Emma Fitzgerald is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Dobson High School for AZPreps365.com

MESA — As her final season at Dobson comes to an end, libero Alessandra Lavandera reflects on her journey driven on strength and resilience.

During one of her last practices, Lavandera looked down at the floor while thinking about her final match as a Mustang.

“It goes by really fast and it's actually crazy that, like, on Wednesday is my last game,” Lavandera said.

Lavandera has been playing volleyball since she was in eighth grade and she is now concluding her fifth season. The senior is known for having a strong mentality, a motivative spirit and being an overall role model which is shown on and off the court. 

When Lavandera first came to Dobson High School, she made both the freshman and junior varsity team which only two girls in her class had accomplished. This gave her the opportunity to strengthen her skills as she was playing with older and more experienced girls.

Come sophomore year Lavandera joined varsity and began to experience an advancement in skills and expectations. Now she was attending tournaments, playing more teams including more advanced players.

In a previous tournament last season, the team did not perform very well and the motivation was low but head coach Kaitlyn Johnson recalled Lavandera continuing to play aggressively.

“Attitudes were terrible but Aless just, she was diving over chairs, she was diving through chairs, she was bruised and beaten, and she was crying,” Johnson said. “She was trying so hard, she just never quit.”

That strength and motivation are two vibrant traits in Lavandera. She says that mentality comes from her position on the team. 

“Coach trusted me to be in that jersey and trusted me to play defense for our team,” Lavandera said. “I feel like I couldn't let her down by just like not giving my full effort and like trying to get those balls.”

Outside of volleyball, Lavandera is also a focused and determined student. While volleyball takes up a lot of her time throughout the week, school and homework take up the rest.

Some days Lavandera would have to maximize her time by working on homework during free time at away games.

“It's important to be a student first and then the athlete,” Lavandera said.

Being a student-athlete is a dedicated lifestyle to which Lavandera has learned how to structure and tackle over her four years at Dobson. In addition to regular schoolwork, Lavandera is also participating in a first responder program to get certified before graduating high school.

Lavandera has become a role model on the team and demonstrates what it means to be a dedicated student-athlete. She works hard in school and also pushes her teammates to grow in their abilities as well.

“She's really made me, like, push myself to just be a good back row player,” Junior C’Anna Pless said. “You know, she leads the back row as a libero, she really makes me just wanna be in her spot. Like, I just want to play just like her.”

As her final season at Dobson comes to an end, Lavandera wants to encourage current and future players to appreciate every moment along the way because the time will go by fast.

“It's just, like, enjoying it,” Lavandera said. “Like, there's hard days, but there's so many good days and they're like all worth it in the end.”