They come from different places, play different roles on their respective teams and have different personalities. But the one thing these teenage athletes have in common is the ability to lead their teammates to success. Four of the 2004 Deseret Morning News prep volleyball MVPs led their teams to titles, while the fifth led her squad to a third-place finish.
Some are quiet, while others are a little more boisterous. But they all inspired their teammates by example.
Leadership is hard work, but it is something that comes naturally to all of this year's MVPs.
5A MVP: Airial Salvo, Viewmont
As Viking coach Lori Salvo prepared her lineup for a junior varsity match last season, her two-time MVP daughter approached her about playing in the contest.
"Please," she begged. "I'll play anything. How about back row?"
Her mother just laughed and shook her head. She's gotten used to this. Every time the team practices, Airial Salvo is always pleading for one more drill, one more game.
"I know how much she loves the game," Lori Salvo said. "She loves it as much as I loved it. She's just always wanting more."
Airial Salvo's desire to play volleyball has made her one of the best players to ever come out of Utah. The honor student earned a scholarship to the University of Utah in volleyball, the same place her mother played both basketball and volleyball.
Last year she led her team to 32 straight wins. This season Viewmont lost two matches in the season's opening tournament but didn't lose another match. In the state tournament, Viewmont didn't lose a game until the championship match against Brighton.
Airial Salvo was key in earning that title. She is difficult to stop offensively and tough defensively. Her jump serve is consistent and scorching. She finished the season with 526 kills, 69 aces, 156 digs, 47 solo blocks and 40 block assists.
"She just has something from within," Lori Salvo said. "She sees the court so well, and she picks apart other teams' defenses. . . . She's the full package."
4A MVP: Ashley Hamilton, Lone Peak
This junior's success is evidence that nice girls do finish first.
"She's one of the most grounded people I know," Lone Peak coach Deanna Meyer said. "She'll be even better next year because she knows she can learn even more. She never thinks she's at the top of her game."
Meyer called her an "old soul" who has been leading the team's complex offense since she was a freshman.
"She knows she's blessed with dynamic hitters," Meyer said. "She's learned to read defenses and set accordingly. She works with her hitters to see what sets will allow them to have their best hits."
Hamilton is a 4.0 student who sees the value of hard work.
"She's not afraid of good competition," Meyer said. "She's not afraid of playing against players who are really good. She says, 'I'm getting better by playing against great people.' She believes in earning her wins and would rather play a great match and lose than get an easy win. She just plays because she loves it, and she's the hardest-working kid on the court."
At 6-0, Hamilton's one of the tallest setters in Utah, but that doesn't mean she doesn't like to earn a few kills herself. She's also a phenomenal blocker.
This season, in leading the Knights to their second straight title, she averaged 33 assists, 2.5 blocks and five kills per game. Ask her about the team's success, and she'll point to her teammates.
"She's happy when other players do well," Meyer said. "She's not in it for personal glory."
3A MVP: Morgan Warburton, Carbon
The first three years of Morgan Warburton's high school volleyball career ended in disappointment. The Dinos finished second three years in a row. This senior changed all that.
"She worked so hard over the summer, lifting and running, and she came into the season in really good condition," Dino coach Bruce Bean said. "She really matured this year. She came in with a strong desire to win and to succeed."
The Dinos didn't lose a match all season, but even when the team was getting fat on success, Warburton kept them hungry for a title. She and senior setter Monica Shorts never let their teammates forget why they were working so hard.
"They just took ownership of the team," Bean said. "After we went and scouted (the opponent), she got her teammates fired up again. She was the leader. She told them, 'We can't have any letdowns in practice. . . . We can't lose this.' "
Bean said normally a team gets a bit stale right before the tournament with no games leading up to the two-day, four-match marathon. But Warburton refused to let that happen. She also kept reminding her teammates that while they beat other teams, they were really preparing for perennial favorite, Morgan.
"She said, 'If we practice and play like we're beating Morgan, we'll take care of anyone else,' " Bean said. "She's just a gamer."
In her senior season, she earned 245 kills, 88 solo blocks, 368 block assists and 33 digs. The youngest of three daughters, Warburton has signed to play basketball at the University of Utah. She's an honor student and was also elected homecoming queen this year. Her talent on the court is equalled by her compassion off the court.
"She can be friends with anyone," Bean said. "She's very easy-going — until she steps across the blue line."
2A MVP: Cheyna Shumway, San Juan
As a freshman manager for the 2001 state champion Broncos volleyball team, Cheyna Shumway rode on the back of the fire truck when the town celebrated the team's title. That's when her coach heard her tell long-time friend and teammate, Shalie Flannery, "We're going to do this when we are seniors. It will be so fun!"
"I heard that and I believed her," said Broncos coach Cassy Moon. "Little did I know they would do it twice."
Shumway's intensity and hard work has permeated every aspect of her life, and often the lives of those around her.
"Cheyna is a leader by example," Moon said. "If she thinks the girls aren't in good shape, then she leads them in working
harder. If she thinks that they are not working hard enough, then she works harder. "
She is a perfectionist who sees the court well and knows her hitters' strengths, Moon said. That ability helped her lead her team to two straight titles in her three years as a starter.
"She can't stand any wasted time," Moon said. Shumway is also very smart and very in-tune with her coaches, so they rarely dictate to her how to run the offense. She's a 3.99 student who will graduate with her associate's degree a month before she graduates from high school.
Shumway is among the hardest working players, but she is also one of the most funny funniest. Her sense of humor helps keep her teammates relaxed and loose.
"She is also one of the first girls to laugh at the silly things that happen everyday and in matches," Moon said. "She's just found the joy of playing the game."
1A MVP: Halie Sawyer, Panguitch
Connie Sawyer had to give up a wall of her home to get back her closets, drawers and dresser tops.
"We had a guy in town build us a huge trophy case," she said. "We had to because I had trophies everywhere. . . . I didn't realize my kids were going to be this good in sports."
Halie Sawyer is the youngest and is so good at both basketball and volleyball that she could get a scholarship in either sport.
"Two weeks ago she was saying she loved volleyball the most, but now that basketball has started, that's her favorite," her mom said. "Her athletic ability just seems to come so easy to her."
Her coach said the team used the versatile Sawyer wherever they needed her most.
"She blocked in the middle, but we realized we could get the ball more to her on the outside, so she hit outside a lot," Bobcat coach Troy Norris said. "She's the best player I've ever coached," Bobcat coach Troy Norris said. "She's got great hands; she could be a setter. She's our best passer, best blocker and best hitter. And she can jump serve."
The jump serve is something she began learning at a clinic put on by a BYU assistant volleyball coach at and Panguitch High. She practiced it until she perfected it. She finished her junior season with 477 kills and a .477 hitting percentage.
"She's just one of those phenomenal athletes," Norris said. "And she's a good kid."
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com