The Tallahassee Volleyball Academy (TVA) 18 club volleyball team recently traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to compete in the 2024 Girls 18 Junior National Championship, where they finished third in the American Division.
More than 300 teams from across the United States participated in the event, with 48 teams participating in the Americas division. Each team had to qualify for the tournament based on past performance. The TVA team earned a bid in January by placing second at the Florida Fest tournament in Fort Lauderdale.
TVA teams qualified for Sunday's “Gold Bracket” play based on their performance in Saturday's pool play. In the quarterfinals, TVA defeated a team from Memphis, Tennessee, 25-21 & 25-20. In the semifinals, facing a team from Southern California, TVA lost a hard-fought first set 32-30 (sets go up to 25, but teams must win by two points) and the second set 25-18. Dropped.
TVA Director and TVA 18 Coach Katie Forrow told TR: I have never seen a group that loves and supports each other as much as this team. They worked hard and made sacrifices that most teenage girls would never dream of. Most of our players missed senior prom to go to nationals. They are the true definition of a team. They achieved all of the goals they set this season. They will go down as the greatest team ever to come out of the Tallahassee area. I'm so proud of them! ”
Mr. Forou continued, “This team has been qualifying for Nationals since we were 15 years old.At last year's Nationals, we finished fifth in the 17-second range, but we have set a team goal for this season. “When they set it up, they made it clear that they wanted to be on the podium in their final year.” club's. ”