Volleyballs fly crosscourt as Marcos de Niza head coach Melissa Yee walks around the gym, stopping to give visual instruction to struggling players. Yee then yells out that she wants all-out effort for the remaining minutes until they begin their in-practice scrimmage, where she continues to give them detailed feedback after each play.

Yee, a Northern Arizona University alumna, is beginning her first season as Marcos de Niza’s girls volleyball coach. As the season progresses, she hopes to create a family environment where players do not play for only themselves.

“Volleyball is not an individual sport,” Yee said. “You have to rely on other players. Yes, we may have players who are better at some things than others. But, we still need every player in order to play good volleyball.”

Yee is an Arizona native who has been involved in the Arizona competitive volleyball community since her eighth grade year.

Originally a walk-on at NAU, Yee worked her way up in the program and was able to finish off her career there as a scholarship player.

“My approach is to get these girls to work together as a team,” she said. “That is something that they struggled with last season.”

Going into her first season with the varsity team, Yee wants to help the program work more fluently as a unit. She does not only see herself as the varsity coach, but also as the head of all of the girls volleyball teams.

“She knows when to be nice and help us out and get through our plays and then knows when to tell us we need to be mentally strong,” said junior Jenifer Lauer, who has had Yee as a coach for all of her years at Marcos de Niza.

Last season the Padres struggled, only winning twice at home on their way to a 7-17 season. So far this season, the girls are 5-8 and have moved up 26 spots in the state rankings, according to MaxPreps.

Yee spent the summer doing open gyms with the girls in preparation for the upcoming season.

Freshman Hailey White says she already feels as though Yee has helped her improve as a player in the short time she has been involved in the program. She is versatile as a coach and adjusts her coaching style to fit the individual needs of each player.

“Coach has made this team a family,” White said. “There is a totally different culture we all have with each other now.”