Michael Pleasant is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Xavier College Preparatory for AZPrerps365.com

Kind, confident, motivated and an overall joy to be around are just some of the words that the people close to Briana McKnight use to describe her.

McKnight is a senior on the Xavier College Prep volleyball team. After she is finished at Xavier she will be off to California to play volleyball at University of California Santa Barbara.  

There is so much more to McKnight that just the amazing level of skill she shows on the volleyball court. McKnight has been a part of two state championships teams in her time at Xavier, in 2017 and 2018.

She was eighth in hitting percentage and second in kills with 500 for 6A this season. Xavier has a 136-31 record since McKnight's freshman year.

 McKnight was given the Touching Hearts Through Athletics award last March. This award is given to students who exhibit outstanding character, sportsmanship and who contribute to their community.

Someone who is connected to the community like McKnight has no problem branching out and thrives in the environment where you need to form new relationships.

There isn’t a better place to do that then high school. Some high school students either stick with the same friend group they’ve had for years, but others look to branch out and build new relationships.

McKnight is looking to expand her friend group and meet new people even if it is her senior year. She stated that she feels as if she grew closer to her senior class when she started to branch out and make new friends.  

“I just feel like I’m extremely bonded with the senior class,” McKnight said. “I’ve branched out and talk to more people, which I really like, and I’m really happy about.”

Someone like McKnight who has been described as so kind and a joy to be around makes people gravitate towards her. This type of magnetism when it comes to personality is rare in people.

This should benefit her while in California for college. Freshman orientation is the place where everyone stands around until someone makes the first move to be social. With McKnight’s glowing personality this process should be very easy.

That’s exactly how her friends describe their friendship with McKnight. Easy. She knows who she is and what she wants. This made it so easy for her to gain great friendships that are real.

McKnight has a lot of good friends, but one of her best friends is Quinn Voorhees. They have known each other since fifth grade. They became best friends at the age of 12, according to Voorhees.

When thinking of McKnight, the first words that come to the mind of Voorhees were brave, adventurous and easy. Brave was the word that continued to be associated when discussing McKnight’s personality.

 “She is so focused and driven,” said Voorhees, who added that McKnight has always been a person who knew what she wants to do growing up.

Most high schoolers either aren’t too sure what they want to do with their future or maybe are just afraid of the unknown to go out and pursue their passion.

That’s not McKnight. She has a great sense of knowing who she is and is unequivocally herself.

This allows a person to focus on what they want because knowing who you are almost eliminates the factor of self-doubt.

This is part of the reason her mother, Patricia Driver, believes that no matter what she does she will be able to succeed.

“She is a go-getter,” Driver said. “I know when she gets her film degree, she will set a target and go after it. She will accomplish whatever she sets her mind to.”

It takes a certain type of work ethic to maintain the drive that McKnight has. Xavier volleyball head coach Lamar-Renee Bryant has seen that work ethic displayed during games and practices over the past four years.

“She really displays that every day when she comes ready to work,” Bryant said.

 Both Bryant and McKnight believe that she developed her relentless mindset from her mother. “Her mom has done a great job raising her,” Bryant said.

McKnight stated that her mom has been very strong role model throughout her life.

“My mom is single mom, so I’ve seen her be super independent.” McKnight said. “She is super strong, and she is a person that I can count on.”

This type of support system and foundation has helped shape who McKnight is today. Everyone knows, including McKnight herself, that whatever she does in her time at UC Santa Barbara and after she will be focused and motivated to achieve whatever goals she has set of herself.