On a recent volleyball camp trip at Grand Canyon University, Rio Rico High School head girls volleyball coach Alexis Bermudez found one of her players wide awake before sunrise.
The player was 17-year-old senior Sophia Guzman, who was up at 5 a.m., reading, journaling and eating breakfast at the team’s Airbnb before her teammates and coach started their day.
By the time the rest of the Hawks woke up, Guzman was sitting on the couch, ready to go, her coach says.
While waking up at the crack of dawn may seem out of the ordinary for most teenagers, it’s not strange for someone like Guzman, who Bermudez describes as dedicated and consistent.
“It was kind of like ‘Yep, that’s Soph,’” Bermudez said.
Something as small as waking up before everyone else not only shows her dedication to the game but also to herself.
But Guzman didn’t always know she would be a volleyball player.
Rio Rico outside hitter Sophia Guzman draws a bead on a ball while warming up for a match at Tanque Verde High School.
Her sports of choice growing up were cross country and track and field.
Until four years ago, during summer break, when she decided to check out a few open gyms at Rico Rico High.
“I was very timid,” Guzman. “I wasn’t very sure if I was gonna be very good at it, but I practiced a lot in my backyard before open gyms, I started teaching myself how to jump serve and then I went to the open gyms and I was actually pretty good. Then I tried out for the team and I made it my freshman year.”
Fast forward to this year, and she’s the captain of the Hawks varsity volleyball team.
“I’ve learned a lot. I’ve grown a lot. This program is something that I think is incomparable,” she said. “The coaches are amazing. The girls are amazing and I really like it here.”
Rio Rico is currently 3-3 this season. With Guzman in tow, she’s already jumped to the top of the 4A Gila region leaderboards with 64 kills this season.
Rio Rico outside hitter Sophia Guzman celebrates scoring a kill during a match at Tanque Verde High School, Sept. 11, in Tucson.
For the 2023-24 season, she recorded 101 kills, according to MaxPreps.
Although it’s still early in the season, Guzman says one of the more memorable moments so far was when the Hawks took down San Tan Valley’s Combs High School on the road in a 3-2 win.
During the match, she had 15 kills, the most on the team.
With more than 15 games left in the regular season, Guzman is confident Rio Rico has a shot at taking home the region title this year.
“We are sort of rebuilding. We had five or six girls coming back from last year and we had to pull girls up from junior varsity. But honestly, we’ve been doing really, really well,” she said. “I see a lot of potential in this team and I honestly think we can win region. This is the strongest team I think I’ve been on throughout my whole four years and I think if we really put our minds to it and we really work together, we can make it.”
Throughout four years of playing volleyball and track and field in high school, Guzman has experienced her fair share of hurdles. Everything from shoulder injuries and shin splits to mental blocks.
“My schedule was very tight and it definitely took a toll on my body and that was hard, especially on my mental health, because I felt like I had no time to do anything,” she said. “I was scared that my injury, because it was chronic, it would stop me from playing the sport that I love, but I’m doing a lot better now. And I think those things just teach me to be stronger and that pain is just temporary.”
Throughout injuries and challenging situations, Guzman finds ways to stay positive and healthy.
She makes homemade meals. She meditates or goes on walks. She listens to podcasts or reads self-development books.
She fills the walls of her room with Bible verses and positive affirmations written on sticky notes.
“Sophia is very unique,” Bermudez said. “She’s not only an amazing athlete, she’s a student-athlete. She’s not like your normal teenager. … She’s so dedicated to herself and so consistent with everything she does. It just brings out the best in her.”
Rio Rico outside hitter Sophia Guzman throws up a block on a Tanque Verde spike attempt.
With volleyball in the fall and track and field in the spring, Guzman maintains a busy schedule year-round.
Along with holding a 4.2 GPA, she’s also involved with four community-service driven school clubs, including National Honor Society as the treasurer and Health Occupations Students of America as the president.
After graduating in the spring, Guzman hopes to pursue volleyball in college, hopefully at the Division I level, she says. If she doesn’t get into a Div. I college right out of high school, she plans to attend an in-state junior college and then transfer. Her dream is to attend the University of Texas-Austin.
She aspires to have a career in the medical field, helping other athletes keep their bodies in peak condition.
“I definitely remind myself every day of where I want to go, of what I want to do with my life. I think it’s just the way I’ve always been,” Guzman said. “I’ve always been very organized and a go-getter and … knowing what I need to get done and really acting on it, that also helps a lot. Doing what I say I will do helps a lot with my confidence, which then applies to the rest of the areas of my life.”
Rio Rico outside hitter Sophia Guzman plays defense, digging out a spike in a match at Tanque Verde High School.
Before she heads to college, Guzman is soaking up every practice, bus ride, game and every moment in between at Rio Rico High before her time as a Hawk comes to an end.
“I’m gonna miss it,” she said. “I’m gonna miss the campus, but I am very excited to see more out there, because this is such a small town and my goal is to just put this place on a map a little more.”
Fast Five with Sophia
Which volleyball player would you love to play with?
Charitie Luper from the University of Louisville. She’s someone I look up to because she’s an undersized outside hitter, but she jumps like crazy, and now she’s playing pro.
What’s your dream athletic brand sponsor?
Nike or On Cloud.
What are three must-have items in your gym bag?
My headphones, the bands I always use to stretch my arms and my water bottle.
What’s your favorite post-match meal?
I’m gonna have to go the basic route. I love chicken and rice and asparagus, it’s my favorite.
What’s your current favorite class?
Economics.
