Murrieta Valley outside hitter Miley Thunstrom entered her senior season with a list of goals.
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At the top of that list was helping the program win the Southwestern League title for the first time in 15 years. Thunstrom and the Nighthawks achieved that goal by sharing the league championship with Temecula Valley.
Another goal was to snap the program’s string of heartbreaking losses in the CIF Southern Section’s playoffs.
Murrieta Valley failed to win a postseason match each of Thunstrom’s first three seasons, but things changed in a big way. The Nighthawks captured the Southern Section’s Division 2 championship, the first section title in the program’s history. Thunstrom led the way, including a 32-kill performance in the Division 2 title match.
For that, Thunstrom has been selected the IE Varsity Girls Volleyball Player of the Year for the 2024 season.
Thunstrom, a 6-foot-1 senior headed to Saint Mary’s, is a year younger than most players in the senior class and was only 13 years old the entirety of her freshman season. Thunstrom has been a primary attacker since she first donned a Nighthawk jersey, but she put together her most dominant and efficient season as a senior.
“I think the full body finally caught up with the mind this year,” Murrieta Valley coach Ann Romero-Parks said. “The work ethic and determination was always there, but she played with so much more control this season.”
Thunstrom, who turned 17 in November, never has used her age as an excuse.
“This is something I’ve been training most of my life for,” Thunstrom said. “When I was a freshman, I looked like I should be in elementary school. I just needed time to grow into my body to keep developing my game.”
Thunstrom was part of a trio of players who earned varsity spots as freshman in 2021. That core, which also includes setter Melanie Hewlett and outside hitter Ryleigh Short, established strong bonds over four seasons. And it was that group that entered this past season with the goal of ending their prep careers on a high note.
“We came into this year like we still had a lot to prove,” Thunstrom said. “The disappointments of past years continued to fuel us every day. That, and our camaraderie and ability to work together was a big difference.”
Romero-Parks said Thunstrom was more relaxed on the court this season.
“Miley holds herself to a high standard, and there was that goal of trying to be perfect,” Romero-Parks said. “The idea of perfection is a falsity. She realized that not everything is going to be perfect throughout a match. You’re going to get blocked. You’re going to make errors. How you respond to that defines you as a player.”
Thunstrom racked up 72 kills (5.5 per set) across the final three matches in the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs. Murrieta Valley’s opponent in the championship match was Palos Verdes, led by Stanford-bound attacker Kacie Demaria. Demaria had 42 kills in that title match, but Thunstrom countered with 32 kills of her own.
“She was just relentless with the ball and her swings,” Romero-Parks said of Thunstrom. “We’ve been telling her for four years that she was capable of those kind of performances. She just refused to lose that match.”
Thunstrom’s final kill of that match set off the championship celebration on the court.
“That was such an amazing experience,” Thunstrom said of winning the section title. “The seniors have been dreaming of that moment since we were freshman. It was rewarding to see that our hard work had paid off.”
IE VARSITY COACH OF THE YEAR
Caitlyn Bato, Rancho Christian
Bato did not start the season with the Eagles, but she took the reins a few weeks into the season and kept the program playing at a high level throughout the season. Rancho Christian finished the campaign with a 21-5 record and qualified for the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. The Eagles lost their Ivy League opener to Hillcrest but rattled off nine straight wins to capture the league championship. Bato, who was a standout player at Nogales High School and Cal State L.A., was chosen the Ivy League’s Coach of the Year.
IE VARSITY FIRST TEAM
OH: Fallyn Blotzer, Santiago, Sr.
OH: Janiah Burrage, Rancho Christian, Fr.
OH: Morgan Graves, Don Lugo, Sr.
OH: Maddy Snow, Temecula Valley, Sr.
OH: Saniyah Sobers, Redlands, Sr.
OH: Miley Thunstrom, Murrieta Valley, Sr.
OH: Asia Udo-Ema, Centennial, So.
OPP: Summer Tukua, Chaparral, Fr.
MB: Cydnee Bryant, Centennial, Jr.
MB: Hannah Hass, Corona, Sr.
S: Brooke Hansen, Etiwanda, Sr.
S: Melanie Hewlett, Murrieta Valley, Sr.
S: Kiersten Moore, Vista Murrieta, So.
S/L: Mya Capistrano, Roosevelt, So.
L: Sophia Swogger, Citrus Valley, So.
IE VARSITY SECOND TEAM
OH: Ryah Brock, Roosevelt, So.
OH: Crystal Chikezie, Kaiser, Sr.
OH: Kaitlyn Eugene, Hillcrest, Sr.
OH: Ella Johnson, Chaparral, So.
OH: Lara Martinez, Paloma Valley, Sr.
OH: Ryleigh Short, Murrieta Valley, Sr.
OH: Savannah Sheridan, Temecula Valley, Jr.
OH: Carina Zaldivar, Rancho Cucamonga, Sr.
OH: Dakota Zieman, Ontario Christian, Sr.
OH/MB: Evelyn Pool, Woodcrest Christian, So.
MB: Kelis Hawkins, Etiwanda, Sr.
MB: Zariah Crosby, Diamond Bar, Sr.
S: Londyn Neal, Centennial, So.
S: Chloe Robertson, Upland, Sr.
L: McKenna Giles, Centennial, Jr.
