Island Heat 14-1 picked up three victories during pool play at the 2026 Amateur Athletic Union National Volleyball Championships and will enter the single-elimination bracket Tuesday with a 3-6 record.
The St. Croix-based squad earned its first tournament win Sunday after dropping its opening match of the day to City Beach 14 Green, 25-9, 25-21.
Taliyah Franco led the way in Island Heat’s breakthrough victory, serving 15 points in a straight-set win over its opponent, 25-14, 25-22.
Island Heat followed with a hard-fought three-set victory over FL Momentum. Trailing 17-16 in the opening set, the Virgin Islands team seized control when Christina Craft stepped to the service line and rattled off eight consecutive points to spark a 25-19 win.
FL Momentum answered with a 25-22 victory in the second set to force a decisive third set. Franco helped Island Heat take an early 7-1 lead, and although the Florida team mounted a comeback, Island Heat held on for a 15-12 victory to secure the match.
Island Heat added another win Monday, defeating Hunter’s 14U Red in straight sets, 25-14, 25-23.
The team later fell to Tainas 14U, 15-25, 25-13, 15-5, before closing pool play with a loss to Madison Elite 14 Black, 25-8, 25-17.
Elite 340 continued competition Sunday with three matches in pool play.
The Virgin Islands squad nearly pulled off a comeback victory against Metro 14 South. After trailing 16-10 in the opening set, Elite 340 rallied to win 26-24. Metro responded by taking the final two sets, 25-9 and 16-6, to claim the match.
Elite 340 then lost to USA South 14 Premier Black, 25-6, 25-12, before falling to GoTime in straight sets, 25-11, 25-11.
Monday brought more challenges as Elite 340 dropped all three of its matches in straight sets.
The team will look to regroup when single-elimination play begins Tuesday.
