Compiled By Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

The high school girls volleyball season began Monday at schools across the state.West Valley Preps asked local high school coaches about their teams. Here are their responses.

Cactus Cobras

Coach: Anthony Puglisi (sixth year)

2017 Record: 35-9 (4A semifinals)

Region: 4A West Valley

Who are your top returning players? Senior outside hitter Brittnie Henige and senior libero Hailey Rivera

Who are some newcomers that may have an impact this year? Freshmen Rylie Henige and Izzy Salcido

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? They have a very strong desire to finally finish the season. Year after year we are always in the state championship discussion and this year there is a strong drive to make that last game count.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? Deer Valley and Desert Edge. Both are region games and teams that have moved from 5A to 4A.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? Win state and grow as a team while learning responsibility and discipline along the way.

Centennial Coyotes

Coach: Cari Bauer (Third season as head coach)

2017 Record: 32-9 (5A semifinals)

Region: 5A Northwest

Who are your top returning players? Junior Ashley Lifgren, Senior Taleah Cooper, Senior Sommer Kasney, Junior Nyjha Marcelin.

Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Sophomore Kennedy Farley should make key contributions this year and junior setter Kacey Stewart has improved her game also. (Note: Both played varsity last season)

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? For a handful of these girls, they have been together for three years now … they are very good at putting the needs for the team over individual needs.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? Our schedule is tough top to bottom this year and our region has an new, even tougher look.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? We are locked in taking one day at a time and hoping to be playing our best volleyball at the end of October.

Deer Valley's Bailey Fuches (#15) hits the ball over the net against Desert Edge on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017 at Deer Valley High School in Glendale. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]

Deer Valley Skyhawks

Coach: Jackie Wallace (13th year)

2017 Record: 30-14 (Lost in 5A quarterfinals)

Region: 4A West Valley

Who are your top returning players? Juniors Savannah Davis and Maddi Clark, sophomores Bailey Fuches, Carsyn Schuch and Avrey Dunn and senior Daiya Jovel

Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Lanae Gonzales, Kaitlin Brown, Maleah Reynolds, Tatum Stelter, Allison Howard, freshmen Elizabeth Rupp and Emee Fellens

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Experience under fire. We are a very young team, but played in highly competitive matches last season including playoff games against Desert Edge and Centennial.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? Looking forward to playing all the teams on our schedule as all matches will be competitive.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? To be competitive, stay healthy and make a run for the state tournament.

Dysart Demons

Coach: Richard Ebersole (fifth year)

2017 Record: 16-26

Region: 4A Black Canyon

Who are your top returning players? Seniors Tionna Hood (Outside Hitter), Mary David (Setter) Selena Resendiz (MB) Veronica Lopez (Libero).

Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Juniors Kirstane Lopez Draeger and Katelin Arrellin.

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Our offense should function effectively as we have a good core group of seniors who have played together for four years.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? We are excited to have a top five 4A team in Cactus H.S on our schedule early in the season. It will be a great test for us. Our games vs. Mingus, St Mary’s and Estrella Foothills are key as well since they should help prepare us for region play. Within the region, beating Apache Junction will probably be our biggest hurdle but each night in region play is exciting because of the importance of every game.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? Win state and grow as a team while learning responsibility and discipline along the way.

Glendale Prep Griffins

Coach: Jennifer Roberge (sixth year)

2017 Record: 28-7 (2A semifinals)

Region: 2A Central

Top returning players: Senior Jessica Vargas, senior Caitlin Kao, sophomore Nerin Valasakos

Ironwood Eagles

Coach: Lisa Lopez (fourth year)

2017 Record: 10-18

Region: 5A Northwest

Who are your top returning players? Senior outside hitter Caitlyn Collins; senior middle hitter, Sara Lester; junior outside hitter Abby Anaya; junior setter Tessa Young; sophomore, libero Cristina Lopez

Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Sophomore, Libero/DS, Mallory Rich made varsity as a freshman. She is coming back this year with a new fire inside of her. She has a competitive spirit and is ready to make an impact this year.

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? We only lost one senior last year. The team has a special chemistry and work well together on and off the court. They understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and have been holding each other accountable.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? We have a difficult region this year and will see strong competition from Sunnyslope, Centennial, and newcomers Sunrise.

