Their style of play, their leadership, and just the way they carry themselves on the floor. Ciara is like that little feisty bulldog, and Crash is very laid back, but she’ll get after it. They’re so different. – Alaina Parker, Snow Canyon head volleyball coach, and Ciara's and Crash's mother
ST. GEORGE — Some teenagers would wither in the shadow cast by an older sister’s success.
Some teenage girls might be suffocated by the emotional uncertainty of a younger brother with a rare genetic condition.
But Alexsa “Crash” Parker is absolutely content to flourish in her sister’s wake and her brother’s orbit.
“She never complains,” said her mom and Snow Canyon head volleyball coach Alaina Parker. “She doesn’t compete in that regard with those two. She’s pretty special. She’s Ciara’s biggest fan, and Camden’s biggest caretaker.”
Crash Parker seemed destined for volleyball excellence. Born to a volleyball coach, she was playing on elite travel teams by the time she was 12.
“She always knew that she was going to be a volleyball player,” coach Parker said. “She’s a player; she’s not a watcher, so if anything is slow, she doesn’t like it.”
The Snow Canyon junior earned the nickname Crash when she was in third grade. She was riding her bike to the high school where her mom was coaching volleyball when she took a fall on her bike that left her battered and bloody.
“She had road rash from head to toe,” said her mom. “(One scrape) was all the way to the muscle on her hip. She was in bad shape.”
Some of her mom’s students saw her fall and escorted her to the school. Crash wasn’t crying when she walked into the gym, but as soon as she saw her mother, the tears began to flow. The teenage girls on the team tried to comfort her, and they started calling her Crash. It stuck, so well in fact, some of the children she’s known since elementary school don’t know her given name.
“She’s just crash,” her mom said laughing.
The comparisons were inevitable.
Even though Crash Parker and her older sister, Ciara, don’t look much alike, play different positions and have wildly different personalities, people always want to compare the two girls.
“They’re night and day different,” coach Parker said. “Their style of play, their leadership, and just the way they carry themselves on the floor. Ciara is like that little feisty bulldog, and Crash is very laid back, but she’ll get after it. They’re so different.”
Crash smiles politely at the questions, shrugs off the comparisons and just tries to be the best she can be — on and off the court.
“There is kind of an expectations that I have to live up to,” she said. “And it’s kind of hard. Everyone is always like, ‘Oh are you going to be as good as your sister?’ And they just compare us, and that’s hard because what if I’m not good enough?”
Her sister was a three-time state champion and is now playing libero for BYU. Three inches taller, Crash plays outside hitter, and said she sometimes tires of the comparisons, but never resents her sister.
“I just kind of do my own thing,” she said. “I love playing volleyball so much, it’s not a huge deal to me.”
In fact, when asked about role models, she smiles and offers Ciara’s name.
“I’d say my sister is a pretty big role model for me just because she’s always worked so hard,” Crash said. “And she’s always been a great volleyball player.”
The one trait the girls have in common, besides a fierce love for their younger brother, is the kind of competitive commitment that makes them team leaders.
Crash Parker led her team in just about every way possible. She led the team to the 3A state title with 466 kills (averaging 5.6 kills per set) and a .428 hitting percentage. She also had 315 digs, 39 aces and a 2.4 passing rating on 367 attempts.
When Hurricane head coach Daniel Mckeehan prepared to play Snow Canyon, the game plan was simple — keep the ball away from Crash.
“She is the best passer, setter and hitter in 3A volleyball and the best all-around (most complete) player in the state,” Mckeehan said. “She would start for any team in Utah, at any classification and be a star. We did our best when we played her team to keep the ball away from her. The game plan was that simple, ‘Don't let Crash get a pass.’ ”
Obviously a gifted athlete, it’s her work ethic that sets her apart.
“She’s quietly competitive and battles every game, practice and scrimmage,” Mckeehan said. “She was a leader on our club team that featured nine collegiately signed seniors.”
One morning last winter, Alaina Parker was searching for her middle child. She found Crash, eventually, sleeping in the crib with her brother.
“She loves him unconditionally, really both my girls do, but her whole socialization has been with this special baby,” Alaina said of 12-year old Camden, who suffers from Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. “And really, for her, he comes first. So if she sees him come in the gym, she runs over, ‘Hey, Peanut,’ gives him a hug and loves him. First thing in the morning, she goes in and gives him a love. Last thing at night, she goes in and gives him a love.”
Parker said Camden may not be able to talk and he struggles with multiple medical issues, but he’s taught her a number of lessons throughout her life.
“Be humble,” she said. “And play as hard as you can, when you can, because he can’t. He is always happy, and he always has a huge smile on his face, especially when volleyball is going on. He’s just taught me to be always be grateful for what you can do.”
And this season, that was accomplishing something that seemed impossible at times — win a state title. The team was talented, but so were a handful of other teams in 3A, including Desert Hills and Morgan, the latter of which is the team they beat in a thrilling 3A championship.
Her mom said her leadership came in how hard she worked.
“When we won that state championship, I was really excited for us to win it because everybody had to be really good,” Alaina Parker said. “But she had to be stellar. … This year’s team is special for completely different reasons (than in the past). They really had to play well; they get along really well; they root for each other, and they were really good at lifting each other up.”
More of a cheerleader than a taskmaster, Crash led her teammates with encouragement and by giving them everything she had on the court. That allowed the Warriors to finish the season the way every team dreams their year will end.
“I don’t even know the right words,” Crash said of earning the title. “It’s a huge honor, and, I mean, Ciara has three, my mom has six, and now I finally have one. It’s awesome.”
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