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So often, a conference MVP in any sport is the best player on the best team.
Sycamore outside hitter Ava Carpenter won the Interstate 8 MVP award despite the Spartans taking fifth in the conference. And as if that didn’t stack the odds against her enough, she also missed the last three weeks of the season.
“I was not expecting that at all,” Carpenter said. “In the beginning of the year it was definitely my goal. I wanted to win conference with my team along with winning conference MVP. I think receiving it with being placed very low in conference and only playing half of conference means so much more to me than if I played the whole year and won conference.”
It speaks to the year Carpenter had that she missed 11 matches and still finished with 215 kills and a spot on the all-conference first team for the second straight year. She is also the Daily Chronicle 2024 Volleyball Player of the Year.
Carpenter was injured in a tournament on Oct. 11, coming down awkwardly on her ankle. She said she expects to be back by the time her travel season with Club Fusion starts back up in January.
The Spartans were a young team in 2024. Carpenter and Kylie Walsh were the only seniors on a team loaded with young talent like sophomore Maddie Patton, sophomore Khiara Thomas and junior Julia Weaver.
“We were definitely starting to click together more,” Carpenter said. “Me getting injured was definitely not something we wanted to happen. But we adjusted pretty well. And I wanted to make sure if I was on the court, I believe whether you are on the court or on the bench, you’re still playing a part on the team.”
Carpenter said she still wanted to set an example for the young team going forward. She said she believes the vocal component on volleyball is just as important as on-the-court-skill and wanted to show her team what a difference energy can make.
And Sycamore coach Jennifer Charles said the message was received by the underclassmen.
“I think Julia and the other girls saw that,” Charles said. “Just because you’re not playing doesn’t mean you can’t have a role on the team. A lot of the girls saw that and we really started jelling.”
Even before her injury, Carpenter said she tried to be vocal and bring energy to the court.
“Not vocal as in yelling or being angry,” Carpenter said. “I wanted to make sure I went up to everybody on the court. If Khiara got a good kill I’d make sure I was the first person to go up to her and congratulate her. And if the bench was looking bored I’d tell them we got it.”
The Spartans went 10-22 this season and finished 3-8 in conference. When Carpenter was injured, the team was 8-13 and 3-4.
When she was healthy, Carpenter was a big cog in the Spartans' offense.
“Every time she got the ball, she found a way to score,” Charles said. “She was coming out guns a-blazing from our first tournament. I knew she was really ready to step into that role. She knew this year was going to be, not a struggle, but a different vibe because a majority of these girls had not played varsity before.”
Carpenter said she’s still hammering out her college plans, taking visits and trying to find the right fit. She said she’s looked at some NCAA Division I programs, but declined to mention which ones.
Overall, Carpenter said the year went pretty well even with the obstacles.
“I think we hung with a lot of good teams we played,” Carpenter said. “Even when I was out, with the title varsity experience we had, we were still competitive.”