by Adam Burns
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Was there ever any doubt?
Texas Advantage 15s made a habit of straight-set victories in the first two days of the Triple Crown NIT.
It turns out Championship Monday was no different.
At the end of the day, the “T.A.V.” chant could be heard across the Kansas City Convention Center on Monday afternoon after the Dallas-based squad took care of business in the 13U NIT Elite Division Championship.
What led to the excitement? Final scores of 25-18 and 25-23 against a gritty Tstreet squad.
In this group’s first NIT championship, TAV finished the weekend a perfect 9-0, all being straight-set triumphs.
And it was no coincidence.
“All tournament, we’ve had this desire to not drop a set,” tournament MVP and outside hitter Sarah Floyd said in response to a question about winning all matches in straight sets. “Let’s just go and have some fun. When it was tight in (the title match), we just pushed through.”
So was there, truly, ever any doubt in TAV dropping a set?
“No,” TAV coach Jason Nicholson said with a laugh. “We got down a bit in that second set and dug a bit of a hole because these teams kept getting better and better. We definitely got a little worried, but we were just trying to make sure that we were the more aggressive team down the stretch.”
That they were.
After things were tight early in the first set, Katy McGough and Floyd helped TAV 20-12 lead thanks to an 8-0 run. McGough registered three kills and a block and Floyd tallied two kills and a block to lead the Texas squad to a 25-18 win.
Tstreet made things interesting by pulling ahead in the second set with an 11-6 lead, but TAV battled its way to an 18-17 deficit thanks to a 6-2 spurt. Following a couple of lead changes, TAV persevered with a 25-23 victory, thanks to a McGough kill and a Olivia Permenter kill and block, as well as a big kill by Katie Wawersich and a block from Nicole Jacobson.
“There was a moment or two where we had to regroup a little bit,” Floyd said. “No team can be perfect throughout the match, but I feel like great teams are able to come back from that. We pushed through. … We are such a team. We all connect so well and have a great time and feel like a family.”
This is the first time this group has won an NIT title match.
“It feels great, it feels awesome,” Floyd said. “Winning now and actually succeeding is a great feeling.”
Especially against a gritty team like Tstreet, who went 0-3 in Power Pool play and battled back for a final mark of 5-3.
“They’ve been hot the last two days, so it was our job to rattle them a little bit,” said Nicholson, also the Executive Director of TAV. “And we did a little bit early but they made some adjustments in the second set personnel-wise. It worked for them a little bit.”
It just didn’t work well enough as Floyd and Co. took care of business. Like they have all weekend.
