OVERLAND PARK, KS – Across all age groups and skill sets at the TC NIT volleyball event, the goal is to unearth your most competitive instincts and let them rule the day when matches begin.
Tournament officials at Triple Crown Sports started tinkering with an idea to not just grow the number of teams playing in the tournament, but to add some concrete stakes at the same time. When the stew was done cooking, TCS dished out the Battle to Bartle
Concept, where teams from 14u, 15u and 16u could earn a spot in the tournament mix at Bartle Hall in the Kansas City Convention Center.
Fortunately, the opening of a well-appointed and pristine sports facility could be secured as a second site, the Advent Health Sports Park at Bluhawk. And then on Saturday, teams went to work bashing their way through pool play and crossover matches to grab a hold of berths into the Select Division of the TC NIT for the rest of the holiday weekend.
One group that made the cut came out of the 16’sas Alliance Volleyball Club (out of suburban Nashville) polished off a 25-22,25-11 win over Aspire in the crossover match that determined who would advance. Alliance got it done with slam-dunk kills by players like Anarela Mejias and Kerrington Corbin, and a terror-inducing run of serves by Lauren Miller that helped open up the huge lead in Set 2.
“We’ve been working really hard throughout the season, and we feel lucky to have such great team to play against at a tournament like this. We’ve been wanting to play in this tournament and get to the bigger places,” said Mejias, who shined on the outside despite being undersized in comparison to most of her peers.
“It feels really good; when my team cheers after (good serves), that helps a lot. We’re so close as a team I feel like we deserve this, too, playing up tomorrow,” Miller said. “Playing the best team will help us with our level.”
“We’ve been trying to get in for the past few years, and I know they already have established clubs, and we were very thankful that they opened up this division,” said head coach and club director Abbey West. “It’s an opportunity for us to come and show what we can do, compete and earn a right to get to the convention center. We took advantage of it. We talked about the goal, what the weekend could look like because we needed to be disciplined. It’s always about playing our best volleyball, respecting our opponents and putting out our best.”
A little later on Saturday, Front Range Volleyball 16 Black (Englewood, CO) measured up in their crossover moment, taking a 23-25, 26-24, 15-13 victory over Pittsburgh Elite in a match that had multiple momentum shifts.
“My mindset was, just getting our team out here ready to fight. We wanted to show people who we are,” said Sofia Screaton, who never came off the floor for Front Range and could be seen pounding kills or running the back baseline chasing down balls. “The fight is what did it today. We earned our way up and we know how to play.”
“We have a lot of faith in this team; they are scrappy, and when we work together all things are possible,” said head coach Kate Ackerman. “We’ve had some trials and tribulations, but this team sticks together and supports each other. Pressure is a privilege, and we are going to be seeing some really tough teams the rest of the way. That will elevate us; we will fight for every point because in every point, there is something to learn.”
Other 16u teams to prevail in the Battle to Bartle were:
Hawaii Next Level
Lexington United
Milwaukee Sting
Oklahoma Charge
San Antonio Juniors
Shockwave
15u:
Iowa Premier
Sports Academy
Topeka Saints
14u:
Actyve Navy
Jacksonville Skyline
NPL Portland
