Senior Alex Parkhurst started playing competitive volleyball her freshman year of high school but was more of a softball player before being recruited to play beach volleyball.
“I went to a few tournaments ... because one of my friends needed a partner,” Parkhurst said. “I played in it, and I went to another tournament called ‘Get Noticed,’ and this is where all the college coaches go to experience players first-hand and watch them play.”.
“I got noticed there and somehow I ended up with a few offers, so it just worked out in my favor.”
It has worked out well for Parkhurst, as the Salpointe Catholic High School grad is among the winningest players at Arizona. Her .909 winning percentage in 2020 is the highest single-season UA mark, and she entered this season ranked 16th in career individual wins. Parkhurst has a 13-7 record this season.
The decision to stay home and play came down to the importance of family for Parkhurst.
“I did have other options and it was a hard decision, but overall I think I made the best decision because I got to play and I got to have my family right there with me,” Parkhurst said. “My family travels up to Phoenix, they travel all around, my parents travel to every single game we go to. But being able to have my more extended family come watch me when they most likely wouldn’t be able to.”
The No. 18 Arizona beach volleyball team is 16-4 after a sweep this past weekend at the Wildcat Spring Challenge. Arizona went 4-0, and Parkhurst’s partner, fifth-year senior Sarah Blacker, set the all-time career wins record, reaching 87 victories. Arizona next plays in the Pac-12 North Invitational this weekend.
Parkhurst cited team unity as one of the Wildcats’ greatest strengths.
“Being able to stay together no matter what happens,” she said. “We have had a few bad games that we dropped, like we recently lost to ASU.
“That’s always a tough game, because you know they’re our rivals, so they play their best against us. We never really like to point fingers. We all just know we have to get back and get better for our teammates.”
Arizona's Alex Parkhurst celebrates during a match against UTEP at Bear Down Beach on April 1, 2023.
Parkhurst has partnered with Blacker and Alana Rennie during her UA career.
“This has helped me throughout the years because I was able to work with different people, so I can see exactly what my strengths are and my own weaknesses are on my own, and then work with it based on my partner’s strengths as well,” Parkhurst said.
Parkhurst traveled to San Diego in the summer to stay with Blacker. They played in tournaments and practiced together.
“Summer is probably the biggest time to train because ... you don’t really have any school,” Parkhurst said.
“You go out and find a place to train. You train with a certain amount of girls, playing tournaments on the weekends just to get better.”
Parkhurst saw plenty of familiar faces over the summer. That’s how tight-knit the volleyball community is.
“When you’re playing in these tournaments, you’re playing against the girls that you play in-season ... the community is really small,” Parkhurst said. “I’ll be playing against Cal girls every single weekend. I’ll be playing against Stanford girls every single weekend. So it’s kind of nice, because then when you go play in-season you know all the girls and you’re really familiar with them.”
Parkhurst is studying nutritional sciences with the goal to get her masters, apply to dental school and become a dentist.
