy 14-1 Adidas.
Coast lost on Day 1 to NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami but won three straight, including downing Skyline 14 Royal and Hou Skyline 14 Royal, before falling to TAV in the quarters.
Tstreet, at No. 28, was the lowest-ranked team from our national rankings to make the quarterfinals. Coast, at No. 20, and Munciana, at No. 21, followed. The top four teams in HPSTL, Madfrog, TAV and OT all made the quarterfinals, as well as No. 9 A5.
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12-13s
Emotion, emotion, emotion was the name of the game for the 12s finals, with MAVS KC 12-1 defeating A5 12-1 LA in two games, 25-19,25-15. First up, let’s talk about A5. A5’s setters, Makenna Johnson and Zoe Audia, dished their hitters well. Lucy Benjamin, another one of the Benjamin family athletes, also made significant contributions, swinging with confidence on the right side. Libero Chandler Campos was instrumental in keeping the team’s rhythm, especially in serve-receive, and was equally strong defensively. Middle blockers Quinn Adler and Maya Slyozberg did a great job blocking consistently for their squad. And we have to give a shout out to defensive specialist Paige Lietzan who had no fear hitting the floor defensively.
Over on the MAVS KC side are a bunch of no-fear athletes who once you turn them on emotionally it’s really hard to defeat them. Let’s start with libero Kamryn Carlson. She is a scrappy, aggressive athlete who controlled the back court literally everywhere. Setter/outside hitter Sophia Morris does a great job quarterbacking in the back row and swinging with no fear in the front row. Outside Kyndall Cochran hits consistently with a heavy hand while middle blockers Brynlee Johnson and Kendall Macrorie both did a good job swinging quickly in the middle. And defensive specialist Kani Sakounlaphoum brought a fire to the court defensively when she entered the game.
Side note, the semifinals and fifth-place match was incredibly fun to watch. The 12s division will definitely be fun to watch evolve and grow over the year!
For the 13 Elite final match, A5 13-1 Karen defeated Dynasty 13 Black in three, 25-18, 26-28, 15-8. This match featured the 2023 GJNC National champions A5 squad against a local club, an always strong Dynasty group.
Dynasty is a bunch which you can never ever count out. They have great chemistry and a never-say-die mentality. Let’s start out with their libero Courtney Neil. She is a calming force on the court who can pass nails and dig with the best of them. Setter/pin Addison VanNess did a good job splitting duties. Right side Emani Clifton, outside Rosalee Johnson and outside Tessa Redmond all cracked on balls consistently with heat.
A5 13-Karen had a minor tweak in their lineup with Olivia Hayden out for the day and shout out to setter Sophie Holt for running a 5-1 AND to the entire squad for working hard for the win! During the finals, Madison Middleton and Milan Tallman really were impressive in the middle blocking position. They adjusted well to the lineup with Holt in front row. And let’s not forget the high-flying outsides Macurdy Harden and Kari Knotts who always bring the heat in the front and back row.
