Benet senior Aniya Warren is the Suburban Life girls volleyball Player of the Year

Aniya Warren discovered her athletic calling at a young age.

It started with imitation.

As early as 3 or 4 years old, the Benet senior would go to her older sister Ashanti’s volleyball matches. As Ashanti played on the court, Aniya would be on the sidelines acting it out.

“From then on I learned to love the game,” Warren said.

Warren loved playing outside hitter and spiking the ball, but she also wanted to compete at the highest level. Her modest 5-foot-9 height made libero the best fit for that, and she fell for it.

“I love this position, it’s a lot of fun,” Warren said. “It is more heart and passion and giving it your all. You are giving it your all, working for your team to score points.”

Few play the position at Warren’s level.

The latest in a long line of standout liberos at Benet, she became the first to start at the position all four years. Warren, who will play at Purdue, accumulated 1,649 digs and led Benet to a 148-16 record over four seasons. The Redwings finished second in Class 4A the last three seasons.

Warren is the 2024 Suburban Life Girls Volleyball Player of the Year.

Benet coach Brad Baker said that Warren has a combination of athletic ability and instinct uncommon for her age. No surprise that she is the libero and a captain for the USA volleyball’s under-19 team.

“You go to the clinics where college coaches talk about things they do on defense and you think ‘That would be great if we could do that.’ This is why you get to do those things, because you have kids like Aniya,” Baker said. “Most high school players don’t have the ability to read the ball, see it and have that athletic ability. We were able to do some stuff defensively that we normally would have to scheme for. She could just make a play.”

Warren was the engine that fueled a 40-2 Benet team with 11 future Division I players that was taken to three sets only three times.

It didn’t end how Warren and her teammates wished, a three-set loss to Marist in the Class 4A final. But she cherished how they played and practiced every day.

“We played with passion and heart,” Warren said. “Every single day we went into practice we competed. It was probably one of the most competitive Benet teams. I loved every moment, on and off the court. So many great memories. I won’t let that last match define what the season meant to me.”

Warren understands that the average volleyball fan talks about the big swing, and few talk about the pass that made it possible. But she loves what she does, and considers it an honor to do it.

“Every day is a grind. You want to get 1% better,” she said. “Film is a big part in being great and then you have to go out there and rep it out, repetition with muscle memory. Every single day you have to want to be better and have to want it for yourself. If you want to be great, you have to motivate yourself to be better.”

Baker sees a player in Warren who is great because she has played a lot, and started playing volleyball very early.

But, like a Michael Jordan, she also makes plays that are unexplainable.

“She is in that breed that she’s able to do some things the normal players cannot do,” Baker said. “The part about being able to read plays, she gets to things before they happen. Most players in high school are reactionary players. A play happens, they react and they go. She has the ability to see it beforehand. She sees the game quicker. Players are making the digs and diving that Aniya is able to make standing up

“There is the athleticism – Aniya is one of the fastest players we’ve ever had in our gym. Add that to the ability to read the game, and you end up with her."

Warren said she’s definitely grown and matured in the game, and has a greater IQ with the ability to read and know hitters. Her belief in herself and her teammates has also grown, owning the court as a vocal leader, which Baker has noticed.

“She is willing to do more and she is willing to take up more space,” Baker said. “She is willing to step in front of people. Young people, they want to play in their own zone. She understands now that I have to do more than in my lane. I have to cover people.”

Warren’s next lane will take her to Purdue. Originally committed to Indiana, she switched to the Big Ten and in-state rival earlier this fall.

“It’s just a special place to be,” Warren said. “You go to a camp there, the coaches are pushing me every single day to be better. If you watch them play every single point is an opportunity and they are going to compete until the death and fight for every point. That is my mentality.”