Varsity Volleyball: Conquerors Finish Season in Nation’s Top 6%
TCA Conquerors Volleyball completed its most successful season and tied 2016 for the deepest postseason run in team history. With a record of 20-10, the 2021 Conquerors demonstrated poise, talent, and determination in finishing the campaign in Florida’s Top 11% of all teams in the FHSAA and in the nation’s top 6%.
Including two winning streaks of five games, one of four, and one of three, the 2021 Conquerors earned MaxPreps’ #78 spot in the State of Florida out of 703 teams and #801 in the nation out of 14,409 teams as of Sunday, November 14.
Although final rankings will change slightly when the postseason ends on November 20, Trinity Christian has demonstrated itself as one of Florida’s top teams and among the nation’s finest.
Region Semifinal
The Conquerors reached the Florida Class 3A, Region 1 semifinal against Pensacola Catholic School on November 2. Although they did not win, TCA made it difficult on the nation’s #24 team that eventually brought a 27-1 record to the region final, where they lost to the nation’s 14th-ranked team. PCS won the match over Trinity 25-15, 26-24, and 25-14.
Following the region quarterfinal match, the Pensacola News Journal‘s Patrick Bernadeau described the Conquerors as a team that did not give in while looking for and taking advantage of opportunities to score.
Bernadeau quoted Conquerors head coach Crystal Dow as saying, “I think this season will be remembered with us being the underdog that comes back and wins big games and surprises people…. The last several matches that we won, odds were against us, stats were against us, seeding was against us, ranking was against us. And we came and pulled out three upsets in a row just to be here tonight. I’m very, very proud of this team.”
Season Summary
The Conquerors began the season with five consecutive wins and six total wins in their first seven games, and those wins were not easy. Trinity had to come from behind two sets to 0 to defeat 7A Creekside on the road. Win #5 was another 5-set match that saw the Conquerors come back from down 2-1 against a mighty 7A Bartram Trail squad on the home court.
The only setback in that opening stretch came against Providence, a perennial 3A state contender and Trinity’s biggest district rival. Even that four-set loss saw Trinity push Providence to the wire in each set.
District competition was not kind to TCA Volleyball during the regular season. In addition to Providence, TCA had to visit both Episcopal and Bishop Snyder, two more of North Florida’s finest. Trinity fell to Episcopal in five nail-biting sets but swept Bishop Snyder as part of a three-game winning streak just before the regular-season finale. The Conquerors, though, would redeem themselves in the district tournament.
Midseason tournaments proved tough as the Conquerors suffered two three-game losing streaks in Best 2-of-3 matches in mid-September and early October against powerhouses from all over Florida. They would bounce back each time, though, and finish both tournaments with back-to-back wins.
District Champions
The 3A, District 2 tournament began on Monday, October 18. Trinity easily swept Florida Deaf and Blind then set their eyes upon their two biggest rivals of all on Tuesday and Thursday.
First, Trinity avenged the early-season loss to Providence on Tuesday in three grinding seesaw sets by scores of 25-16, 26-24, and 25-23. By Thursday, Coach Dow and her Conquerors were very confident that they had already knocked out the better of the two teams to beat, and they rode that confidence to a four-set victory over Episcopal in the district title game 25-12, 25-15, 16-25, and 25-19.
Region Quarterfinal
For only the second time ever, Trinity Christian won the opening round of the region playoffs. Florida State University High School came to Trinity ranked nearly twice as high in both the state and the nation. The Conquerors put the Seminoles away with ease 25-10, 25-16, and 29-27 to advance to their second ever region semifinal in what many considered a major upset.
Coach Dow’s Thoughts
Coach Dow expressed her elation of the 2021 season she and her Conquerors played. “It was certainly a season for the record books!” she said. “The most exciting regular season wins were against the big St. John’s County schools: Creekside, Bartram Trail, and Nease.”
She then remarked about her team’s postseason success. “Then, of course, it was incredible for us to go and beat Providence and Episcopal, away, back-to-back, in the district tournament. It was really special to get to finally be district champs again after five years and get to host our first round of Regionals against Florida High and to pull off yet another upset win!”
Coach Dow had plenty of help in leading the Conquerors to a successful season. Her assistants Kristen Buttrey, Emma Roberson, and Joey Contois played vital roles in preparing the team for each game.
“Obviously the game against Pensacola Catholic didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” said Coach Dow, “but the girls fought hard and are already excited about next season! They definitely have their sights set on a state championship!”
Goodbye, Seniors
Seniors Karissa Aman, Sheridan Beck, Layla Brooks, Ally Carter, and Mya King will graduate in the spring, leaving behind a tremendous platform on which next year’s team will build. As Coach Dow told Bernadeau after the region semifinal with Pensacola Catholic, “We have five seniors on our team that we love dearly, and they mean the world to every single one of these girls and the coaches…. It’s always hard to say goodbye, just knowing that it was their last match.”
The five seniors will always have a special place as members of such a great team.
Looking Ahead
The 2022 Conquerors will have a younger team, but one still loaded with talent. Freshman Amaria King and Ariel Ross are already garnering national attention and Division 1 interest as they move up to sophomores while Alyssa Crews, Allie Tamares, and Maggie Gracyalny will become the senior leaders. Current freshman Hadley Dantzler shows promise similar to King’s and Ross’s and is a big-time force at the net.
An especially talented duo on the 2021 junior varsity roster will advance to the varsity team as well. Current sophomores Ali Haney and Avery Haney will help solidify the serving and attacking game. They were both added to the varsity roster when the JV season ended.
Taelyn Graham and Kelsey Flowers also played their way onto the varsity roster near season’s end. More current JV Conquerors will vie for varsity time next season as well.
“We will miss our five seniors greatly,” said Coach Dow, “but the future is bright and, more than ever, we are looking forward to seeing what God has planned for the next couple seasons!”
Special Notes
Attacker Amaria King ended her freshmen season ranked #6 in the State in kills with 458 as of November 14.
Defensively, senior Ally Carter finished #38 in the state in digs with 451.
Ally Carter was selected to play libero on the North Team in the Prep Zone’s North Florida All-Star Series on December 5th. Sheridan Beck was chosen as an alternate defensive specialist for the same team.
Team Leaders
Kills: Amaria King (458), Ariel Ross (146), Hadley Dantzler (99)
Aces: Ally Carter (47), Makayla Markham (44), Amaria King (36)
Blocking: Hadley Dantzler (65), Layla Brooks (39), Amaria King (31)
Digs: Ally Carter (451), Amaria King (327), Ariel Ross (213)
Assists: Ariel Ross (422), Makayla Markham (363), Ally Carter (55)
