Alyssa Buruato is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Cicero Prep for AZpreps365.com.

 

Cicero Prep senior Ava Caggiano first picked up a volleyball four years ago, and from then on helped build the program from the ground up, leading them to their first region title in school history.

Her freshman year the team went 3-15 overall and placed third in their section. Last year they went 28-5 and placed first in their section for the first time.

Caggiano has been a big part of the success, starting at Cicero as a third grader when it first opened in 2012 and trying out for the volleyball team her freshman year.

She quickly grew a passion for the game, having never touched a ball before. Her biggest supporter is her best friend and team co-captain Halle Hwang. Hwang, too, has been at Cicero since the third grade, but they hadn’t met until their freshman year at volleyball tryouts.

They became fast friends and even better teammates.

Hwang and Caggiano quickly formed an unbreakable bond.

“Ava is my day one and has never stopped supporting me through thick and thin on and off the court,” said Hwang.

The same year they officially became best friends, they petitioned to start their school’s first sand volleyball team. It happened and since then they have been the team’s number one seed ever since, going to state for the first time in school history last year.

Ava said their friendship is the reason she loves playing the game so much.

“I play every game for her honestly,” she said. “She’s the number one way I get out of my head, especially in sand season. Volleyball is a game of mistakes, and she reminds me to move on and do better for the next point.”

The same year Caggiano and Hwang started playing is also the first year their coach, Kirsten Frey, started at Cicero. When Frey took over, Cicero was ranked 30th in the state and had only a few girls tryout, including Caggiano.

“Those eight girls begged people to come to the games and contributed just as much as the coaching staff has,” Frey said. “This year we had over 30 girls tryout, enough to start our first freshman team.”

Through the years, Caggiano has grown a special relationship with coach Frey.

“She’s so much more than a coach,” she said. “She’s always there to listen to things we struggle with outside of volleyball; she genuinely cares about us.”

Caggiano expresses how it’s not the trophies and winning that motivates her team, it’s constant support, community, and sisterhood. The Lady Centurions are currently 4-0 in their section and 23-6 overall with plans to make it to state. They face North Phoenix Prep on Friday at 11 a.m. in the state playoffs.

When asked how she plans to lead her team there, Ava said, “I think 20 percent is skill and the rest is mentality. We play best when we play for each other and set aside all egos. If we lose sight of that fact, we lose the game.”

She wants to continue her streak of school firsts and bring home the state championship.

Caggiano plans on going to Hillsdale College in Michigan after she graduates and will continue to play volleyball if possible.