Lauren Polio is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Scottsdale Christian Academy for AZPreps365.com

Since the moment she was 6-years-old and signed up to play volleyball with her cousin, Scottsdale Christian Academy senior Bella Anderson knew the volleyball court was where she was meant to be.         

She first began playing volleyball for the Eagles in sixth grade, and when she entered her freshman year, she made the varsity roster.

“My freshman year I made varsity, we had an amazing coach, and we had amazing leaders,” Anderson said. “It was very welcoming. I felt so included and I felt like I had a group that I could go to, and all of the seniors really brought us in and made us feel really special and cared for.”

For her entire volleyball career, Anderson had played libero. But after her first two years on varsity, the team was looking for someone to fill the void at the outside hitter position. Anderson was the one to do it.

“I was very hesitant at first; I had never hit in my life and it was honestly so much fun,” Anderson said. “Now I have a certain appreciation for the outside hitters. I know what to look for and how to help them. The team needed me as an outside and that's what I did.”

Scottsdale Christian Academy’s head varsity basketball coach – and also her father – John Anderson said Bella was able to take that challenge.

“Every year has brought kind of a new challenge that she has taken on head on, and I think that's where she is good at growing,” John Anderson said. “She's a libero so those first few years there was a lot of competition and just learning for her to not run from threats. She’s never done that; she’s always hit every challenge head on and thrived in doing that.”

In her final season, Anderson played a huge role for her team and became a role model for her teammates as co-captain. In the end, she lead her region in aces, and finished third in kills, and was named the 3A All-Region Player of the Year.

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed among her teammates, either.

“Watching Bella lead the team and doing it alongside her and also watching her as she does it has just taught me so many things that I think will help me in the future for next season and just help me in life in general,” said junior co-captain Reece Gibson.

Now that her time playing volleyball with the Eagles has come to an end, Anderson said she is excited to move forward and play at the next level at Grand Canyon University.

"I am beyond excited. I’ve always loved GCU, I've always loved their coaches, and loved their program,” Anderson said. “Once they could start emailing me, I got really interested and I knew since I was 14 that it was my dream school. Once I started talking to them, I committed right away because I knew that it was the place for me.”