Indiana's Top Finishing 15s Team at the 2025 Triple Crown NIT

The Triple Crown NIT is one of the biggest volleyball tournaments each club season, where only a select number of teams are invited to participate. This year in the 15s Division, there were two Indiana teams that went and Empowered 15 Elite Black finished the highest. They came into the tournament seeded 49th and ended up finishing tied for 37th after going 5-2 over the three-day tournament.   On day one they won their opening pool and went an impressive 3-0, without dropping a set, beating TAV 15-2s, Club V 15-2s and OT 15 J Stephen. They then went on to go 2-1 on day 2, losing to NKYVC 15-1s and then beating Far Out 15-1s and Adversity 15-1s - both two solid wins. To finish the tournament on Monday they went up against a solid, nationally ranked 1st Alliance 15-1s team and lost in two sets.   Overall, it was a great weekend for this Empowered squad who was able to show the rest of the country what they can do and that they deserve to play at the top level. They play with a lot of joy and seem to have a ton of fun together; I definitely look for them to continue to improve quickly as they head towards MEQ. Currently they are ranked 36th by AES after their good finish at Triple Crown and strong 15th place finish at the Central Zone Invitational.    Elyse was the big surprise for me when I watched this team play. She is a seriously good six rotation outside that can flat out play in both the front and back rows. Mead gets her feet to the ball fast on inside sets so she can swing away and is a really smart hitter who is able to avoid the block. She transitions hard and fast after playing the ball on off blocker defense allowing her to take quality swings almost all the time. In the back row, Elyse is a great server - she got her team back in the match after being down by 5+ by rattling off 3 aces in a row. I can also see why she is listed as a DS/L because she is definitely one of their best passers and seemed the most confident. Lastly, Mead is great at reading and reacting on defense in middle back and can cover a ton of court (great skill for a middle back defender), plus she is always prepared to swing back row. This young lady should no longer be under the radar - she is the real deal.     Paityn is easily one of the top MBs in Indiana in the class of 2028 and is no stranger to Prep Dig Indiana. She has consistently stood out at our showcases and during her 14s year. Lauck is a middle who can do it all and do it well. Her confidence is high, and she brings a certain swagger to the court that many players her age do not. I think the reason she is so effective at such a young age is her ability to always keep her spacing with the setter and the net, allowing her to hit all angles at any time. What struck me when watching Paityn this time is that she can also hold her own playing defense in left back - she had at least four digs in the match I watched. In addition, she has a great deep float serve which she used to bring her team back from 5 down by getting the opposing team out of system each time.     Lyla is a long OH who takes really good rips on the ball with lots of power on good sets. She gets up high when blocking on the left side - think armpit height - and is disciplined, seldom getting used by the right-side attacker. Tindall has a good toolbox for a player her age; she is able to hit a variety of shots including a solid tool shot off the right-side blocker's outside hand that she used more than once. I really like how efficient she is, especially out of system, where she rarely made any hitting errors and still was able to get a strong swing with lots of pace. If Lyla can continue to work on transitioning hard and deep after playing defense in the front row, she will continue to be very efficient and will start to put even more balls away.     Reagan is a good size RS who puts up a big block against opposing OHs, especially when she is in the front row with Lauck. Edwards touches 9'10" and she certainly knows how to use it to her advantage. She is listed at 6'0", but I would guess she may be taller just by seeing her size at the net. When she transitions deep, she can hit high over the blocker's hands and down the line if given a set to do so. I would love to see Reagan more involved with the offense - I think her ability to score and hit over the block could really open up the middles and outsides even more, especially when they play elite level teams with a large block.     Arielle is a big, solid blocker who moves well laterally and knows how to cover a lot of ground with her long stride. She is also great blocking on the right side and can certainly affect any hitter's confidence. On offense, Stephens runs primarily ones and can hit them either direction (cut back and power), especially when she doesn't get tight to the setter and stays off the net. What I really loved about her offensive game was her off speed shots - she can tip deep corners on the one ball, which is a skill that many middles don't develop or use until late in high school/early college. If Stephens can focus on getting up quicker in transition and staying off the net every time, she is going to be a solid, well rounded middle blocker.    In addition, both setters of their 6-2 ([player_tooltip player_id='586964' first='Leah' last='Adams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='787560' first='Madison' last='Branam']) do a nice job of moving the ball around to all of their hitters. They keep the offense from being one dimensional and I love the way they really work the middle at the start of the match to then open things up for their outsides.   Lastly, the two defensive specialists, [player_tooltip player_id='586969' first='Marlowe' last='Weaver'] and [player_tooltip player_id='725569' first='Jocelyn' last='Walborn'], are steady across the back row. Jocelyn is really good in middle back where she can read and react, plus she is effective at using her hands balls that go deep and high off the block. Marlowe is a hard worker who never stops moving and brings great energy to the team. I like her ability to read the off-speed shot, get there quick and not have to go to the floor.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/02/98296BC9-EA57-4A22-927D-19631520477C-crop-1093x718-1739986859.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-752087" style="width:338px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Empowered VBC</figcaption></figure>   Follow along with Empowered 15 Elite Black on Instagram, along with all of Empowered Volleyball Academy's teams here: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/empoweredvball_probeachjuniors/">Empowered Volleyball Academy & Pro Beach Juniors (@empoweredvball_probeachjuniors) • Instagram photos and videos</a>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">If you loved this article, please follow our Instagram page, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/abovethenetvolleyball">Prep Dig IN | Above The Net Volleyball</a> for exclusive content and behind-the-scenes action.</h3>   After following our page, take the next step and subscribe to PrepDig! 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The Triple Crown NIT is one of the biggest volleyball tournaments each club season, where only a select number of teams are invited to participate. This year in the 15s Division, there were two Indiana teams that went and Empowered 15 Elite Black finished the highest. They came into the tournament seeded 49th and ended up finishing tied for 37th after going 5-2 over the three-day tournament.