Wesley Stombaugh is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Westwood High School for AZPreps365.com

MESA — Westwood’s girls volleyball team faced uncertainty coming into the 2026 season. The program brought on a new head coach for whom nobody in the program had played.

However, the Warriors have hit the ground running under Kanah Higbee and have a chance at finishing with the program’s best overall regular season record since at least 2011.

Senior middle hitter Mariah Martin said adjusting to a new coach was an obstacle, but she said she believes the team’s attitude helped make the adjustment curve smoother.

“We welcomed our new coaching staff with open arms,” Martin said. “Nobody had a negative reaction to it.”

It paid off for the Warriors, who are 23-8 overall with a 13-3 record in 6A Conference play, good for 13th in the conference. Westwood is also in second place in the East Valley Region with an 8-2 record. 

Higbee said he knew the talent of the program coming in but didn’t realize the players’ work ethic until he got to Westwood.

According to Higbee, the players asked him during the first week of camp whether the team would have 5 a.m. workouts like they had under the previous coaching staff. Higbee said he appreciated the eagerness to get to work but had to dial it back some.

Higbee said he told the team he wasn’t going to come in that early during the summer as a teacher. He and his players compromised on 8 a.m. workouts instead.

Junior outside hitter Kayla Hawkins said the change in coaching was a big adjustment because Higbee and Westwood’s previous head coach are “complete opposites.” 

“They’re both amazing, but they are very different coaching styles so it was a huge adjustment,” Hawkins said.

On the court, Higbee said what makes his team so good is that the players hate to lose. During the Warriors’ struggles in recent years, Higbee said the school had been called the “Westwood Losers” and “Westwood Last.”

Historically the matchup with Mountain View had been a source of a lot of this embarrassment, according to Higbee. 

Before this season, Westwood hadn’t beaten Mountain View since 2018. The Warriors split the season series with Mountain View this year, and Higbee said it was emotional when Westwood won the first match. 

“(The players) were crying because of excitement,” Higbee said.

Westwood is now just one match out of first place behind Mountain View. 

However, Higbee said the loss to Mountain View in the more recent matchup left a bad taste in the Warriors’ mouths. While the two teams won’t match up again in the regular season, Westwood is eager to play the Toros again.

“(The loss) might have humbled them a little bit, but if we could see them again, we would love to take that challenge on again,” Higbee said.

Hawkins said another vital part of the team is its camaraderie. 

“I love the girls,” Hawkins said. “We all have very good relationships with each other, so when we come to practice, it’s almost like we’re just hanging out.”

With only two regular season matches left, Hawkins said she thinks Westwood can make it past the first round of the state playoffs at least.

Martin expressed loftier goals.

“If we continue to work as hard as we’re working, I think we can take it all the way,” Martin said.