What are the primary goals for this year's team? Our goals are to improve every aspect of our play within each game. We want to be that scrappy team with a no quit, go for everything attitude and hopefully we will see playoffs in our future.

Liberty Lions

Coach: Courtney Johnson (11th year)

2017 Record: 21-11 (5A first round)

Region: 6A Desert Valley

Who are your top returning players? Seniors: Abbie Spiek, Heather Wanninger, Haeleigh Paulino, Mikayla Shaver Juniors: Gracie Newbern, Bri Gaxiola, Jaelynn Elgert, Brooklyn Casey

Who are some newcomers that may have an impact this year? Justine Fernandez (a junior transfer from Centennial), Kitlyn Neal, Madelyn Neal, Kylie Davey, Maranda Schneberger and Jordyn Williams.

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Speed and size.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? Being 6A, all the teams we play are fairly new to us including our region. We are looking forward to playing all of them and seeing how we fare in 6A.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? To come together and learn from our mistakes. We have a very young team, and we needs to be able to recover quickly and use our mistakes as a learning opportunity.

Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions

Coach: Annie Williams (fourth year)

2017 Record: 9-16 (Lost in 6A first round)

Region: 6A Desert Valley

Who are your top returning players? Kylee McBride — senior, right side (second team all conference in 2017 season), Bri Bernard — senior, outside hitter, Jordan Kress — junior, outside fitter (first team All American at nationals), Alissa Ulenhop — sophomore, middle blocker.

Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Devynn Sukung — sophomore defensive specialist. Devynn is a scrappy and vocal player that embodies the true definition of being a competitor.

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? This season we have a special group of girls that have a natural chemistry that we hope to build upon this season. They know how to continually push each other to raise their teammates game to the next level.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? In 6A, we encounter numerous formidable opponents. We are fortunate to play with the best teams that Arizona has to offer. That being said, we always look forward to playing our friendly school rival, Sandra Day O’Connor. Those matches tend to be incredibly intense with tons of school spirit on both sides. As for the toughest team we will play ... arguably all of them. Plus the teams we will play in our tournaments. (Personally I hope to see Basha, as we played them in a tourney last year and lost in a close game. They are extremely well coached and push our team to play their best. I want a rematch.)

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? Each girl on our team has both personal as well as team goals that we strive to reach on the daily basis. In meeting personal goals we hope to develop the best students and athletes while focusing on gelling as a team and hitting our stride at the right time for peak performance. Overall team goal is to not only make it to the state championship, but to be in the top 10 overall. I have no doubt that we have the team that can do it. With continued fight and determination this special team can make that happen.

Northwest Christian's Molly Kipp (#14) hits the ball over the net against Odyssey Institute on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017 at Northwest Christian School in Phoenix. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]

Northwest Christian Crusaders

Coach: Jenna Hope (second year)

2017 Record: 34-5 (3A semifinals)

Region: 3A West

Who are your top returning players? My top returning players this year are Reagan Hope, Zoe Dalessandri and Molly Kipp.

Who are some newcomers that may have an impact this year? Makenzie Wise is a (sophomore) transfer from Sunrise Mountain who will be a big part of the game.

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Our best attribute at the beginning of the season is our unity. We have a small team that all get along really well. The girls love playing together.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? We are really looking forward to playing SCA. They have always been a rival of Northwest and they have a great team. It should be an exciting match.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? Our goal this year is to win state. We have been close in the past, but we feel this year we have the physicality, we just need to push ourselves mentally.

Paradise Honors Panthers

Coach: Megan Domingo (second year)

2017 Record: 11-16 (Did not reach playoffs)

Region: 3A Metro West

Top returning players: Senior MacKenzie Stroh, junior Chiara Fuller

Peoria Panthers

Coach: Maggie Wallace (first year)

2017 Record: 13-18 (Did not reach playoffs)

Region: 4A West Valley

Who are your top returning players? We have six returning seniors and each one of them brings something special to the court. Darryn Hughes OH, Jessica Gonzales OH, Brenna Markley Setter/OPP, Rachelle Binggeli L, Miranda Pinson Setter/OPP, Caitlyn Rodriguez DS. As well as Abigail White M who is a returning junior.

