Volleyfest – 18s Division Champs – TAV 17 Black
We were lucky enough to brave the 2022 Texas Freeze that occurred last week and drive in the frigid temps to the Arlington area to watch some amazing teams play in a wonderful tournament called Volleyfest. It was held at the Drive Nation facility on Saturday and Sunday. Pool play on day one led to an amazing Gold Bracket filled with some amazing teams. There were tons of Open level teams in attendance, which made for some jaw dropping rallies that had the crowd on edge for most of the tournament. We will be profiling a few players on the team that went undefeated in the tournament – TAV 17 Black. They are the defending USA Volleyball Open National Champions and they added some extra firepower to last year’s team to be even greater this season.
TAV 17 Black
They started off day one with absolutely no competition as they breezed through the three other teams in the opening pool. Although the opposing teams tried extremely hard to make it competitive, TAV showed why they went undefeated in last year’s USA Open Nationals to claim the title of the best in the entire nation. This team is special and flexes their muscles when they need to at will. They looked like a well-oiled machine and had very few errors in all six sets they played on Saturday.
Day two was going to be entirely more competitive as it pitted them against other Open level caliber teams. Sunday they matched up with Drive Nation 16 Red who will for sure have themselves in the running for a national title in their age group. They have tons of talent and lots of offensive firepower, but in the end it was no match for the talent that TAV 17 Black possesses. TAV won in straight sets 25-19, 25-17. Their next semi-final match pitted them against their younger sisters in TAV 16 Black. I’m sure they have faced off against each other in practices but they went blow for blow for the first set. The first set could have gone either way as both teams were trading shots. 17 Black held their composure very well during what many know as “winning time” and won the first set 25-23. Set two started off just as the first set ended with some amazing play on both ends from both teams, but 17 Black rallied off some huge points to win 25-19.
The championship match was one that any true volleyball enthusiast would have loved to have watched. It was TAV 17 Black versus Drive Nation 17 Red for the title. It was more than a rematch of last year’s USA Volleyball Open Division national title match, which pitted the cross-town rivals against each other in Vegas to determine who was the best of the best. It was more than players who are very familiar with each other because they have played with and against each other since they were little in both school and club. It was more than two of the best teams in the nation who want to prove exactly who they are this year. It was just pure great volleyball. Some of the plays were unreal. The emotion was definitely real though. I can’t count how many times spectators in the gym oooh’d and aaah’d at what was transpiring. The individual match ups were amazing and it was oh so close and could have gone either way. What was very special was how TAV 17 Black took some of the best punches from their rival and smiled through it all. The resiliency of the defending national champs was on full display as they battled to win the Championship in straight sets 25-22, 25-23.
Although I could literally write this article and say something amazing about each player who participated, I will give my kudos to a few who I thought deserved “game balls” for their play. The following players stood out to me during the tournament.
Kate Hansen Kate Hansen 6'3" | MB Weatherford | 2023 State #67 Nation TX [2023] 6-3 Middle (HS: Weatherford /Club: Texas Advantage /Verbal: Uncommitted)
Kate is currently listed as the 7th best overall prospect and 2nd best middle in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. We have written about Miss Hansen a few times since we rolled out our publication a few years ago, but she still seems to impress us when we watch her in person. The match up I wanted to see most of all was her versus Drive Nation Reese Robins Reese Robins 6'5" | MB Timberview | 2023 State #15 Nation TX and it was phenomenal. It was like watching Ali-Frazier or Brady-Manning as these two traded amazing attacks and even better stuff blocks on each other. Kate absolutely HOUSED many opponents over the course of the weekend which made me turn away in disgust multiple times as it was hard to watch someone get destroyed by her. She recently opened up her recruitment again and whoever is lucky enough to pick her up is going to get an absolute STUD. In my opinion, she is a game changing middle who can help a team on both ends of the court. I will never get tired of watching her play in person. If you get a chance, stop by her court and you won’t be disappointed.
