Memphis Coles is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Tempe Preparatory Academy for AZPreps365.

Tempe Preparatory Academy coach John Bundy said the team has a strategy it works on in practice when it needs to bounce back.

They have a drill they call, "T-Swift." The Knights use Taylor Swift’s anthem "Shake it off" to do just that and shake off a lost set.

In the case of Tuesday night's game, the Knights shook off a first set loss and charged back, winning 3-1 against the ALA-Anthem South Titans to get their fourth conference win and first region win of the season.

The first game of 2A Valley region play was an intense match ending in four sets. Middle and right side hitter Abigail Baker was a standout player for Tempe Prep, notching two aces and two kills.

After losing the first set 25-19, the Knights bounced back in a big way. Baker spoke on how things changed for her team.

“I think we just adjusted indubitably…we need[ed] to lock in in the beginning,” Baker said. “But in the end, we proved that we can do it.”

Baker, one of the three seniors on the team, helped turn things around for Tempe Prep.

In the next two sets, the Knights took control, winning the second set 25-15 and the third set 25-13. 

TPA was able to better contain Anthem South’s outside hitters Miley Rice and Bella Watson who had very good first sets. Watson, a senior, was a constant leader for the Titans. Despite attacking and ball handling errors, she was everywhere on the court.

In the second and third sets, a pair of freshmen stepped up for the Knights. Freshman right-side hitter Ella Buettner had seven kills on the day. Paired along with her soft sets, she was a difference-maker. Freshman middle hitter Natasha Gladden had five kills and a block. 

The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle throughout. 

The Titans jumped to an early lead behind points from Packard and middle hitter Presley Barton. TPA fought back and tied the score at 10-10 before Anthem South took a timeout.

Throughout the game, but especially in the fourth set, senior Emily Youngs was resilient. Despite nine attack errors, she had 11 kills. In a crucial momentum swing, Youngs hit an error before slamming the ball right in the middle pocket of the Titan’s defense. 

After a Titan timeout at 22-21 for the Knights, TPA pulled away and went on a 3-1 run to end the game. On the match point, the home crowd got loud in the Redemption Church gym. The game ended on an Anthem South error. 

After the game, Bundy said Tempe Prep’s key to winning is playing their style.

“Our mantra is happy, scrappy [and] together,” Bundy said.

He said he thought that was the biggest difference between the first set and the last three.

Baker said the team needed to focus from the beginning going forward in the season.

Both teams will need to clean up their attack errors in future games. Anthem South had 21 attack errors and Tempe Prep had 25 errors. Both teams can take solace in defense, though. Not many service aces were given up on either side.

Overall, this was a solid start for 2A Valley region play.

After the win, Tempe Prep improves 4-2 in conference play and starts out 1-0 in the 2A Valley region. It is now ranked second in the region.

Looking ahead for the Knights, they have one more game this week. They travel to North Phoenix Preparatory to play the 6-1 Gladiators. This will be a conference game for the Knights.

Going forward, Anthem South can utilize middle blocker Holland Packard. She was constantly a problem for Tempe Prep, standing at 5 feet 9 inches tall, her size helped her tally a team-high three blocks on the day.

After the loss, the Titans fall to 1-3 in conference play and they start region play with a losing record.  

The Titans play again on Wednesday against Madison Highland. They are 1-1 in the region and 2-5 in conference play.