The high school girls volleyball season began Aug. 23 at schools across the state. West Valley Preps and the Peoria Independent and Glendale Independent asked local high school coaches about their teams. Here are their responses:

Cactus Cobras

Coach: Jana Henige (second season)
2022 Record: 31-8 overall, 8-2 region (4A second round)
Region: 4A West Valley
Who are your top returning players? Seniors Missy Vito, Rylan Gompf and Natalya Arneson.
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Juniors Mya John and Brooke Wolek.
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Their adaptability.
Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? We always look forward to playing Deer Valley and Agua Fria.  I believe Estrella Foothills will be the toughest. 
What are the primary goals for this year's team? To carry on the same Cactus tradition. Compete, do our best, and represent Cactus as a winning program.

Ironwood Eagles

Coach: Lisa Lopez (ninth season)
2022 Record: 22-16 overall, 8-4 region (5A first round)
Region: 5A Northwest
Who are your top returning players? Seniors Victoria White and Sedona Anderson.
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Sisters, Keira and Kelsey Allen.
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Eagerness and willingness to learn. They ask great questions and are not afraid to implement new strategies. 
Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? We always look forward to all teams on our schedule and during tournament play. We'll use the tournament opportunities to grow as a team and prepare for post season.
What are the primary goals for this year's team? Continue to build team chemistry on and off the court. Take risks, hold each other accountable and become state bound.

Liberty senior Hailee Peters sets senior middle hitter Trinity Williams during the Lions’ win Aug. 31 at Valley Vista High School in Surprise. (Courtesy Picture Lady Photography/For West Valley Preps)

Liberty Lions

Coach: Chris Brown (second season)
2022 Record: 26-7 overall, 8-2 region (6A second round)
Region: 6A Desert Valley
Top returning players: Ellie Trimble,senior OH. 2022 stats: 348 kills (led team), 249 digs (3rd on team). Alyssa Forelli, senior setter. 2022 stats: 742 assists (led team), 195 digs (fourth on team). Tristen Raymond, junior right side/setter. 2022 stats: 282 kills (second on team), 258 digs (second on team), 100 assists (third on team).
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Lauren Forelli (freshman outside hitter) will be a newcomer who may have an impact this year.
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? One of our team’s best attributes is our depth at every single position. Another attribute that is the best for this team is their overall cohesiveness.
Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? O’Connor (Sept. 28 at Liberty, Oct. 19 at O’Connor), Corona Del Sol on Sept. 27 and at Sunrise Mountain on Sept. 7.
What are the primary goals for this year’s team? The primary goals for this team are to progress and get better each game, and put ourselves in a position to make the state championship game.

Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions

Coach: Christina Jensen (fourth season)
2022 Record: 10-21 overall, 1-9 region (6A play in)
Region: 6A Desert Valley

Top returning players: Lucy Nutting: Senior libero - Lucy has developed into a stong leader in the program. She is an exceptional libero, and is the heart of the team on the court. She has a great defensive read and is coming strong into her senior year. Nissa Teran: Senior middle blocker: Nissa lead the team in kills and aces last season, and she is stronger than ever this year. Nissa is quick and smart on the net. She sets an incredible example of hard work for her teammates and does a lot of work off the court to keep the team working well together. Zahrah Ralph: Senior setter: Zahrah has been a big influencer in the program the last two seasons. She has quick hands and a great read on the court, which helps her create a dynamic offense. She never puts less that 100% of her effort into games or practice. She is looking to have a stellar senior season.
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Freshman middle blocker Keira Caldwell joined the varsity team this season. She is quick and strong, and is already making an impact on the court. She has a great competitive drive and isn't afraid to step up and rally her team behind her. She looks to have a great volleyball career ahead of her.
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Unity. There are seven seniors on the team and five of them have been playing together at Ridge since their freshman year. The trust and support on the court is like nothing we have seen in this program. All the players work hard for each other and their respect for one another shows in their postitive attitudes.
Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? Our region is always tough. There are so many great programs and we are looking forward to the challenge that each one will bring. We are hoping to make a bigger impact this season in our region matches.
What are the primary goals for this year’s team? This year's team is all the will to choose. The choice to work hard, be a good teammate, to persevere through the hard times to get to the good ones. Our goal is to find the best way as an individual to contribute what is needed to make the TEAM the best it can be. We believe if we can achieve this, the wins will follow.

O’Connor Eagles

Coach: Amanda Burbridge (third season)
2022 Record: 24-8 overall, 8-2 region (6A second round)
Region: 6A Desert Valley
Top returning players: Junior Devyn Weist (OH), senior Kinsley Singleton (L), senior Shannon Sheehy (S), junior Addi France (S), senior Piper Rama (OH) and senior Katie Lambeth (OH).
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Freshman Kristen Sheehy (MB), sophomore Brooklyn Palmer (OH)
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? This team really enjoys playing and competing together. They truly enjoy each other so practices are very competitive and fun.
Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? Our in conference opponents will be tough. Liberty, Sunnyslope and Pinnacle. This week we take on Corona del Sol at Corona and later we have Basha. East Valley schools are always tough.
What are the primary goals for this year’s team? This team wants to enjoy the journey together while focusing on winning a state title.

Peoria Panthers

Coach: Sedona Merrifield (first year)
2022 Record: 12-14 overall, 4-6 region
Region: 4A West Valley
Who are your top returning players? Yazmine Hernandez, Lorissa Guerrera , Sarah Fitzpatrick, Pricilla Nunez and Jahmya Earley.
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Alexi Solis, Michelle Kogbara and Courtney Mirabella.
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Peoria High School's girls varsity volleyball's best attributes would be their passion and determination. The girls are always hungry for more and it’s driven by their wants and needs to always give 110%.
Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? The team we are looking forward to the most would be Cactus. We enjoy going up against our rival teams such as Cactus, as it makes for an intense and entertaining game.
What are the primary goals for this year's team? I sat with the girls on the first day of practice and they all came up with an achievable goal to win 10+ games within the season. As a coach, my primary goal for them is to start strong, stay strong and finish strong.

Sunrise Mountain senior Shelby Gorospe and junior Emily Pruitt talk before a point during a  September 2022 home match against Centennial. Pruitt is now the Mustangs' senior leader. (Courtesy Ed Russell Photography/For West Valley Preps)

Sunrise Mountain Mustangs

Coach: Brandi Jans (fifth year as head coach)
2022 Record: 24-9 overall, 11-1 region (5A semifinals)
Region: 5A Northwest
Who are your top returning players? Senior Emily Pruitt, junior Shelby Schoenbeck and sophomore Lily Rolfes (But is injured)
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Sophomore outside hitter Addison Wiemann.
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Our best attribute entering this season is our strength as hitters and our common goals.
Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? We are looking forward to seeing Centennial and teams outside of our region that we will play in our Nike tournament as well as the Millennium tournament. The tournaments are opportunities to grow as a team and prepare for post season.
What are the primary goals for this year's team? Our primary goals this season are to work together as a team to win our region as well as to push ourselves to the championship state match and win.