Paul Garcia II is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism graduate student assigned to cover Cactus High School for AZPreps365.com

“When I’m at games, I don’t have anyone cheering for me,” Cactus freshman Kenli Petty said. “Everything I do is for my parents.” 

Petty is 14 matches into her high school volleyball career. Like most student-athletes, she is juggling the responsibilities of schoolwork, social life and the rigors of a varsity sport. 

These obligations are demanding on any 14-year-old; Kenli is managing these duties, all while enduring the loss of her mother. When Kenli was 12, her mother, Mary Katherine Hogan, unexpectedly passed away. 

After losing her mother, Kenli now lives with her grandparents. Kenli’s grandmother sees how she has found volleyball to be her comfort.

“She could have gone the other way and not wanted to do anything,” Camille Nicolosi said. “She dove into volleyball, and she has gotten more focused on her game. Kenli said, ‘This is what I’m going to do.”’

Volleyball quickly became Kenli’s safe haven as she found a sense of normalcy when she was on the court.

“I don’t know how I would be mentally if I didn’t have volleyball. That is the one place I could go and escape and have fun,” Kenli said. “If I was having a bad day, I knew I could turn it into a good day if I could play volleyball.”

Like her mother, Kenli played many sports growing up, such as basketball and softball, but she despised the running that those sports demanded. 

At the age of 9, Kenli took up volleyball, and the championing from other players drove her to love the game.

“When she first started to play volleyball, she received a lot of encouragement from older girls when they watched her play,” Nicolosi said. “People telling her how good she was made her want to play more. Now she’s out to prove something to the world.”

That crusade was shown this summer when Kenli tried out for the volleyball team at Cactus High School with every intention of making the varsity team as a freshman.

After the tryouts were over, Kenli constantly refreshed her laptop, iPad and phone, awaiting the roster announcements to see which team she would be on. She first read the freshman roster and didn’t see her name. Her name didn’t show up when she read the junior varsity roster, and then she read the varsity roster.

“I knew I was going to do this. I kept telling myself this is what I want to do,” Kenli said. “And I did it.”

Making varsity as a freshman is no easy feat. It is even more complicated when a player hasn’t played competitive club volleyball for more than a year; that is what Kenli did. Due to the strenuous travel that club volleyball entails, Kenli had to give up playing club after her mother’s passing. 

“Her resilience on having to quit club and in the last year to be able to make varsity as a freshman shows her determination,” Coach Jana Henige said. “She has put in the hours while not being on a club team.” 

Kenli experienced Initial growing pains of comfortability with her new high school teammates. The freshman missed the preseason team-building day due to an illness.

“She was really quiet and took a while to open up with her teammates and coaches,”  Henige said. “Once she trusted us, every aspect of her game and her maturity on the court changed. As she got more comfortable with the team, she started dominating.”

Throughout the season, Kenli has gravitated towards fellow middle blocker Sapphire Solano, a senior captain. 

“I really look up to Sapphire. She has great energy and is a great captain,” Kenli said. “I want to be like her my senior year.”

Solano has embraced the mentor role with Petty.

“It’s not easy being a freshman starter on varsity,” Solano said. “As a captain, it is my job to help her gain confidence by showing her things I’ve gone through over the years.”

With only four games left in the season Solano and Petty are on top of the Cactus leaderboards in most statistical categories. Solano leads the Cobras with 92 kills, while Kenli is just behind Solano with 91.

Sapphire Solano (left) celebrates a kill with Kenli Petty in their matchup against Estrella Foothills on Oct. 9.  (Paul Garcia II photo/AZPreps365)

The future holds endless possibilities for Kenli, as she plans to rejoin club volleyball for the upcoming club season.

“After high school, I really want to play D1 volleyball, but to get there, I need to play club again,” Kenli said, “This coming year, I want to find the help I need to get into club again so that I can play in front of scouts.”

Petty is all too familiar with dealing with hardship and loss while pursuing high school sports. She knows she can’t do it alone.

“It might be scary to open up to someone, don’t be afraid to reach out to teammates and coaches,” Petty said. “Knowing someone is there for you helps a lot.”

Kenli Petty with her mother, Mary Katherine Hogan. (Photos courtesy of Camille Nicolosi)