By Richard Smith
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Volleyball, like other sports, tends to revolve around the four-year starters and star attackers, setters and liberos.

Beyond that, though, high school programs serve as incubators that allow players to grow as young women and on the court.

Valley Vista coach David Chavez witnessed this transformation during the careers of seniors Olivia Moore and Elizabeth Moyer. He said he’s thrilled to see where they are now, since the duo represent two of the three players with the best work ethics he has coached.

“Those kids are one and two as far as coachability. It’s sad to see them leave soon. You want them to be the best they can be, and they are.”

Both came in with skills to learn and played on the junior varsity as freshmen.

Moore played mostly JV as a freshmen while her older sister, Aliyah, was leaving her mark on the program’s record book as an outside hitter.

Olivia is a setter and was helped by a year of development with JV coach Jorie Mayfield in 2020.

“They really helped me develop physically, a lot, and emotionally, I was on JV and was able to get coached. She really helped me develop so I could play a part on the varsity,” Moore said.

Moyer now plays right side and also benefited from that JV year. She said she became friends with varsity players as a freshman.

The slow build continued in 2021.

“When I came up to the varsity as a sophomore I barely touched the court. Now as a senior I’m in six rotations so I don’t come off the court at all. It’s pretty cool to see that, and that my stats have gone up, especially hitting percentage. My skills have changed completely,” Moyer said.

As the playoffs approach next week, Moore said she wants to improve in the mental confidence aspect of the game.

Chavez is in his 10th year as the Monsoon coach. In that time he is hard pressed to think of a player that has shown more overall growth than Moore.

“That kid is special. I try to coach all kids differently because they’re different kid. I’ve seen her grow more than most any other kid I’ve had. She’s stronger and more confident as a person,” Chavez said.

Both Moore and Moyer said some of their fondest memories of Valley Vista volleyball will be how the program equipped them for the complexities of life outside the gym.

“Our coach always has these conversations with us, not just about on the court, but how we’re doing off the court to make us better,” Moore said.

Now they are leading some of those conversations. Sidney Baer is the only other senior on the roster.
Moyer and Moore were unanimous picks as captains.

“Everyone on the team knows. I let the team choose captains and they chose them both. They made the right call,” Chavez said.

At times leadership can be scary, Moore said, and at times it can be frustrating, Moyer said.

But both are seeing talented underclassmen like sophomore Brooklyn Jenkins, junior Marielle Ramos, sophomore Ava Hewitt and junior Raylynn DeJesus grow.

“We have to show them what we want it to look like in the program, and what we want the future of Valley to look like,” Moyer said.

After the Oct. 19 win against Shadow Ridge, Valley Vista was ranked No. 10 in 6A. Chavez started the schedule with four bona fide 6A contenders in Gilbert Perry, Tempe Corona del Sol, Liberty and Sunnyslope.

Valley Vista lost those four as well as to No. 1 ranked O’Connor. The hope is that when the playoffs start Nov. 2, the Monsoon are prepared to possibly win their first game in the main 6A bracket.

“Coming into the program, we’ve know that our goal is to make playoffs. We know we’re going to at least get to the first round and it’s going to be a hard game. If we stay connected as a team we’ll be fine. It will show on the court,” Moyer said.

Going point by point with those elite opponents have been the highlights of this season for Moore.

“The biggest moments are in any game when we get in a big rally against a hard team and we’re able to pull it off — or take a set off them. It gets us so excited and gets our adrenaline pumping,” Moore said.

Moyer wants to become a pediatrician. Moore said she is not sure what she wants to study.

Both will decide where they’re playing next after the high school season ends.

Richard Smith
Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.