Natalie Reyes’ first love as a child was basketball.
Then, volleyball fell in love with Reyes. Now, the feeling is mutual.
While power makes the sport what it is, touch and finesse also play a huge role. Reyes, a sophomore setter for Sharyland Pioneer, showed both qualities all season, helping lead the Diamondbacks to a 33-11 mark. Because of her play, she has been named The Monitor’s All-Area Volleyball Setter of the Year.
Growing up, Reyes said she would play with some of the older girls at school. She then caught the volleyball bug and decided that she wanted to pursue the setter’s route.
“It was a position that was different from everybody else and I wanted to try it out,” Reyes said. “After that I just really enjoyed it. I got to touch the ball a lot and there are a lot of interesting things you can do with the ball in that position. I could do things for other people, teammates. Plus I was in control.”
Her numbers showed she touched the ball a lot. She ended the season with 1,147 assists (10.2 per set) plus tallied 307 digs, 78 kills and 78 aces.
Reyes also plays basketball for Pioneer and throws for the track team. For a short span she also took up golf, almost knocking down a hole-in-one at Monte Cristo.
“Yeah it didn’t go in, so I got a two,” she said. “Golf is just not for me.”
Volleyball is though and she said that she thought she was a different player this year on the volleyball court with more court awareness and more knowledge of the strategies. She credited her head coach, Laura Cavazos, for “poking at her” and challenging her regularly.
“I think I’ve grown as an athlete and my reacting to different scenarios has changed,” she said. “The offense has become a little quicker and I feel I know a little more than last year. Coach wanted more from me and told me I had to step up. I benefited from that.”
Cavazos had a star setter before Reyes in Audrey Smith, who now plays at Texas Tech. Reyes said she remembers as a fourth grader watching Smith play at Pioneer and being awestruck with the things Smith would do.
“I would be like ‘Oh, mom, did you see that?’” Reyes said. “I was so excited to go to all of her games, just in awe of her. She (Audrey) has taken me under her wing and she continues to push me.”
Reyes said one time Cavazos pushed her to the point of near tears, but she didn’t break and knew it was to make her better.
“Natalie contributes to our team by not only running our offense, but setting the examples in practice with her work ethic and dedication,” Cavazos said. “She’s such a great asset to our team and I’m excited to see her grow.”
Cavazos said that Reyes’ versatility may be her biggest asset. While she can’t think of anyone she would rather have touch every second ball all season long, she also admits that she could position her as a hitter as well even though “everyone would think I’m crazy,” she said.
“With every year she steps in to where we need her, from offense to defense — everywhere,” Cavazos said. “With her versatility, we can make a lot of adjustments if we need to depending on who we are playing.”
She even received high praise at one point from the season from Mission Veterans head coach Diana Lerma, whose team has gone unbeaten for five straight seasons in district play, saying that Reyes “made it difficult on us to figure out where she was going to put the ball.”
“It shows she’s doing a good job and running a good offense,” Cavazos said. “We are always pushing to run a faster offense and once the ball is in her hands, what she does with it and the way she moves it, quick on the release, it keeps the middle blockers and the hitters guessing where it’s going to go. That makes it tough on the defense.”
Of course, developing a quicker offense is at the top of the list for Reyes next season. She also said she wants to work on her blocking “because I’m vertically challenged.”
Above all else there’s the team goal.
“I want to strive for that district championship next year,” she said.