Sedona Red Rock High School’s 2023-24 volleyball season is getting underway, with Head Coach John Parks, who has been involved with the program in various capacities since 1994, returning for another year.

“I hope we can make the playoffs this year, since we didn’t last year, and hopefully go further than that,” senior Isabella Griffin said. “I think we all ended up working harder because we wanted it more. I’ve seen  more of an effort to come practice, more of a hustle. They want it more than they did in previous years.”

“We were younger last year, we have a lot of sophomores that are now juniors,” Parks said. “I’m hoping that [experience] will kick in a little bit more. We had some tough losses last year. We were just one win away from making the playoffs last year and there were three matches that we lost in five that could have went either way.”

Parks hopes that a more seasoned team will translate to more postseason success, and several team members are in agreement.

“Handling the pressure better,” Parks said. “That’s what experience does for you. You’re used to it now, you’ve been in those big moments, and to just be like, ‘Yeah, that is just just the way it is. It’s not something new.’ So the pressure is not something new. You just get used to it. The more you  play, the in more tight situations [you] play and the better [the] competition you play, the better you get.”

“I feel like we’re communicating a lot more, working together as a team instead of independently,” sophomore Addie Moore said. “I’m looking forward to playing outside more this year.” 

The loss of a key player and a lack of depth in the roster are some of the challenges facing the Scorpions this year, Parks explained.

“It’s been a pretty solid program throughout,” Parks said of his nearly 25 years of involvement with the varsity volleyball program while  looking on as the players practiced in the Sedona Red Rock High School gymnasium after school.  “As enrollments decrease, our number of kids coming out has decreased. [It’s] still a good year this year, but seems to get a little bit thinner every year.”

There are currently nine players on the team and Parks expects no more will be added to the roster, so conditioning and keeping everyone healthy is key to the team’s goal of making it to the playoffs.

The team’s practice is focused on playing as much as possible and forgoing most drills.

“This makes it funner than just running around and [doing] laps,” Parks said. “Everything I do is pretty much game-like. [Except] we’ll just do some static blocking, jumping up and down, basically. But that’s about it. Everything we do  is pretty much game-like, somehow [or] some way. The ball is the best teacher, not me.”

“I hope with this new rotation [that] we get the hang of it and it really works out,” junior Sierra Williams said. “I hope we do make it to the playoffs and make a comeback. I’m seeing improvement in passing and hitting. Our servers are definitely getting better and there are some really good  players who have improved a lot. I’m feeling good about [this season and it] will be interesting for sure with the new lineup.”

“I’m looking forward to just playing with the girls. I’ve grown up with a lot of these girls on the team,” Emily Frey said. “I’m excited to just spend another year getting better with all of them and practicing more and having fun for the season. I definitely think we have [improved this year]. A few of us played club over the summer and I definitely think that we’re getting along a lot better this year and our, like, team chemistry will be a lot better on the court and, like, supporting each other and helping each other this season.”

2023-24 SRRHS Girls’ Volleyball Roster
No. 1: Kelley Arias, sophomore, defensive specialist
No. 4: Addie Moore, sophomore, OH
No. 5: Isabela Rivera Ruiz, sophomore, defensive specialist
No. 6 Sierra Williams, junior, OH
No. 7: Isabella Griffin, senior, MH, OH
No. 8: Amy Brefeld, junior, setter
No. 9: Matija Jursic-McGrath, junior, defensive specialist
No. 10: Emily Frey, junior, OH
No. 13: Sheila Montes de Oca, sophomore, libero
Head Coach: John Park