Tonight was all laughter (and a few tears) as the seniors of the Sahuaro volleyball team took on Amphitheater for their final home match. As the stands shook with excitement and cheers – with the game being a close one – the girls played their hearts out to beat their opponent 3-0. Before the game, Reagyn Pense said, “I think we’re going to do good. I definitely think the energy of it being our senior night and how we played against them last time is definitely something we’re going to bring into this game with us.” She was not wrong. This year, the Cougar’s team was stacked with eight seniors – Madison “Madi” Murrow, Cassandra “Cassie” Coolidge, Jalissa “Juju” Krasne, Lily Bush, Isabel “Izzy” Richey, Sydney Vega, Reagyn Pense, and Brooklyn Comfort.

Let’s meet the seniors:

Jalissa “Juju” Krasne, number #7, plays defensive specialist. Over her seven years of volleyball, Juju has had to overcome the challenge of learning new positions and countless injuries. That’s actually the reason for the start of her volleyball career. “I started playing because I wasn’t able to play my alternative sports because of my knees, and then once I got into high school my coaches encouraged me to play the sport even more.” Her greatest supporter is Coach Connor, one of the assistant coaches. She feels that her, “…biggest achievement is being able to get better at passing.” Juju also loves the friends and memories she has made through her years in volleyball.

Isabel “Izzy” Richey, right-side hitter, and #11, started playing volleyball in sixth grade because she wanted to try as many sports as possible. From this, Izzy found she really loved playing and wanted to keep hanging out with her friends, as they played volleyball too. Her largest sponsor so far has been from her mom and Coach Connor. “Getting my serve over the net – that was my biggest accomplishment,” she said. Coming from her junior year is her favorite memory, “…getting to make new friends and getting closer to teammates.”

Number 13, defensive specialist, Sydney Vega, attributes her success to, “The support from my friends and Coach Connor has really been the reason why I continued to keep playing and not quit.” She has been playing volleyball for five years and continued to play because she wanted the experiences she would get through the sport. She has had to overcome the desire to quit due to lack of playing time, but she knew the memories she would make and the adventures she would have would make it all worth it. Her favorite memory was, “Probably when I was playing as a lib[ero], and instead of getting up and standing to go get the ball I crawled my way to the ball.”

Madison, “Madi” Murrow, plays outside hitter and can be found on the court as number 5. Over her six years of volleyball, her biggest challenge has been, “…the mind game with it. Not being nervous during games and getting out of my head – like making a mistake and then getting over it. I got a lot better with that because this year was really good, last year I was getting over it, sophomore year it was a little shakey, but I think that’s the…thing I’ve gotten better at.” Although she doesn’t plan to continue playing in college, she wants to play recreationally. She feels that her biggest achievement has been playing varsity sophomore – senior year; her favorite part of all these years has been playing with her best friend Lily, and the friends she has made along her journey.

Cassandra “Cassie” Coolidge, #15, plays as a middle blocker. Her favorite memory over her five years of playing volleyball has been, “Honestly, taking a set versus Salpointe when we played Salpointe [at] home was pretty cool because they’re a tough team…and then we had a pretty good game against CDO last night and we were close to beating them so I think always playing higher ranked teams and almost hoping that were going to win a set I think is awesome.” Even though it has been a challenge for the team to overcome drama and differences, she feels that the senior group has been able to work some of their issues out in order to play like a team. Cassie started playing volleyball because she enjoyed basketball, and now she is considering playing volleyball collegiately! “I’ve always wanted to do that but it’s just going to come down to the little things…the opportunity is there so I’m definitely excited,” she said.

Brooklyn Comfort, #1, and libero for the Cougar’s Varsity Volleyball team has been playing since she was only seven years old! She “…just really wanted to play and then I really liked it.” She has committed to continuing her volleyball career at Champion Christian College in Arkansas. She has found her biggest struggle to be injuries and, “…multiple surgeries, so I think just trying to get through that and still trying to love the game.” Her biggest achievement from her years was hitting her 1,000th career dig against Tanque Verde this year. She is also ranked second in the state for digs. Her biggest supporter is her mom. She said this is because “She’s just always been there for me. She’s been the only one that’s like come to my games. She’s definitely the one who’s like ‘Brooklyn you did bad.’ but then she’ll be like, ‘Do this. Do that.’ So she’s just been my number one, the one who’s helped me out, pushed me to do better.”

After joining volleyball in 5th grade following some forceful encouragement from her parents, Reagyn Pense, #4 and defensive specialist for the squad has found a love for one of her sports. Over her years, her biggest challenge has been overcoming ongoing injuries. Her favorite memory from her years has been, “…making it to the championship game at the Flowing Wells Tournament twice in a row.” Playing volleyball for seven years is not an easy feat, but she has found unwavering encouragement from her mom and sister.

Lily Bush, outside hitter, and number three on the court, has been playing volleyball for five years. After trying out several different sports in her early years, she felt that “…volleyball was the only one that really stuck with me that I really enjoyed the most.” Although she will not be playing in college, she hopes to be able to play in an adult league. Her biggest challenge has been, “…staying motivated and trying to be the best athlete I can – have good sportsmanship even though throughout the years I didn’t see as much playing time as I wish I did, but I’m glad I stuck to it and stayed all the way to my senior year.” Her tenacity paid off with the friends and memories she had made, especially over her senior year. Her biggest encouragement has been her parents and grandma.

The head coach for the team and College and Career Counselor, Mr. Haynes, said his favorite part about coaching the girls was the joy and laughter they shared. He loves, “…seeing them encourage and support each other.” He has been coaching varsity at Sahuaro for three years and has coached several of tonight’s seniors on varsity for all of his time at Sahauro. He also said, “I have seen all the athletes grow in their ability as players becoming a much better team each year. They have learned to encourage each other and play through adversity. I feel that they are well-prepared to enter the next season of their lives.” He advises the seniors to continue to be, “…fierce competitors with outstanding character in all areas of their lives.”