Major volleyball event brings 700 teams & 40,000 spectators to KC. Did you see it?
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- Triple Crown NIT hosted nearly 700 teams and 30,000–40,000 spectators in KC.
- Used nearly 100 courts, two Taraflex championship courts; one had replay.
- Attracted more than 1,000 college coaches and nearly $29 million in estimated income.
During a spring-like Valentine’s Day weekend, the love of volleyball captivated downtown Kansas City.
One of the biggest youth volleyball tournaments in the country, Triple Crown National Invitational Tournament (NIT), hosted nearly 700 teams across almost 100 courts in two locations in the Kansas City-area from Saturday to Monday.
Players, parents and coaches could be seen all over downtown with backpacks and balls while donning club team apparel. Food trucks lined the outside of the Kansas City Convention Center, the tournament’s main location, while volleyball and sports apparel vendors were scattered throughout the convention center.
Games began at 7:30 a.m. and sometimes ended near midnight.
Sixty-six volleyball courts laid out on the second floor of the convention center had simultaneous matches constantly rotating as four extra courts were at a different part of the convention center across the street. Piercing referee whistles, flying volleyballs, the aroma of fried foods and raucous cheering is the norm for this yearly event held in Kansas City since 2019.
More than 1,000 college coaches caravanned across the floors, scouting players and reuniting with people across the industry. Approximately 30,000 to 40,000 spectators attend the volleyball bonanza, which generates almost $29 million in estimated income for the city, according to Triple Crown and Visit KC officials.
Two Taraflex courts, the official court for NCAA Division I championships and Olympic volleyball, featured the best matches of the day as the championship courts of the tournament. One of the Taraflex courts has a replay challenge system, the only youth volleyball tournament with such a feature.
Among the parents watching their children play were celebrities and former professional athletes like actor Vince Vaughn, former NBA star and Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and former NFL star and broadcaster Rodney Harrison. The men, like other parents, were pleased and excited to be in Kansas City supporting their daughters.
“To see (my daughter) out here competing, and flying around and making these incredible hits, really exciting,” Harrison told The Star. Sydney Harrison, Harrison’s daughter, is an outside hitter for A5 Volleyball’s 16 and under team out of Roswell, Georgia. They’ve come to Kansas City several times for the tournament.
Vaughn took pictures with fans when his daughter’s team, SC Rockstars out of Carson, California, wasn’t playing. This year was his family’s third Triple Crown.
“It’s a lot of energy, the girls are all out there working hard and having fun. It’s great competition. A lot of family time,” Vaughn said.
Right across the street at Municipal Auditorium, League One Volleyball held three regular-season games, showcasing the league’s six teams. The regular-season matches were altered from the tournament format the league played in last season, allowing the players to host camps for youth players on Friday and watch some of the tournament for the rest of the weekend.
The event from League One Volleyball was deemed the “LOVB Classic.”
LOVB (pronounced love) matches provided the tie to connect the entire girls volleyball pipeline in one location for the second consecutive year. LOVB, which began as a network of youth clubs across the country in 2020, had 30 of its youth clubs participate in Triple Crown.
LOVB pro players were sentimental when speaking about being able to influence youth players throughout the weekend.
“We’re here to inspire them, but they really inspire us to continue doing what we’re doing here,” LOVB Houston outside hitter Jordan Thompson said Sunday.
Thompson, a U.S. Olympic gold medalist, leads the league in kills for her second-place squad.
“I think the coolest thing has been seeing fans come out, enjoy and keep coming back to our game,” Thompson said.
Springfield native and LOVB Nebraska middle blocker Emily Thater was one of several players with ties to the area and memories of playing at Triple Crown. She had family watching her play over the weekend.
“Felt like I got to take (my family) out there on the court with me today. Not every day I get to do that,” Thater said Saturday. “A testament to this league and LOVB working to bring us all back and creating something really sustainable here for us.”
The benefits of playing in Triple Crown
Triple Crown first began the NIT in Richmond, Virginia, in 2012 with four teams. The invite-only tournament, self-dubbed the “Super Bowl of Volleyball”, has blossomed into a must-attend event for college programs and aspiring college players. It costs upward of $1 million to put on, according to Triple Crown officials.
It brings together clubs from all over the country. The tournament format allows teams to play a minimum of seven games, and organizers aim to pit uncommon opponents against each other with constant reseeding. Matches play to the best of three sets instead of five, keeping game times to a little over an hour.
Ninety-five of the top-100 ranked USA Volleyball clubs attended this year’s tournament, including local clubs Dynasty Volleyball Academy, KC Power and KC Mavs.
The consensus among Triple Crown attendees is clear: The tournament is well-run, easy to scout and a joy to play in.
“It never really stops. It’s very high energy (from) beginning to end of day,” Leesburg, Virginia-area Paramount Volleyball Club middle blocker Taylor Harrington told The Star.
Harrington, a DMV native, is a junior in high school and committed to play at Penn State. She and her teammates were among many highly recruited players in the tournament.
Her teammates said playing in the tournament is “exhilarating” and “exciting” because of the continual movement and play. College coaches can offer scholarships to younger players to get early commitments. Older players in the tournament who are committed feel less recruiting pressure, allowing them to play freely, Harrington said.
With the eyes of college coaches everywhere, players know that every point matters for their volleyball future.
“It’s a little bit of weight off your shoulders, but definitely doesn’t mean you can just let up,” Harrington said.
Champions of the winners brackets range from 12-and-under to 18-and-under; winning teams automatically qualify for Summer NIT in Arizona. Parents and coaches said winning the tournament at any age can open the door to a bright volleyball future.
“This is the second biggest (tournament) to win,” parent Anthony Jackson said. His daughter, Skylar Jackson, is an outside hitter for Madfrog Volleyball out of Plano, Texas, and is committed to play at Yale next season. She won the tournament three years ago and won the national championship later that year with Dallas Skyline’s 15Us team.
“It just kind of kicks off the club season and puts some perspective on who to watch for,” Kristen Jackson, Anthony’s wife, said. “If you do good here, you are expected to do well the rest of the year.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2026 at 6:29 PM.
