By Chris Fitzgerald
KANSAS CITY, MO -- Big stage, big lights, even bigger performance. For the athletes of TAV 16 Black Paul, they used their big game experiences and balance to blaze to a 16 Elite NIT title.
For six of these athletes that include Mariah Ankinsola, Nyla Livings, Brynn Stephens, Sophee Peterson, Ansley Shafer, and Naomi Livings this was their third Triple Crown title together. Winning a championship of this magnitude is rare let alone three of them.
Outside hitter Brynn Stephens talked about playing with this same group the past few years and the success they have enjoyed together.
“This brings our team together knowing that all of our effort is for each other and it's not about one person, it's just a really good feeling,” said Stephens.
The experience was apparent from the get-go as TAV jumped out to a 5-0 lead where outside hitter Lexi Martin had three in that opening stretch. They would later go on another run, 7-1 this time, to stretch their Set 1 lead to 20-14, eventually going on to win the set 25-17.
The outsides of TAV did the most damage where Martin had six kills alone in set one.
Arizona Rev was a bit of a surprise coming into the championship, upsetting in-state rival Arizona Storm 16 Thunder in the quarterfinals. Their magic continued through the semifinals before running into TAV in the finals. They came out with a spark in Set 2, but TAV was just too much Monday afternoon.
Set 2 was much of the same where TAV really flexed their balance. Setter Sophee Peterson is one of the best in the country from the Class of 2027 where she was able to distribute to the likes of the Livings girls in Nyla Livings and Naomi Livings. Despite a late rally of AZ Rev, the club out of Dallas Metro would win set two and the match 2-0 with scores of 25-17, 25-21.
Seeing a TAV squad on championship court comes at no surprise as plenty of their teams across multiple age groups have found success not only at Triple Crown, but at USA National Qualifiers and USAV National Championships. This type of standard and culture is all part of what goes behind the 16s success.
“We are all supportive of each other when our teams are at these big tournaments. It is so exciting to see them in the crowd behind our bench, lifting us up,” said Stephens.
TAV 16 can enjoy their title, but then it’s off to the qualifier season where they will head to Sunshine Classic in Orlando where they will look to grab an early 16 Open bid to nationals in this summer that are being hosted in Dallas.
