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

Tempe Prep Knights volleyball is going to the playoffs for the first time under coach John Bundy.

Bundy took over the team in 2024, when the Knights finished 5-12 and 5-9 in conference play. They ended the season ranked 34th in the AIA 2A volleyball rankings. 

This year, the Knights saw major improvement. After ending the regular season with a 13-6 record and a 15th seed, TPA earned a chance to go back to the playoffs for the first time since 2023.

Senior Emily Youngs has tasted playoffs before. She was a sophomore in 2023 when the team lost to Phoenix Country Day in Round 1 of the 2A State Championship. 

Tempe Prep plays the Phoenix Country Day Eagles again in the first round of the playoffs November 8.

“It's great to be back,” Youngs said.

In the first set of the play-in against No.18 Fountain Hills on November 4, Youngs took over serving and had a run of aces that set the tone. 

The Falcons tried to stop the runs by taking timeouts at 15-10 and 21-10. 

Those did little. The Knights won the first set 25-15. Youngs ended the game with eight aces.

The second set was a much closer contest. Teams traded points back and forth, and three timeouts were taken. The Knights started reeling in the second set, with multiple instances of a lack of communication leading to balls dropping in the middle of the court.

In a timeout, Bundy reminded his team of the “T-Swift” drill the team had worked on throughout the week. In practice, the Knights learn what to do with mistakes they make – “Shake it off.”

"Take a breath, stop stressing [and] just play our game,” Bundy said.

Tempe Prep had a chance to win, up 24-23 before the Falcons called a timeout. 

Coach Olivia Long and her Fountain Hills team battled back, extending the game. 

Throughout the first half of the game, a theme for Fountain Hills was the miscues. It was unable to make a comeback in the close second set. The Falcons committed a setting error to end the period, 27-25.

One aspect of play that helped the Knights pull out the second set, and eventually the match, was the combination of its two star freshmen, setter Ella Buettner and middle hitter Natasha Gladden. The two connected several times on sets and attacks.

“She does a great job of spreading the offense out really well,” Youngs said of Buettner.

When asked about the overall direction of the program, Bundy referred to the talented underclassmen that Tempe Prep has, and specifically Buettner’s performance in the game against Fountain Hills.

“Ella completely stepped up and took command of the court,” Bundy said.

Youngs said she was overall happy with her and the team’s offensive performance. The Knights finished with 35 kills, to which she contributed 11. Youngs, the team’s leader in kills per set, averaged above her normal clip of 2.8, with 3.6 kills per set.

As for Fountain Hills, it ends its season and says goodbye to its coach.

Long, who has been the coach for Fountain Hills for five years, said an emotional goodbye to her girls postgame, as she will not return next season. 

“Half of our team is sophomores, so I know that the coming seasons are going to be really successful for them,” Long said.

Despite the bitter end, Long was still pleased with her team.

“We didn't have our most winning season, but I'm just really proud of the people they are, on and off the court,” Long said.

Fountain Hills finished the season 18-19 overall.