by Chris Fitzgerald
KANSAS CITY, MO -- For the final championship match of the weekend, could TAV 17s add to the club’s trophy case? TAV out of the Dallas Metro is always one of the top clubs in the building when it comes to being in the hunt for a crown at every age division. As TAV 17 Black Jon took the court for the 17 Elite Championship Monday afternoon at the Triple Crown NIT, their 16s and 15s had claimed titles earlier.
With a match up against another national powerhouse in A5 171 Calvin out of Atlanta, it would be no easy feat - nothing ever is at Triple Crown. But two narrow set wins later at 25-23, 25-23, TAV would once again be at the top of the podium at the 17 Elite Division Champions.
Like any team from TAV there are always plenty of expectations at a tournament like Triple Crown, from within the club and from others they see on the other side of the net. The target is on their back from day one. This squad came into the tournament as one of the top seeds in Power Pool A and came away 3-0 with wins over Mintonette m.71, defending Triple Crown champion Legacy 17-1 Adidas, and defending USAV champion from this age group SCVC 17Roxy.
Sunday is where the run to the championship officially begins where they blazed through their challenge match along with first two rounds of bracket play and their quarterfinal match without dropping a set. However, the semifinals against a scrappy team in WPVC out of Winter Park, Florida would provide for some dramatics. TAV would win Set 1 25-22, but would drop Set 2 in a marathon by the score of 39-37, forcing a winner take all set where they would win 15-8.
Penn State commit Danielle Whitmire of TAV talked about the journey to get to the championship, including the semifinal win against WPVC.
“A lot of us have been together since we were 13 and up. We just have a trust in each other to get it done. Even in a tight match we always feel in control, we keep reminding each other that we got it and there is total trust,” said Whitmire.
For Whitmire and fellow setter/right side Anna Flores, they were showing their trust in teammates by dishing to all of their attackers. Five attackers accounted for kills in the first 15 points of the championship match. One of the hot hands was TCU commit Kinsley Young who was dominant out of the middle where she had six kills in the first set.
TAV would jump out to a fast start 12-4 and continued to maintain control, but it was A5 and Kentucky commit Gracison Saylors who was having her own success out of the middle. A5 would even take a lead at 23-22, but leave it to TAV to be cool, calm, and collected behind the serving of Flores where they would go on to win the final three points claiming Set 1 25-23.
Set 2 was much the same for TAV as they would maintain a two to three point lead the entire set. Even when A5 would get a sideout from a big swing by Saylor, TAV never seemed to show weakness.
The two- to three-point runs would continue for TAV compared to the one to two point runs for A5. At the end of the day it was all Texas with the sweep and Set 2 win 25-23.
TAV better make room for another trophy on the way home with three elite division championships from the weekend. For Whitmire, she’s been playing for TAV since she was 10 years old, a club where the standard of excellence is extremely high.
“I’ve been at this gym the past seven years and we are always there to push each other. It’s like a family where we want to make each other better every day.”
