Sara Perey attends Gilbert Christian High School and is a member of the AIA’s student SID program. 

Brianna Tennison is a Junior at Gilbert Christian High School who has played volleyball for many years. She is a phenomenal volleyball player and a major asset to our Gilbert Christian High School Varsity Women's Volleyball team. Brianna plays setter when she is in the back row and hits from the right side when she moves to the front row. A setter, sets that ball up for someone to spike it. The setter must have good control of the ball or the other teammates might not be able to spike the ball properly. 

A fellow teammate of Brianna’s, Ava Moore, affirmed that, “Brianna is tough on and off the court, she’s determined, always hard working, she never gives up on her teammates, and she’s encouraging no matter what.” 

Brianna “has contributed so much to this season, no matter how many concussions she’s had, she still shows up to practice and helps in any way she can,” added Moore. Overall, this season Brianna has played 34 of 46 sets. She has contributed 59 kills with an average of 1.7 kills per set, and has a 48.8 kill percentage. Brianna has been a strong player this season with 121 attack attempts, with only 11 of those missed. 

Brianna states “I have played volleyball for a total of eight years. I have done it for school every year and played club volleyball since I was 11.” This is how she has become so skilled at this competitive sport.

When Brianna was asked why she always had a smile on her face, win or lose, and always could encourage her teammates even if they messed up, Brianna responded by saying, “I have a smile on my face a lot of the time because I love the game I play! Every time I step on the court, I love it because of the people I play with! They are some of my best friends, and I wouldn’t trade them for anyone else! I always support my teammates because they always support me!”

One of Tennison’s favorite things about this sport is the competitive side of the game. “I am a super competitive person so when I play volleyball it comes supernatural to me and makes it so fun,” Brianna informed us.

Playing volleyball at Gilbert Christian High School has opened up different opportunities for Brianna. One example Brianna gave of this was being able to talk about Jesus openly which makes the whole vibe of the high school team completely different than club because, “We are not really able to talk at all about Jesus there,” which, she believes, prevents the club team from being able to achieve a close “bond.”

The Gilbert Christian High School Varsity Women's Volleyball is ranked 6th place out of 41 teams in the Arizona 3A conference. Brianna communicates that, “One major reason our team has made it so far this year is because of our chemistry! A lot of us have grown up together and played together for years, so we have that connection that most teams do not have, which serves as a huge advantage to us!”