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Amaya Evans signs with South Mountain

Posted 5/24/22

Ever since she was little, Amaya Evans wanted to be a collegiate athlete. Her road to an athletic scholarship had many twists and turns but on Wednesday, May 11, Evans signed to play beach volleyball …

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Amaya Evans signs with South Mountain

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Ever since she was little, Amaya Evans wanted to be a collegiate athlete. Her road to an athletic scholarship had many twists and turns but on Wednesday, May 11, Evans signed to play beach volleyball for South Mountain Community College next year.

“I didn’t start with swim, but I did swim and I thought I was going to be a collegiate swimmer,” Evans said. “Then I thought I was going to be a collegiate basketball player. So, every sport I played, in my head since I was little, I thought I was going to be playing that in college. Little did I know, I would be playing a sport that was six months new to me.”

Evans moved from Yuma to Fountain Hills over winter break between her first and second semesters of senior year. She made it her mission to be comfortable in an uncomfortable situation, and not long after her move, Evans found and joined the beach volleyball team. Now, Evans is the 25th Falcon from Fountain Hills to sign a beach volleyball scholarship.

Evans was introduced to indoor volleyball in middle school but didn’t take to it until her freshman year at Gila Ridge High School. She played indoor varsity her sophomore and junior seasons and averaged 1.8 kills per set as a junior.

While indoor and beach volleyball are played very differently, Evans was a standout in preseason practices and throughout the season. She played every match this past season in the second pair.

Evans had a 9-5 record and was named to the All-Section second team after the season. Evans was well received by everyone on the Falcons’ beach volleyball team and head coach Peter McGloin called Evans “a coach’s dream.”

Evans fell in love with beach volleyball over the course of one season, and she received lots of support from her family to follow her dream. She has a large family, as Evans is the second oldest of seven children. On signing night, five of her siblings and both sets of her grandparents came to support her at her signing.

“It’s actually great having a big family because it’s almost like I have this support system with everything I do,” Evans said. “It’s great. It’s very meaningful to have as much support as I do.”

Like Evans, South Mountain is relatively new to beach volleyball. The college’s athletic department added the team in April of 2021, and the Cougars played just four games. The Cougars played a full season in 2022 and went 5-14.

Evans signed her name on a blank sheet of paper in the Fountain Hills High School Falcon’s Nest to symbolize her signing with South Mountain. She said that everything up to that point had been crazy and surreal, and she added that she feels the same way about graduation, too.

“It’s here, it’s time,” Evans said. “It’s a good feeling. It’s like I made it almost, but I just want to go on from here. I want to play D1 next and see where I can go after that. This is just the start.”

Evans is happy to graduate and go to college close to her new home in Fountain Hills. She said her recruitment process was a little hectic between being new to the sport and talking to several different colleges. Her mind is made up about where to go, but not exactly what to study.

Evens is entering South Mountain with an undecided major. She has some interest in pursuing business but hasn’t made up her mind yet. No matter what she ends up pursuing, Evans knows that Fountain Hills set her down her path.

“I started freshman year with not much information but with a goal in mind,” Evans said. “Seeing my potential, I knew I had, and I still know I have so much more potential in me, so it’s a matter of blooming. I think coach Pete and coach Kelly really sparked that bloom, so if I had to have a highlight of my last four years of sport, I would say it’s these last six months with coach Kelly and coach Pete.”