Two Avas help to spark rise of Hiland volleyball
With some big offers continuing to roll in from colleges, Ava Troyer will take a strong net presence to some lucky collegiate program.
For four years of varsity volleyball at Hiland, Ava Weaver and Ava Troyer have been helping build a program that has been on the rise now for several years.
Together the two Avas have staked their claim among the all-time greats, both being four-year starters for the Lady Hawks and providing an impact for this year’s current team that is successfully rolling through its regular season.
This year has been especially enjoyable for the two friends and teammates. Ava Weaver recently soared past the 2,000 career assist mark, a true rarity among high school players. Meanwhile Ava Troyer recently crusher her way past the school records for most career kills and blocks, moving past all of the other all-time great Hiland hitters.
But what makes this story so heartwarming isn’t just the duo’s skills on the court, but also their friendship off of it.
“Obviously, we hang together during volleyball season and in JO, but once volleyball season is over, we spend so much time together,” Troyer said.
“We’ve been together almost every single day since middle school,” Weaver said. “This friendship goes well beyond the game of volleyball. This friendship has been so strong through good times and bad times, and 100% it is what I will remember the most about my time playing here.”
The two actually met early on in middle school when they began playing together.
Weaver started playing volleyball in fifth grade in park district at Winesburg. She quickly found she enjoyed the game and turned her focus toward improving, which she did with great acumen.
Meanwhile, Troyer was learning the art of dishing up tasty sets to teammates at Walnut Creek Elementary, and once they got to middle school, they found their respective talents fit well together.
That connection carried them right through middle school and JO play to the high school level, where they simply continue to develop their games together.
“I think that connection plays a big role in where we are today,” Troyer said. “I feel like we have this unique, separate connection, a setter-hitter connection, where Ava sets me up in the right place at the right time. We’ve done it so often and repeated it so many times that it’s just become second nature for us.”
Whether it’s a back set, a traditional higher set out in front or a sneaky low set that allows Troyer to mash home a winner before the defense can react, the dynamic duo continues to punch out numbers that only add to their incredible careers.
The pair communicates silently or quietly to develop a plan of attack, and it’s working.
“From middle school on, we’ve just kind of clicked, and we know what we need and want to do, and she’s great at responding to the ball anywhere I set it,” Weaver said.
As the floor general for a successful Lady Hawks team, Weaver is the one through whom everything operates. Not much gets to the net to hit without her getting her hands on it.
How does she like dealing with that type of pressure?
“I love it,” Weaver said. “It’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders, but I think I’ve always handled pressure well and do well under it. I also know that my teammates will always have my back and always be there for me, even when things aren’t perfect. We’ve got a lot of talent on this team, and it’s fun making it all go.”
As for her greatest accomplishment, Troyer said it isn’t any game-winning spike or any particular victory.
“For me, it’s been about getting to play with Ava Weaver all of the years,” Troyer said. “That’s what I’ll remember the most. We’ve been through so much together, and I wouldn’t ever choose any other setter because we know each other so well.”
For Troyer, Cleveland State and Ashland University are knocking on her door, but Kent State University has already presented Troyer with a full ride option, which she said is alluring.
Weaver said she is undecided about her playing career beyond high school, but she said she would invite the opportunity to continue her career in college.
While they have garnered honors and rung up numbers along the way, both Avas agreed they would trade every single one of them for a trip to state, which would be a Hiland volleyball first.
“Definitely yes,” each responded simultaneously to the question.
That type of team-first attitude, combined with their respective talent, is what makes them special, but the friendship comes from the heart and is what will stay with them forever.