Despite only being a 15 year old sophomore in Westborough, Sylvia Benyas has already made the Varsity volleyball team, something few people can say they accomplished by their second year of high school. Not only that, she has also started in more than a couple games, promising a bright future for this young player. But how did Benyas go from playing friendly matches in her backyard against her family to diving for balls on the Varsity team?
Although she has already attained far more than most players her age, Benyas’ volleyball experience began only slightly before she entered high school, at Westborough’s own recreational volleyball camp. Attending with her friends for fun, Benyas had no idea this would mark the start of an incredible journey. At the time, Benyas played soccer in the spring and fall seasons, but she found she enjoyed it a lot less than volleyball, causing her to quit the sport and try something new. During her 8th grade year, she decided she wanted to try out for a club volleyball team at Central Mass Juniors Volleyball. Benyas described being extremely nervous about the whole process, explaining that “All the girls that were on the team … had played before, and I just had no confidence”. There were over 100 girls that were there to try out, and Benyas did not feel good about her performance on the first day. She found herself constantly comparing herself to the other players around her, and as a result did not perform at the level she could have. But after three days of tryouts and people getting cut, Benyas made the team along with two of her closest friends.
Once on the CMass team, Benyas’ skills really began to flourish. Her serves, something she had previously struggled a lot with, improved drastically. She also became much more confident and sure of herself, discovering that her favored positions were Libero and DS; two defensive positions. Benyas had always loved diving for balls and digging hard-driven serves when playing in her backyard. That, combined with the fact that she isn’t tall, is what drove her to become a defensive back-row player, and she loves every part of it. When she joined the high school JV1 team, Benyas got even more playing time and opportunities to improve her gameplay.
After many intense matches and practices over the course of her club and school season, Benyas returned her sophomore year to try out for the high school team once again, only this time she had a bigger objective in mind. Making the Varsity team. Benyas knew that this was going to be a difficult goal to reach, since only one or two sophomores made Varsity each year. Despite knowing this, she went into the tryouts feeling good about herself and her playing skills. Benyas describes feeling “decent” with how she did, but did not have high hopes of getting on Varsity after tryouts were over. Once she got home, Benyas anxiously waited for the announcement that would determine her team placement. “I was at home with my mom and we were, like, both, like, refreshing the email, like, constantly. And, like, I just didn’t really think I was going to [get on Varsity], because I didn’t know if sophomores, like, are usually on Varsity”. When she finally got the email, Benyas was surprised and delighted to find out she had reached her goal. She would be one of the two sophomores on the Varsity team this season.
Benyas had accomplished what she had set out to do, but she still had a long road ahead of her. She found that the Varsity practices were a lot longer and more intense than the JV practices, pushing her to work harder every day. Despite the more focused and serious nature of the practices, Benyas enjoys every second of it, and she also explained that the team dynamic is similar to the bond she had last year with her previous teammates. “It’s really fun in the locker room before games. Everyone, like, gets hype, and it’s just such a fun environment.” The part Benyas said she loved most about volleyball outside of actually playing was the team community and spirit, and how everyone felt like family. Benyas recalled a specific moment during her first game, stating “I remember Leila teaching me the handshake we do when our team is serving, and it helped me feel included and a part of the team.”
During her first scrimmage on the Varsity team against Hopkinton, Benyas was feeling extremely nervous when she was called to go in for one set as Libero, mentioning that “It was so scary. My heart was beating so fast.” Although she did not get many touches on the ball, Benyas was extremely satisfied with her serving consistency, as that was one of the main things she had previously struggled with in her early playing seasons.
Since that first match, Benyas has come a long way, earning more and more playing time and opportunities through her dedication and hard work. Her own coach, Mr. Anderson, even shouted her out for always wanting to be on the opposite side of the net from their hardest hitters in practice to get more experience against tough opponents. Benyas clearly deserves to be on Varsity, through her dedication and commitment to the team as well as the amount of work she has put into this sport. She will without a doubt continue to do incredible things in volleyball, for the rest of her years at Westborough and possibly beyond.
