MHS senior signs to play college volleyball

Elizabeth Gallon, a senior middle hitter for the Maricopa High School volleyball team, will be joining a new team in the fall.

Friday, Gallon signed a letter of intent to play for William Jessup University, a private college in Rocklin, California, near Sacramento. With an enrollment of 1,146, WJU competes in the Golden State Athletic Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

“I liked the coach and the environment at the school,” the California native said of her campus visit. “It seemed very fun.”

Gallon did not play volleyball until her freshman year. Julia Jefferson, her first high school coach and her Arizona Heat club coach, said she played very well and still has “lots of room for growth” for a college program that is rebuilding after a 6-21 season.

Her senior season at MHS, Gallon had 198 kills, 144 blocks and 73 aces. That was a jump from 67 kills, 105 blocks and 20 aces her junior year.

The Rams’ record this year was 12-17.

Gallon shifted to volleyball after playing junior high basketball, tired of hearing “basketball is in my blood” when she realized she really wasn’t all that excited about it.

Gallon’s mother Lashieka Holley was Jefferson’s assistant coach during Liz’s first three seasons of high school volleyball. This school year, Jefferson stepped down, and Holley became the head coach for her daughter’s senior season.

She said coaching her own daughter has been “difficult but fun at the same time.”

Jefferson said Gallon came to her as a junior and said she might be interested in playing at the next level. Jefferson told her there many opportunities and spoke to Holley about the possibilities. Knowing WJU coach Shasta Millhollin-Bossom, who is in her first year at WJU and previously coached at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Jefferson is excited about Gallon’s future.

“I think she’ll do extremely well,” Jefferson said.

Gallon has not decided on a field of study. Holley said her daughter may be leaning toward biology.

Elizabeth Gallon Volleyball LOI

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