Girls volleyball ends regular season as Region Champs, looking to earn a state title as #1 seed
November 11, 2024 by Abby Grier, Valley Christian High School
Abby Grier is a student at Valley Christian and is a member of the AIA Student SID Program.
The Valley Christian girls volleyball team’s regular season has come to an end. The Frosh and JV teams dominated the last three games against Coolidge, Apache Junction and Florence. The Varsity team came in on fire against the same teams, beating them all in three sets. The Varsity team remained undefeated throughout the whole season.
On Wednesday, October 30th, the Trojans defeated the Gophers from Florence in three sets to secure a 1st place finish in their region. Their overall record for the season was 18-0, and in their region they were 10-0. This makes them the only undefeated team in the state, and they were even undefeated in sets, which was very impressive.
The varsity team had many players that made this undefeated season happen. Freshman Lila Liimatta had an outstanding 227 kills throughout the whole regular season, and she’s not done yet. Senior Madi Brown-McAlpine had a fantastic season with a whopping 660 assists. Sophomore Sadie Wahlin was strong at the net with 121 blocks and is currently #1 for hitting percentage in Arizona.
This season the Varsity team really showed out and are fired up for playoff starting November 9th. We asked Coach Tyler what his thoughts were on the end of the regular season, and what his hopes are going into playoffs. He said, “We came in prepared to retain our region title and we did that. We are looking at the bigger picture to get ready for finals. I think with the talent and leadership that we have; we have a good chance at making a run to the state finals again. We are ready to bring home the state title this year.”
Valley Christian volleyball is getting prepared for playoffs. Senior Kelsey Brooks, who has been out with a torn ACL all season, shared, “Our team is excited and confident that we can go all the way in the state tournament and win it! The girls say they will win it for me, and I have full confidence in them.” Although she has been out with an injury, Kelsey has still has remained a captain on the team and has played a large role in the team’s leadership. This has given the team extra motivation as they want to give her another ring, as she and fellow senior captain, Madi Brown McAlpine, earned one their freshman year. It would be the perfect bookend to their high school career.
Make sure to come out and cheer on the Trojans in the state tournament. The first round and quarterfinals will be Saturday, November 9th at Millenium High School. Keep up with the tournament with the link below. Go Trojans!
