Let her reign begin: A natural athlete, Golden Valley's Reina Sykes did a lot of everything for CCC champions

Matt Thissen first saw Reina Sykes at a youth basketball camp hosted by Golden Valley coach Keith Hunter. Sykes was participating in the camp with Thissen's son, Karch.

"I was talking to her mom, Lisa, and she said they didn't have a volleyball at home," Thissen said. "I went and got one of our old volleyballs and gave it to her.

"I think it was the first volleyball she ever had. I guess it kind of stuck."

Thissen knew the bloodline.

Sykes' father, John, is one of the best basketball players to ever play at Merced High.

"I used to play in a summer league with her dad, if you want to call it that. Let's just say I would be on the same court as John," Thissen said. "I've known their family for a while. They've been a part of the Golden Valley family since the school opened.

"John coached with Keith. He was an exceptional athlete. If Reina got half of his gene pool she was going to be pretty special."

Indeed, she is something special.

Sykes did a little bit of everything for the Golden Valley volleyball team in leading the Cougars to a Central California Conference championship.

She was named the Most Valuable Player by the conference coaches.

Sykes is also our choice as the Sun-Star Volleyball Player of the Year.

"Volleyball has been my thing since I was 6 or 7 years old," Sykes said. "I played basketball with my brothers. Then it was like, 'Let's try this sport out and see how it goes.' "

Sykes brings an aggressive approach to volleyball that comes from having two brothers.

Her older brother, John, is one of the most athletic players to play basketball at Golden Valley, and easily the best dunker.

"When you grow up with an older and younger brother you learn at a young age you better stand up for yourself," Thissen said. "She takes that aggression onto the court.

"If she grew up with two sisters, she would still be the same athlete, but she would probably be a little passive."

Sykes got a surprise before the start of this season when she was moved to middleblocker.

She's played outside hitter and setter, but playing the middle was a first.

"I think my reaction was, 'He's joking, he's going to put me outside?' " Sykes said. "When he put me there, I was like, 'Oh my gosh. I'm really playing the middle. I was shocked.'

"I kind of grew into it. I still wanted to play outside, but I knew I could play that position, too."

Sykes played the middle when she was at the net and setter when she was in the back row.

"It can be really confusing," Sykes said. "Sometimes I'll be in the front row and I'll have to remind myself not to set. It keeps me moving. But I'd say hitting is my favorite part."

The move wasn't easy for Thissen.

"If we played her on the right side, we'd get her blocking, but lose some of her hitting," Thissen said.

"If we played her on the left side, she'd get all kinds of swings, but we'd lose her blocking.

"If we played her in the middle, we'd utilize her swings and her blocking. It was definitely kind of a head scratcher. She had never played the position in her life.

"We had to work on her footwork, transition and she had to learn the anticipation part of the position. That's where here athleticism pays off."

Sykes led the Cougars in just about every statistical category.

With only two seniors, it was a special season.

"This year I was really proud of our team," Sykes said. "I think some people weren't expecting much from us. I don't know if anybody expected us to do what we did."