Kaden Haase is a student at Valley Christian and is a part of the AIA's Student SID Program.

Following an impressive State Runner-up title from last year's team, the 2024 Valley Christian Varsity Girls Volleyball team hopes to finish even stronger this year with nothing less than a state championship victory. Thanks to new freshmen Lila Limatta and Elyse Wolf paired with last year’s returning players, the team stands to have a good shot at the state title.  

The ‘24 team is led by Senior captains Madison Brown-McAlpine and Kelsey Brooks who are both 4-time varsity players in their high school careers. As the starting setter since her freshman year, Madison Brown-McAlpine hopes to surpass 3,000 career assists during this volleyball season.

Star hitter Kelsey Brooks with an impressive 500+ career kills is unfortunately still recovering from a tear in her ACL/MCL and will be missing a portion of the season, but she states, “Even though I’m injured, I’m still so excited to watch my team play and cheer them on from the sides.” 

This year’s team of Trojans also consists of many other notable players including some on the All-American watch list such as seniors Madison Brown-McAlpine, Kelsey Brooks, and Elissa Stuber. The team also includes two members on the underclassmen Phenom watchlist, which includes sophomores Sadie Wahlin and Ansley Venkatesh.  

Some things to look forward to this year during the ‘24 Trojans volleyball season are notable tournaments such as the Nike TOC Tournament on October 4th and 5th, and the SoCal Invitational in California. While there, the team plans to bond closer together and they’ll also face off against local California school Rancho Bernardo (CA).  

The Trojans got their first feel of the court this past Thursday where they scrimmaged the 6A Mesa Jackrabbits, Williams Field Blackhawks, and Casteel Colts. This allowed for the Trojans to test out their chemistry as a team and see how they perform against tougher competition compared to their typical 3A opponents.

Head coach Tyler Trathen, who was also named Region coach of the year for the 2023 season, stated “We are very excited to get to state finals again, and with most of our returners back, we are excited to be back battling in tournaments and games to be the best team that we can be.” 

Make sure to come out and support the Trojans in their first game against the Gilbert Christian Knights on September 4th. The Frosh team is set to play at 4:00 PM, Junior Varsity at 5:00 PM, and Varsity at 6:00 PM at Gilbert Christian High School. Go Trojans!