Jacob Zinder is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student covering Mountain Ridge for AZPreps365.com.

The Mountain Ridge varsity volleyball team has had some standout players over the past four years, one of those being middle backer Alissa Uhlenhop.

Uhlenhop is in her final season at Mountain Ridge and already is committed to play at Grand Canyon University. She is in her fourth season of varsity volleyball, along with playing club.

Uhlenhop grew up in Arizona and was always passionate about sports, first playing soccer at age 7 or 8. “Then my mom introduced me to volleyball when I was about 8 or 9 years old,'' she said. "I just did little leagues and YMCA, and then when I was 10 I started club and I played for Arizona Storm.”

Her mom, Christine Uhlenhop, coached Uhlenhop on a recreational volleyball team at age 8. One day, Uhlenhop came home crying to her parents. She kept saying how everyone on the team was letting the ball drop and no one wanted to score. So, Dale and Christine discussed it and eventually placed their daughter into club volleyball.

“That clearly told me she was ready for a higher level,” Christine Uhlenhop said. She knew that she had the raw talent but also needed to put in the work before she could take the next step.

Uhlenhop took a leap forward in her development in the eighth grade. One of her coaches helped her fix her form on kills and her parents knew that she could make it far.

“Once we got that hyperextension taken care of, that really made a difference,” Christine Uhlenhop said.

This improvement helped her secure a varsity spot at Mountain Ridge her freshman year.

“When I started off on varsity freshman year, the only other freshman on varsity with me was Madison Girnius,'' Uhlenhop said. "So we were on a team full of seniors and juniors.”

Even though Uhlenhop was only a freshman, she understood that she needed to start leading by example.

“Right now, yes, I do consider myself a leader,'' she said. "Freshman and sophomore year, no, I really just followed and didn't really have a voice on the court. Junior year I became a captain and my coach was like, ‘Hey, you need to step it up. It is time to start talking to your teammates and saying more.’ That’s when I really started to speak up more and now I feel like, Yes, I am a leader.”

 Junior year was a big turning point for Uhlenhop's career.

“Alissa has always been a quiet leader on the court, demonstrating her work ethic and pushing her teammates to achieve at a higher level,'' coach Christina Jensen said. "Over the last two seasons, she has really stepped up to be a vocal leader.”

Everyone mentions how Uhlenhop leads on the court, either by making big plays or helping others stay motivated.

“When we have a tough loss or we are struggling, I try to encourage everybody,'' Uhlenhop said. "After a game I’ll huddle up and give them some encouraging words like, ‘We got it next game, we got to get past this and focus on the next game.' I will also point out small things we need to work on and improve on for the next game."

Even in her senior year, Uhlenhop still knows she needs to work harder to be ready to make that next step into college.

 “I am looking to improve everything in a way, both physically, skill wise, and communication,'' she said. "I am going to focus on communication a lot because I feel like that will make me more of a leader on the team instead of coming in as a freshman like I did (in) high school where I was more quiet and didn’t know anyone.”