Abby Sharpe is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Higley High School volleyball for AZPreps365.com.

The Higley High School Knights have been on the brink of the state tournament frequently the last few years but always end up leaving the bracket early.

This fact is on the minds of Higley seniors this year. They don’t want to end their high school careers without going past the first round of the playoffs. They don’t want to waste this team and the strong relationships on it by not advancing deep into the tournament.

Since 2017, when the current seniors were just freshman walking the halls of Higley, the Knights have made the first round of the state tournament once, where they lost 3-1 against Sunrise Mountain High School. At that point, they were still classified as a 4A program.

In 2018, Higley was reclassified as a 5A school. The Knights proceeded to make the play-in game the next two seasons but have failed to advance further into the playoffs both times. Higley lost 3-2 to Empire High School in 2018 and 3-1 to Cienega High School in 2019, and were ranked as the lower seed in both matchups.

The Knights are looking to change that this year.

If there was one year that Higley needs to advance past the first round of the playoffs, it’s this year. The communication, relationships and play are all on an upward trajectory. This team has a drive and hunger to win. And the Knights also acknowledge the current state of the world and realize how much volleyball means to them, individually and as a team.

The world has been through plenty this year with the COVID-19 pandemic, and everyone needs something to help get them through a trying time. For senior Faith Silides, volleyball is that help.

“I use it as my escape from things going on in life,” Silides said. “No matter what is going on, it always makes things better and it brings positivity into my life, especially when there’s a lot of negativity.”

There is one common theme that was continually mentioned: great relationships with teammates. This is something that the Higley seniors pride themselves on working on within the program, after agreeing that the culture of the program the previous three years was not what it should have been. This change may be the key for their playoff push.

“My teammates are amazing,” Silides said, “We all have great chemistry and keep each other accountable. My teammates bring a good attitude when we play. I love the environment that my teammates and I create together.”

Senior Julia Price echoed Silides’ sentiments, saying that finding her leadership role within the team has been a turning point for her career.

“Even when I feel like I personally had a good game or practice, I am always trying to think of ways I can help my team so that we collectively succeed,” Price said. “[Volleyball] helped me grow as a leader and friend myself. It teaches you patience and strength, both mental and physical.”

Knights head coach Tyler Kraemer made Higley’s end goal abundantly clear: “We should be going deep into the playoffs.”