Page 88 - 2020 AIA Volleyball Championship Program

2020: Trivium prep’s unexpecTed, buT welcomed seAson in 2A
By Jose Garcia AZPreps365.com
Beth Wilson wasn’t playing possum when she in- formed fellow coaches at the start of the season that she didn’t know what her team was capable of.
Completing an undefeated regular season, in the mid- dle of a pandemic no less, was the furthest thing from her mind. But that’s exactly what Trivium Prep accomplished for the first time in the program’s short history.
There were plenty of challenges when this season started for Trivium Prep. Wilson graduated seven seniors last year from a state semifinal team, a returning starter transferred, and she lost two setters to injuries this season, leaving the roster with only four players with varsity expe- rience.
So Trivium Prep didn’t look the part of a No. 1 state tournament seed at the start. But the organized and posi- tive Wilson helped assemble a team with great chemistry and a lot of moxie.
Trivium Prep rallied from a two game hole to defeat highly ranked Chandler Prep and also executed one of the bigger victories in the state this season.
Three-time defending 2A champ Scottsdale Christian walked into Trivium Prep’s gym on Oct. 26 with a 57-match win streak against 2A teams and exited with its first 2A loss since Sept. 5 2016.
“I never dreamed it would be this type of season,” said Wilson about her 17-0 team. “But we had the four re- turning girls who are wonderful and instrumental and the addition of some freshmen I wasn’t expecting was a huge contribution.”
This season, Trivium Prep went from a program on the rise to the likely state favorite when the 2A Conference state tournament begins Nov. 14.
Having that big target now is something Wilson talked to her team about. The 5-set match against Chandler Prep was “the humbling” Wilson’s team needed, she said.
In that match, Trivium Prep lost the first two sets and was down by eight points in the third game when Wilson’s team finally started playing Trivium Ball.
“That’s when we are fundamentally strong and not letting anybody on our team down,” Wilson said.
That’s also when a freshman, setter Natalie Guerrero, and one of the four returning players, outside hitter Kendyl Holt, went to work, leading a rally that ended with an im- pressive victory.
“They will not lay down and will fight to the end,” Wil- son said.
Holt has aspirations of becoming the first Trivium Prep player to play in college.
The junior is hitting .350 and averaging 4.8 kills game. During another 5-set victory, the athletic Holt, a junior, was sick but soldiered on and still netted 21 kills against Scotts- dale Christian.
Trivium Prep had a lot of fun this year while completing the first undefeated regular season in the school’s short volleyball history. (Photo courtesy of Ed Capulla)