McKenna Gildon McKenna Gildon 5'10" | DS/L Liberty | 2023 State #173 Nation TX [2023] 5-10 Libero (HS: Liberty/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
McKenna is currently ranked as the 17th best overall prospect and the 2nd best libero in the state according to our State Rankings in the 2023 class. McKenna is a stud who plays for Liberty High School. She is no stranger to us at Prep Dig as we have profiled her a few times and nominated her for our All-State award a few months ago. This weekend she wowed me with her ball control and poise. Not one thing seems to faze her even when her back is against the wall. This is what takes her game to the next level. She is one of the best liberos in the country in my opinion let alone in the Lone Star State. All weekend long she routinely welcomed the bombs that opposing attackers threw at her and she just smiled and said, “bring it!” I was very impressed with her body control and touch on all hard driven balls. Stay tuned for more on Miss Gildon coming soon.
Audrey Clark Audrey Clark 5'10" | S Wakeland | 2023 State TX [2023] 5-10 Setter (HS: Wakeland/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Miss Clark is listed as the 71st best overall prospect and 10th best setter in the state according to the 2023 Prep Dig State Rankings. Audrey plays for Wakeland High School. She proved herself to me to move up the rankings for sure in the next update. Due to an injury to their new setter from Oklahoma, Audrey ran a 5-1 all tournament long and the team’s play never skipped a beat. She even had some remarkable huge momentum swinging blocks in the championship match against much taller powerful attackers of Drive Nation. What was phenomenal was her pinpoint location to her middles during all quick attacks. She moved the ball around so well to keep the opposing blockers off-balance and constantly guessing where the ball would be set to. She is fun to watch and any college would be blessed to have her on their roster. She is the real deal and we cannot wait to see her in action again.
Sydney Breon Sydney Breon 5'11" | OH Highland Park | 2023 State TX [2023] 5-11 Outside (HS: Highland Park/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Sydney is currently ranked as the 39th best overall prospect in the 2023 class according to our State Rankings and I almost cannot wait until our next update to move her up from what I saw this past weekend. This young lady is special. Its almost like she gets better when pitted against similar competition. She is the type of player I would like to be by my side in a street fight. She has some serious killer instinct inside of her while she plays. I loved watching her overall play in both the front row and back row. She has ball control for days and wants the ball at all times. She is a fantastic addition to this team as she played up last season with 17 Black. She adds some serious firepower to an already potent arsenal. Stay tuned for more on Syd.
Kyndal Stowers Kyndal Stowers 6'0" | OH Guyver | 2023 State #8 Nation TX [2023] 6-0 Outside (HS: Guyer/Club: Texas Advantage Volleyball/Verbal: Baylor)
Miss Stowers is currently ranked as the best overall prospect and best outside on our State Rankings in the 2023 class. She is a fantastic player for Guyer High School and Texas Advantage Volleyball. We have written about her a few times over the past almost two years and she is very well known in the national volleyball community. Seeing her in action is fun because you see the amazing athleticism, but what is the best part of watching her play in my professional opinion you ask? It is the fact that there is a complete extra level of play that she possesses and can turn on if her team needs it. The best players in their respective sports have that ability. The Michael Jordans, Kobe Bryants, Serena Williams, Tom Brady’s of the world seem to be able to hone in on that level when their team needs it the most against the best competition and become better than everyone else. I know that is a pretty big statement to compare her to those types of athletes, but just wait until you see it in person. That extra level is there and she has it. It was fun to see it in person and I can’t wait to see it again.
This team is poised for another run at being named the best team in the nation and we will enjoy watching their season unfold. Stay tuned for more on the rest of their amazing athletes.
As always stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes. If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at nov8vb@yahoo.com. Also don’t forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends. Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook. Thanks for following us, Prep Dig Texas Family! Don’t be afraid to interact with us. We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments. Keep them coming!