Sara Abbott is an Arizona State University student assigned to cover Brophy College Preparatory for AZPreps365.

The Brophy Broncos' new era of young, emerging talent is looking to make a statement this season.

After graduating five seniors last season, Brophy is on a mission to prove itself this year. With a roster of offensive weapons catalyzing success, the Broncos have one goal in mind this season -- returning to the state tournament.

“Our goal is to get to the state tournament and make some noise,” Brophy coach Tony Oldani said. “We know we're capable of doing that, but we just need some of these young guys to continue to develop.”

Nearly half the team consists of underclassmen, including Andrew Werner, a powerhouse sophomore outside hitter.  In his freshman year, the 6-foot-4 pin hitter proved himself to be a force on the court. Werner led the team with a whopping 293 kills and hitting percentage of .345.  

“This season, I want to try to become a better leader for the team,” Werner said. “Since there are a lot of new players coming in, it's an important role to fill when a lot of seniors left last year. Someone has to step up and do that.”

Oldani described his squad as mostly consisting of introverted talent. With a potentially season-ending injury for senior middle blocker Jack McGrath, this challenge is amplified for the young team. 

“It’s more of Jack’s leadership and presence that we’re missing right now,” Oldani said. “We are battling to find our vocal leaders.”

With the loss of McGrath, Oldani has been impressed with the way the younger players have risen to the occasion, including Werner. 

“We've already seen him step up this week more than he has in the past, so that has been fantastic,” Oldani said.

The Broncos finished last season with an overall record of 10-7 and were ranked ninth in the state. Brophy’s season ended in the first round of the state tournament at the hands of Sandra Day O’Connor High School in a tight four-set match. 

“We had moments where we could pull away and their experience and our inexperience kind of showed,” Oldani said. “We've got over half of our group that's not playing club. So we have to practice and create those situations where there's a critical point.”

With the majority of the team not participating in club volleyball, the coaching staff is embracing the challenge of boosting the team’s development physically and mentally.

“The fun part for the three coaches is we've gotten to teach more and show them things in the game,” Oldani said. “There are moments where we can really see growth and impact on them, and that has been the really fun part with this group.”

A key area of growth Oldani is seeing in his team is an improvement in volleyball knowledge and situational awareness. The Broncos have emphasized limiting simple mistakes. 

“What I love about this group is they tend to not make the same mistake over and over again,” Oldani said. “As we build up that repertoire, we can see even the guys who don't play a lot grow their volleyball IQ.” 

Oldani is looking forward to pushing the boundaries this season and surprising people with their progress from last year. 

“We are cherishing that no one's really counting on us,” Oldani said. “We know that we're going to work hard, and right now we just keep telling the guys like it's this marathon.” 

The Broncos' season will begin on March 2 at Valley Vista High School.