Vision Gold 18 Elite finds perfection on Day 2 of TC NIT

by Adam Burns
​
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Vision Gold 18s needed a strong Sunday. That’s exactly what they cashed in. 
 
After a 1-2 opening day, Vision entered Sunday’s Triple Crown NIT Elite bracket play with a chip on its shoulder. At the end of the day, Vision registered a 3-0 day with a trio of strong wins, the final one a 25-21, 24-26, 15-5 win over Top Select. 
 
“I’m super proud of us,” setter and UCLA commit Audrey Pak said. “I think we came out really strong and everyone just did their job and we beat some high level teams.”
 
The other wins were just as impressive, a competitive straight-set victory (26-24, 26-24) over Munciana Samurai, and another three-set ‘W’ over SAS Girls (22-25, 25-22, 15-8). 
 
“Pretty high level of opponents,” Vision coach Tyler Taylor said. “I was really impressed with our ability to come out and side out efficiently, and we knew that (Top Select) had some really good attackers so our ability to get an extra chance made the difference.”
 
Vision’s attack, meanwhile, is no joke. Combined with the steady play of Pak, Vision’s setter, Loyola Marymount commit Ellen Veargason, Fordham commit Whitley Moody and UCLA commit Skylar Canady provide a formidable hitting trio.
 
“It’s always nice to have a lot of options,” Taylor said, “but our setter (Pak) really makes those options. If we didn’t have somebody that could get the ball to them then we wouldn’t be as effective. It’s great to have the pins, but it’s even better when you have the setter to get them the ball like we did.”
 
Now, Vision (4-2) sets its sights on Championship Monday when they’ll take on A5 Mizuno at 8 a.m. on Court 2.