Graham-Kapowsin’s Brockway mopped the floor with opponents. She’s the TNT’s 2021 All-Area player of the year

Somehow, the simple household item has become a good-luck charm for the Graham-Kapowsin volleyball team.

The mop purchased by Hailey Brockway’s father even travelled across the mountains in mid-November with the Eagles, accompanying the team to the Yakima SunDome where G-K ultimately placed third at the Class 4A state tournament.

“Cristella (Ferrer, a JV teammate that came up to the varsity for the playoffs) just had to carry it around,” Brockway said. “If she didn’t have it, she always ran back to get it. So yeah, it became something of a good luck charm.”

Prior to Byron Brockway’s purchase, coach Loni Parks always made sure there was an extra stack of towels available, whether at practices or matches. Whether towels or that mop, those resources have come to represent what Brockway means to the Graham-Kapowsin program.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get talent and a hard worker together,” Parks said. “But Hailey is never satisfied. She sets a precedent every day. After every day, you could wring her shirt out. Every time she takes a dive on the floor, there is a pool of sweat. You have to have a towel ready.”

Or, thanks to Brockway’s dad, a mop.

That combination of work ethic and talent has led to Brockway being named the News Tribune’s All-Area Player of the Year for the second time in three seasons. The junior won the accolade back in 2019, as a freshman, as well.

According to MaxPreps, Brockway led the state of Washington this fall with 582 kills and a per-set average of 6.5 kills.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Parks said. “She has the ability to simply put us on her shoulders.”

Take the Eagles hard-fought, five-set win over Camas on Nov. 11 this fall. Graham-Kapowsin trailed two sets to one, even after winning the first.

Brockway simply took over offensively, recording a massive 42 kills (8.05 per set) in a match decided by a 15-4 win in the fifth set. Brockway’s intensity carried the Eagles beyond that late-season win into the districts and finally to the state tournament, where Graham-Kapowsin finally fell in the semifinals to Bothell before rebounding to win the third-place match.

“She knew what she had to bring to that state tournament,” Parks said. “I’m the luckiest person in the world. She’s going to get better. I can’t wait to see her explosiveness next year.”

Yes, Graham-Kapowsin gets to enjoy Brockway’s exploits for another fall. She’s just a junior and will have a senior campaign before heading off to Illinois State, where the outside hitter already has committed to attend beginning in the fall of 2023.

Those next steps keep Brockway as hungry as she was when she was seven years old, playing on her sister Madison’s U-13 team at REACH. Being that young, Brockway said she never saw the court during that first club season.

“I’d come on to serve once in a while, when we were up by 15 points or something,” Brockway said.

The next fall, Brockway switched clubs. Her sister and friends, two years her senior, were going to play on a 14s team.

“My mom wanted me to enjoy volleyball, and to find out if I was any good,” Brockway said. “It was the right decision, because I am actually good.”

But even as maybe the best in the state, Brockway is anything but satisfied or content with her progress.

“My opponent really is myself,” Brockway said. “Because I want to be ready to play at the collegiate level. I’m still just a high school player. I may be at or near the top as one, and I feel like I can compete. But I don’t want to find myself sitting on the bench in college and feel like I didn’t do enough to be a starter.”

So Brockway continues to work hard. She hones her skills.

And that invariably leads to shirts in need of wringing.

“I sweat a lot,” Brockway said with a chuckle. “We bought a mop for that reason. I need it to mop up the court.”

Considering her dominance, that mopping happens both literally and metaphorically for Graham-Kapowsin opponents.

“My parents raised me to be a fighter,” Brockway said. “And I found volleyball, which is my sport to be one of the top dogs in. If I could be on a volleyball court all day every day, I would do that. It’s where I’m at home.”

This story was originally published December 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.