Bec Striffler is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Westview High School for AZPreps365.com.

While it may be common for athletes to find their sport through family tradition, it’s not so common to see a family of 10 pursuing the same sport. 

For Westview High School’s junior setter Dylan Cain, all she knows is continuing what has "always been a family sport." The second youngest of eight children in her family, Cain followed in the footsteps of her four older sisters and her father, who coached high school and college volleyball for eight years. 

Cain’s family has so much passion for volleyball that her father, Douglas, even put a full-sized sand volleyball court in their backyard.

Cain started playing volleyball in a recreational league in fourth grade after watching her older niece play growing up. Since then, Cain has played on multiple club teams, the Westview sand volleyball team, and Westview’s varsity volleyball team since her freshman year.

Now, she enjoys watching her niece’s college volleyball matches, in hopes of continuing her own volleyball career at the collegiate level while pursuing an education in the medical field. 

When asked what the sport means to her, Cain lit up with a beaming smile and said “It’s everything. I’m so passionate about playing, like I can’t be myself without playing. It’s just a big part of me and who I am.”

Westview varsity volleyball coach Alex Bybee sees Cain’s passion for volleyball extremely clearly on the court.

“She is one of those kids that there’s no question that she gives 110 percent when she comes into the gym," Bybee said. "I think that’s a clear tell of where volleyball stands in her life.”

While volleyball is Cain’s main passion, she also strives to give her full attention to her academics, work, church and family.

“She would die for her friends and for her family,” Cain’s father Douglas said. “I mean literally though, she’s just very loyal. She’s got a younger sister that idolizes her and most older kids don’t like their younger siblings around, but Dylan is very nice to her.”

At this, Cain immediately chimed in, “Yeah, she’s my best friend.”

Even though Cain is the second youngest in the family, it is evident that even her parents and siblings see her as a strong role model.

“She’s extremely mature for her age. When we have questions or decisions in the house, we let her make them,” Douglas said. “From the very beginning, she’s always made correct decisions and she thinks them through. I even ask her for her opinion because she’s not girly about it, and what I mean is that she gets serious if I ask her a question.”

Cain’s family members and coaches have established a strong trust in her both on and off the court. With a former volleyball coach for a father, she has always looked up to him for advice on volleyball and other things.

“I’ve always given her pointers, and she never hesitates to ask my opinion or to look at me, and I can tell when she looks at me it’s either for approval or ‘what should I have done?’,” Douglas said.

The setter’s parents also proudly mentioned Cain’s coachability and the success it has brought her in the sport.

Cain’s mother, Jennifer, said, “We had one coach say that she has an awareness of the court and that it’s something that comes naturally. It’s not something you can learn.”

At that, Douglas added, “She has that ‘eye of the tiger’ which is what I say when I talk about athletes you don’t have to coach. They just have it, and that’s Dylan. Once coaches see her play, they don’t have to coach Dylan. She just knows what to do.”

Even Bybee has seen this ability in Cain throughout her few months coaching at Westview.

“The little adjustments I’ve made here and there with her I’ve seen immediately, and you tell her something once and she does it,” Bybee said.

Unfortunately, Cain sprained her ankle toward the beginning of her junior season. Bybee explained that when Cain was injured, the setter thought she had broken her ankle and was in a lot of pain. However, when Bybee noticed her crying later on, Cain explained that she was upset not because of the pain, but because she couldn’t play. 

But not playing hasn’t kept Cain away from her sport.

“I’m very observant with what we do now that I’m watching from the sideline,” the setter said. “I just keep trying to cheer a lot and give [my team] pep talks before and after games. I just try to be very energetic about it.”

Through consistent rest and physical therapy, Cain hopes to return to the court soon for the second part of her junior season.

“I really admire the no-quit, competitive attitude in her,” Bybee said. “She is one of those kids that truly loves the game and getting better at it and growing, and that’s what makes her Dylan. She does her job well to the point that it allows other players to do their jobs well on the court, which I think is one of the ways we’ve been so successful.”