West Valley Preps' Surprise, Goodyear boys volleyball preview

Last week marked the beginning of the high school boys volleyball regular season.

The Goodyear Independent and the Surprise Independent asked West Valley coaches to take a look at their teams:

Dysart Demons

4A Southwest Region
Coach: Alma Lindsey (third year as boys coach)
2021 Record: 8-7, 6-4 region
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Our best attribute is the selflessness of our players who put the team’s needs before their own. They work together to earn team success over personal achievement.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? We will need to improve our overall ball control to ensure we are making the most of opportunities on each play.
Who are your team leaders? We have strong leaders in our senior middle, Gage Mulrean, our junior libero Braiden Gowan and our senior setter Daniel Magana Huynh.
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? We have Kade Erickson and Zavrey Romero who will make an immediate impact on the team in supporting our returning players.
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or reach the goals the program has set? We will need to focus on the little things, the fundamentals to refine our game and consistency in serving to reach our full potential this season. We are in a tough region so to make the playoffs would be a huge accomplishment for us this season. Overall we look to continue to build a competitive program here in the West Valley.

Estrella Foothills Wolves

4A Southwest Region
Coach: Michael Matteson (third year as boys coach)
2021 Record: 11-3, 10-0 region (Reached first round of 4A playoffs)
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Our best attribute entering this season is our passion for the game. Many of the boys playing have been playing volleyball since middle school, and they all strive to get better every day.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? We need to improve on serve receive the most to gain success this season.
Who are your team leaders? My team leaders are juniors Ryan Bugs and Brenden Matteson.
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? New this year to varsity are seniors Cutter Briscoe, Aedan Howell, Kris Nickel, and Ross Uretsky.

Millennium Tigers

5A Desert West Region
Coach: Shawn Brannick (sixth year as coach)
2021 Record: 15-4, 8-0 region (second round of 5A playoffs)
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? The guys are a young group in a volleyball sense. They are eager to continue to learn the games and make improvements everyday we walk into the gym.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? We have five new starters this year. Gaining experience on the court together will be a big stride in improvement.
Who are your team leaders? Brendan Bartlett, Chris Moore, and Andrew Lee were voted captains by the players. A great group of guys that hold down everything for us. 
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? Junior MB Kellen Jones is new to volleyball this year but has already made a positive impact in the gym. Sophomore Maddox Hardy has brought a lot of positivity to the middle position as well.
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or reach the goals the program has set? Looking at our record (1-8) at the moment, you wouldn’t think the team would be as positive as we are moving forward. We have played some very tough competition to begin the season and feel like we are ready to take the next step toward a playoff berth.

Willow Canyon Wildcats

5A Northwest Region
Coach: Matt Overfelt (fourth year as coach)
2021 Record: 2-15, 0-8 region
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Athleticism.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? Overcoming errors mid-match and playing at the same effort level at the end of the match as we did at the beginning.
Who are your team leaders? Devin Roberts is a senior outside hitter who has improved immensely in the past year. Jean Russell is a solid defender who takes over our libero position and Paul Petersen will be running the offense. We expect them to earn leadership roles on this team.
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? Rylan Hayes is our only freshman on this year’s varsity team and we expect him to play significant time as an opposite hitter.
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or reach the goals the program has set? We need to come together as a team with a unified goal and not play as individuals.