During her freshman season, Permian’s Mylah Arzaga grew tired of playing setter.
So much that she decided to switch to defensive specialist.
However, things have a way of coming back and it wasn’t long before Arzaga found herself playing back at her former position.
In the end, it’s safe to say that it has worked out for the Permian senior.
Playing in her second season at the varsity level, Arzaga looks to be a crucial part of this year’s Lady Panther team.
Arzaga is one of seven returning players for Permian and made All-District 2-6A last year.
“I’m super excited,” Arzaga said. “I’ve been working hard all summer for this season.”
After having been moved back to her old position, Arzaga earned First Team All-District honors, an award that meant a lot to her as she had since grown to love playing setter.
“It meant a lot to me because I had always been working on my setting,” Arzaga said. “There was a point in my freshman year where I quit the setter position and became a DS and then I went back.”
It was encouragement and convincing from her coaches that brought her back to playing setter.
The Lady Panthers are coming off a 24-14 showing from 2023 with a team that featured a lot of new faces.
Despite the young team, Permian still managed to make it back to the state playoffs for the third consecutive year after finishing fourth in the District 2-6A standings.
With more returning players this year, the Lady Panthers are looking to improve from last season which ended with a loss in straight sets to El Paso Coronado in the bi-district round.
Arzaga talked about what she needs to improve on this year.
“Probably to strike better for my team and to work harder than anybody else,” Arzaga said. “Also getting more kills and working down the line, cross court shots.”
While Arzaga doesn’t plan on playing volleyball at the collegiate level, she’s still expecting to bring her A-game during the season as she looks to go out on a high note.
She may not be playing at the next level but she knows her other teammates will.
“I just need to play for my teammates that do want to go and play in college and make them look better for the coaches and not just play for myself even if this is my last year,” Arzaga said.
The Lady Panthers started fall camp last week with two-a-days.
“We’ve been excited,” Arzaga said. “Maybe not so much for two-a-days since it’s so early in the morning but we’ve been excited for the season to start.”
