SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- After picking up volleyball just two years ago, Cicero Prep senior Savannah Collings is committed to playing at Washington College in Maryland next season.

Collings never stepped onto a volleyball court until her sophomore year of high school but she has still made it to the next level. 

Collings and the Cicero Prep Centurions have had a magical season so far. After starting off just 1-3, the team won 20 straight matches and an unbelievable 50 consecutive sets. Collings has been a key part of the win streak as she is currently leading the team in kills per set, total blocks, and total kills. 

“I’ve put in a lot of work over the summer and in the past. I’ve really tried to get to know this team as much as possible, this was my first team that I’ve ever been with so I’ve always been really close with them and I really think that helps as well,” Collings said.

After their slow start, the Centurions cruised.

Collings played a huge part in their win at the Small Schools Classic last month. She racked up a total of nine kills in the tournament including six in a single match. In a match against Lincoln Prep last month, Collings tallied 10 kills as well as six blocks. At one point this seaosn, Collings was second in the state with 118 total blocks. 

“I think Savvy has by far been one of the people to grow the most and to grow her passion of the game and not just her skills. I think she gives a lot of the girls hope and inspiration that if you put your heart into something that it’ll return something back to you. It’ll be hard to convince younger kids to be like this player when she’s not there anymore,” head coach Kirsten Frey said.

Collings has become a role model and someone for her teammates to look up to.

She is at the center of every huddle and every play. She has been a crucial part of the team, tallying three or more kills in a stretch of 23 of 24 matches.

“When she’s on the court she’s the loudest teammate, she’s very good at forcing everyone else to communicate,” junior Ava Caggiano said. “I have never played a season of any type of volleyball without her. We started the same year, I was a freshman she was a sophomore for indoor then we played sand every year and now this is our last season together.” 

Cicero is going to miss Collings after she graduates this year, but for now, the team looks to continue its win streak. Collings is very superstitious during these win streaks. Last season when the team won eight consecutive matches, Collings did not wash her uniform for the entirety of the streak. For this current win streak, she has had her teammate, Halle Hwang, braid her hair before all of their matches.