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Advance volleyball teammates to be rivals in college
ADVANCE — Alyssa Miles and Nyah Wilson have been teammates since the fourth grade.
Next fall, the Advance seniors will be on the opposite side of net after they signed to play volleyball for Great Valley Lakes Conference universities.
Wilson had already signed with Lindenwood University of St. Charles, when Miles made her choice of Missouri University of Science and Technology official in December.
Miles is looking forward to the opportunity to face her long-time teammate.
“I’m ready for it,” she said. “I’ve always played with her and now I’m ready to have some competition between us. It’ll be fun, friendly competition.”
Advance volleyball coach Erin Hoffman plans to bring her entire team to watch them next season.
“When Alanis (Below) played at John A Logan, we went up the previous two years to watch her play. We were going to go watch Roz (Schrader) play (at Logan), but COVID and all that stuff happened,” Hoffman said. “That’ll probably be our game. The team will go watch Nyah play Alyssa. It’ll be fun.”
Miles considered John A. Logan, Lindenwood, Maryville University and University of Missouri-St. Louis but she said Missouri S&T was the right fit for her.
“I liked a lot about it,” Miles said. “Their education is good. I love their coach (Andy Halaz). He is very dedicated … and he pushes his girls hard. The girls on the team are really nice, so it’s just a perfect fit for me.”
Hoffman said Miles’ athleticism and competitive drive will take her far at the next level.
“She’s very strong. She’s a powerhouse,” Hoffman said. “It was a crazy kind of progression for her. In the seventh grade, she set for me. Eighth grade, she was hurt, so she had to do everything with her left hand. Her freshman year, she started coming around then she grew like crazy, and her sophomore year, she really started to make an impact. She’s really strong and can jump.”
Missouri S&T has Miles penciled in as an outside hitter, according to Miles.
Hoffman praised Miles’ work ethic.
“She continued to improve her game,” Hoffman said. “Everyday (she) came into practice and worked hard and kept getting better. That was probably the best thing about her. She would always come in and work hard, even though she was already pretty good.”
Hoffman said Miles hasn’t come close to reaching her potential.
“I think there’s only so far a Class 1 coach can take a high school player,” Hoffman said. “I think once they get to the college level, (the coaches) get so much more out of them. They are playing with players on their level, playing against good competition.”
Miles, a three-time all-state outside hitter, was a key part of the Hornets’ three-year reign as Class 1 state champions.
During her senior season, Miles hit .345 with 310 kills and 241 digs (6.3 per match).
A full-time starter for three seasons, Miles and the Hornets compiled a 110-5-3 record over that timespan.