Talia Massi is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Hamilton High School for AZPreps365.com

After a summer filled with angst and uncertainty, Hamilton's volleyball team finally opened its season this week.

Heading into her 16th year as a coach of the varsity program, Sharon Vanis has never experienced a year like this one.

The team already has a 2-0 start after defeating Chandler and Maricopa.

The overarching theme going into the season is being thankful.

“Speaking for me personally, I am very thankful that they are able to put this together and I hope everyone stays safe and stays smart and we get this season going because for my two seniors it would have been a hard pill to swallow if we wouldn’t have been able to have a season for them,” Vanis said.

Jahara Campbell, a senior, shares the same feelings as Vanis.

“I am super excited that we just get the chance to play, especially for my senior season,” Campbell said.

It was a long road of uncertainty as COVID-19 was and still is the main concern. The AIA and the Chandler Unified School District put certain guidelines and protocols in place so that fall athletes could practice and teams could compete.

For Hamilton’s team, they started practicing in small groups. Once they finished tryouts, things picked up a bit more and they started to get ready to compete.

The team wears masks in and out of the facilities and players must answer a certain set of questions before entering each day. All coaches and staff must wear their masks at all times and players have the option to wear theirs during practice on the court.

For Hamilton specifically, they sanitize the volleyballs before and after practice and they have a different set of balls differentiated by color for each team: Varsity, JV and Freshman. This avoids cross contamination between groups.

Hand sanitizing stations are strategically placed in their facility.

“We have been following the protocols really well,” Campbell said.

The team’s roster features two seniors: Campbell and Diana Ethridge.

Neomi Beach is still out on injury from this past club season.

The team lost six seniors from last season, players who were great assists to a side that finished 28-13.

“Definitely a big loss because they had a great work ethic. Most of them had been with me since their freshman year when I coached freshman and varsity,” Vanis said.

Despite the loss, the team has three returning juniors who have all committed to play at the collegiate level.

Jordan Middleton committed to the University of Southern California, Micah Gryniewicz to the University of Alabama and Tatum Thomas to Grand Canyon University.

“We probably have one of the most talented class of juniors,” Vanis said.

They also gained Demya Tate, a transfer student from Skyline.

Before the season opener, Campbell said she felt very confident about the team’s chemistry. 

“We all mesh really well together,” Campbell said. “We just look really good and I am super excited.”