Green Valley volleyball seniors no ordinary class

Erin Hill has been coaching a long time. Now in her 26th season, the Green Valley girls volleyball coach has won 11 league championships, eight regional titles and five state championships.

But this year’s team is something different.

“This senior class means everything to me,” Hill said.

Six seniors have led the Gators to a 19-6 record, which includes a 4-1 record in Southeast League play. They started the season with seven wins in a row and won 13 of their first 14 games.

Setter Carlee Becker, a four-year varsity letter winner, said this year’s team has something special when they are on the court that other teams did not.

“As we’ve gone through the years, our teams have kind of clicked more,” Becker said. “We’ve learned how everything fits, and how everything works, and how it needs to work so it runs smoothly.”

In 2014, Green Valley missed the playoffs for the first time in school history. The current seniors were sophomores then, and Hill said the team was distraught. They knew they made history in a way that no one wants to make.

Which is what makes this year so special. On Sept. 12, the Gators swept Centennial to give Hill her 500th career NIAA victory.

“It was such a big deal,” senior outside hitter Rachel Klopfer said. “For all of us that have been here since our freshman year, it was really great to see it all come together in that big celebration and everything. We’ve worked so hard for every single game, and for that one it felt really special.”

The next game was at home against Hill’s alma mater, Valley. The school arranged to have her former school coach and a teammate come and surprise her. It’s moments like that one that have the Gators feeling like something special is in the works for 2016.

The last regular season in these seniors’ career is quickly approaching, and it will be the biggest game of the season. Green Valley hosts Silverado, which sits one game above the Gators in the Southeast League, on Oct. 26. Green Valley’s only league loss was to the Skyhawks on Oct. 5.

“We come out every game ready to go hard, but this one has a special place because it’s the last one and we’re seniors,” senior middle blocker Maya Hill said.

Then comes the postseason. The Gators have put together a team that believes it can compete for a state title. And in the last season that Becker, Klopfer, Hill, opposite hitter Anya Olsen, middle blocker Jordan Burns and libero Emily Flowers will play together, Hill wasn’t able to describe the feeling she would have if they went out on top.

“Every year it’s great if you can win a state championship, but as far as earning it with this group, to see how far they’ve come, probably the best ever,” Hill said.

Justin Emerson can be reached at jemerson@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @J15Emerson