Who are some newcomers that may have an impact this year? I’m excited for the 4 new additions to our team and feel that they will help us in having a successful season.

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? I would have to say determination. These girls are hungry for some good competition and ready for whatever lies ahead for us.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? We’ve got a tough schedule ahead of us. So I would say every team we play will probably give us a run for our money.

We will just take it one game at a time.What are the primary goals for this year’s team? I think something we really want to focus on is running a quicker offense and minimizing mistakes. Also working on being unified and working together to be successful.

Shadow Ridge's Lexi Richards (#14) hits the ball over the net against Agua Fria on Thursday, Oct. 26 at Shadow Ridge High School in Surprise. The Stallions won the postseason play-in match three games to one. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]

Shadow Ridge Stallions

Coach: Linda Rodl (first year)

2017 Record: 20-12 (5A first round)

Region: 6A Southwest

Who are your top returning players? Some of our top returning players are Seniors: Dejah Behrend (OH), Kyley Pendgraft (S), Bri Grabber (L) and Junior Abby Allen (MB).

Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? We are comprised of six outstanding seniors and six amazing juniors all of which will contribute to the teams successes. Juniors Anabelle Gregory (S/RS), Charlize Ziehmer (OH), and Kristy Salazar (L) will see a lot of court time and have a huge impact on the team.

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Our strongest advantage this season is the team cohesiveness we have on and off the court, as well as, the amount of experience each player has playing this game.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? We consider all of our opponents tough - but some fun ones should be Queen Creek, Mountain Ridge, O’Connor, Liberty and Valley Vista.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? We want to enjoy this year, learn as much as we can about this game, implement a high level offense and defense, grow as a team and finish our season around the 8th of November.

Sunrise Mountain Mustangs

Coach: Bob Levardo (fourth season)

2017 Record: 29-9 (4A runners up)

Region: 5A Northwest

Note: Sophomore McKenzie Wise, a first team all-conference outside hitter for the Mustangs as a freshman, transferred to Northwest Christian.

Who are your top returning players? Payton Harmann (s), Madison Harris (mb), Jocelyn Teichman (oh), Megan Flory (l) Kendall Boulay (opp). All are seniors.

Who are some newcomers that may have an impact this year? Sophomore Adna Mehmedovic.

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Experenice. Besides Wise, only one varsity player from last year is not back.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? Sunnyslope and Centennial.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? Win our region.

Valley Vista Monsoon

Coach: David Chavez (fifth year)

2017 Record: 33-6 (6A first round)

Region: 6A Southwest

Who are your top returning players? Senior setter Anna Myers and sophomore Aliyah Moore

Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Freshman setter Kailin Katena, freshman Rylee Brown

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? We are very very young with only one senior and all eager to learn.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? The toughest match will no doubt be Xavier Prep and the match that I look most forward to is Liberty. It has been several years since our paths have crossed and there are many kids that I coach during club season at Liberty.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? The learn, to stay disciplined and have fun. We have one senior, three juniors, five sophomores and three freshman. We are very young.

Willow Canyon Wildcats

Coach: Matt Overfelt (second year)

2017 Record: 19-23 (did not reach playoffs)

Region: 5A Desert West

Who are your top returning players? We have five seniors in our starting lineup that we expect to play a vital role. Abby Cullotta (OH), Cassidy McCoy (S), Aryah McCoy (L), Kaylee Kriwer (OPP), and Karysa Rackley (MB). All are three year varsity players and are playing the best volleyball of their careers.

Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Madison Danielson (OH) and Elana Vargas (MB) will join the starting lineup this year and are expected to contribute at a high level.

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Our team chemistry is fantastic and all of our players have shown tremendous commitment to their coaches and teammates.

Which teams on this season’s schedule are you most looking forward to and will be the toughest? We look forward to testing our skills against last year’s 5A state champs and developing rivalries within our new section, including Millennium and Verrado.

What are the primary goals for this year’s team? We have high expectations for a successful season. Our goal is to improve every time we step on the court and play smart, aggressive, fun, energetic volleyball. If we can do that, we believe our team can reach the playoffs.