Resilient Tstreet Powers Their Way into the 2nd Round

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Day two at the Triple Crown NIT is heating up in the 15's division.&nbsp; There were some very intriguing matches brewing and we can't contain our excitement.&nbsp; The Elite Division Championship Challenge matches are done and now the best of the best are battling it out in a winner take all Championship bracket.&nbsp; One of the matchups that we were on hand to witness was Tstreet 15 Chandler versus AZ Sky 15 Gold.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams have some talent on their rosters that could give anyone a run for their money.&nbsp; AZ Sky 15 Gold comes into the Challenge Bracket after going undefeated so far and besting a very talented Houston Juniors squad in the challenge match.&nbsp; They have a well-balanced offense and even if they get knocked down, they get right back up and keep fighting.&nbsp; Tstreet on the other hand had traveled down a slightly more difficult road to get to where they are.&nbsp; They went 0-3 in their opening Power Pool B but every match was highly contested.&nbsp; All three of their matches were against teams who will undoubtedly qualify for nationals in the Open division later this year.&nbsp; Despite being winless, they still earned the right to battle against another top squad in the challenge match to have the chance to still be in contention.&nbsp; They ended up beating a solid Dallas Skyline 15 Royal David team in straight sets and were ready for a new fresh start.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In set one of the first round against AZ Sky 15 Gold, it looked like it was going to be a battle between two evenly matched squads.&nbsp; Neither team could get more than a two point lead as they traded big time blows against each other.&nbsp; Tstreet's star outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='557446' first='Piper' last='Coady'] sent quite a few booming sharp angle attacks that scored. Superstar middle [player_tooltip player_id='569615' first='Kate' last='De Jong'] definitely made her presence felt at the net and from the service line as she had a few aces to extend the lead 13-9.&nbsp; More strong serving from setter [player_tooltip player_id='515127' first='Riley' last='Stringer'] led to a few out of system plays from AZ and strong blocking from [player_tooltip player_id='778928' first='Izabella' last='Slavkov'] sealed the deal.&nbsp; Gabriella Nucci turned it on for AZ 15 Gold as she slowed down the attack by getting her hands on a lot of swings at the net.&nbsp; Great timing on the block like this definitely may not show up in the stat book, but it allowed her teammates to turn defense into offense.&nbsp; It allowed hitters like left side Peyton Pearson to swing away and allow Arizona Sky to claw their way back into the match.&nbsp; Tstreet's awesome libero had to have some ball magnets inserted into her arms because she was everywhere digging up everything that came her way.&nbsp; I also loved how she was able to use her hands to dig the high balls that were hit at her.&nbsp; All of that ball control kept her team in system and able to fire away.&nbsp; Their offense was just too much to handle in set one as they won easily 25-17.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Do you remember me saying that Arizona had some fight in them earlier?&nbsp; Well they definitely showed it in set two.&nbsp; Right side/setter Addison Martin stepped her game up big time as she stuff blocked and slowed down the offensive barrage from her Cali opponent.&nbsp; She had tons of help in the back row from libero Miyah Duran who did such a great job digging and passing for her squad.&nbsp; Tstreet then took a staggering lead in the middle of set two thanks to some haymaker swings from left side attacker [player_tooltip player_id='515004' first='Josslyn' last='Jacks'].&nbsp; She also used that strong right arm to unleash fury on some jump topspin serves that wreaked havoc on the reception of AZ Sky.&nbsp; They forced AZ to call a timeout at 11-17 in set two.&nbsp; Right after the timeout, outside hitter Malaya Gibbs gave her team a shot of adrenaline with some big swings to cut into the Tstreet lead.&nbsp; However, they couldn't contain middles [player_tooltip player_id='569615' first='Kate' last='De Jong'] and Blake Borquist for long as they helped Tstreet take set two 25-22.&nbsp; This squad showed everyone what resilience really is as they are now on a roll after the tough start to the tourney.&nbsp; We are going to watch them closely as we think they have the firepower to do some damage moving forward in the bracket.&nbsp; Stay tuned for more from them!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As always stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following us, Prep Dig Family!&nbsp; Don't be afraid to interact with us.&nbsp; We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments.&nbsp; Keep them coming!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->