Brown had delivered key kills against Phoenix Sunnyslope, a perennial powerhouse that has made six consecutive Class 6A playoff appearances. Not only had she performed on the stat sheet, but Brown also managed to bring her teammates together with her nonstop energy. While the Dorados fell 2-1 in three agonizingly close sets, each decided by two points, for Robles, it was a glimpse into the confident leader and key contributor Brown was becoming.

“I turned to my assistant coach,” Robles recalled, “And I was like, ‘That's the Ava we want.’ That’s where we saw she can be a leader. She brought the girls together, talked with them. She got big kills and immediately turned to her team and celebrated.”

It’s the latest chapter in a short, but dramatically ascendant career for Brown at CDO. As a freshman, she was reluctant to speak up and worried about overstepping her role. Now a sophomore, Brown is first or second in most major statistics for the Dorados, broke the single-game school record for aces with 12 against Cholla on Oct. 7 and has become a consistent, vocal presence for a No. 9 CDO team that is 20-9, second in its region and bound for the playoffs.

“I think I’ve improved the most by being louder with my team,” Brown said. “I was very quiet last year. I wanted to be in my place; I didn’t want to go out of it and do too much as a freshman.”

However, through her ability to learn, be coachable and bond with her teammates, Robles has also noticed a significant shift in Brown’s presence on the court.

“The biggest difference for Ava is confidence,” her coach said. “She plays with a lot more confidence. She plays with what we call swagger… She knows she’s still developing, but she also knows that when she comes on the court, she is going to show people why she’s one of the best standing on it.”

The 5-foot-11 Brown is a dynamic outside hitter for the Dorados who can fly and swing high above the net, but has found her confidence initiating the play with her serving game. With 77 aces on the season and the single-game record already under her belt, she’s making a push for 93, the current CDO record held by Tori Zamora from 2006.

“Her breaking the single-season record was really a special moment for all of us,” Robles recalled. “When she broke the record, we were still confirming things in the moment, but once we knew it was good to go, it was a total celebration on the bus.”

Elsewhere, Brown has found strengths in her ability to reset after mistakes, while also bringing that same patient approach to the table with her teammates, especially in a sport with long sets and ample opportunities for frustration.

If I make a mistake, I can move on and prove that I can do better,” Brown said. “(I try to bring) energy, just happiness. Don't take it out on each other. Take it out on the ball, not each other, and just have fun out there. Like, it's a fun game. We're playing it for a reason.”

Brown’s path to volleyball began with a talented, experienced player who knows Ava, the sport and CDO well: her older sister, Rilynn.

An Arizona Daily Star Student Athlete of the Week as a freshman back in 2024, the elder Brown has emerged as CDO’s star in her junior season, leading the team in kills with a focused, humble approach. Her younger sister didn’t join her in volleyball until late middle school. Watching Rilynn grow through the sport was a major motivating factor for Ava.

“I really just saw her grow as a person,” Ava said. “So I was like, maybe I can try this. So I tried it, and then I realized I loved this.”

Brown was an immediate fit for the sport. She tried out for club volleyball and made the organization’s highest-level team for her age group. Eventually, it brought her onto the same high school team as her sister, making the transition less intimidating, particularly for a freshman who wasn’t sure where she fit.

“I was so nervous going into high school volleyball,” Brown said, “and just having her there to support me and guide me through was just a life (saver).”

Robles said Rilynn served as a safety net for Ava, helping introduce her to the team and making the unfamiliar feel more comfortable. While the pair is incredibly close on and off the court and share an innate bond that most teams don’t have, they are far from identical players.

Rilynn, CDO's No. 1 outside hitter, is the more aggressive attacker who receives the majority of the team's offensive opportunities, Robles said. Ava, the No. 2 outside hitter, is more disruptive, looking for openings and placing her shots rather than always swinging for power.

Their differences extend beyond the court. When Ava first arrived as a freshman, she was the shyer part of the pairing.

“She would always hide behind her sister or our (sophomore middle blocker) Lainey (Wilderson),” Robles said. “When Rilynn first got here as a freshman, I remember she came in with this big bow on and was very social from the jump.”

"It was interesting to see the differences in their personalities and now they've almost flipper. Ava is very outspoken while Rilynn plays it cool."

Their time together on the court has created changes as well. Ava said her sister’s competitiveness has rubbed off on her, while she believes her own mental toughness has helped Rilynn move past mistakes.

“I think that’s very accurate,” Robles said, reacting to the sisters’ differences. “(Ava) hit the nail on the head there. We see it in practice a lot, where they compete with each other…You can hear them communicating and pushing each other with feedback. It’s definitely helped Ava having her older sister there because it is an older sibling, but it’s also someone for her to strive to be better than in the future and see how far she can go.”

“It’s also helped Rilynn find new ways to communicate with her teammates and offer leadership. She can almost use Ava’s leadership and outspoken nature to figure out what she wants to say to the team.”

Robles has seen the sisters push each other while offering the kind of feedback that comes from knowing one another so well. At the same time, he supports Ava to continue establishing herself as her own player, especially with the day approaching when Rilynn will no longer be beside her on the court.

“Even though she's Rilynn's sister, she wanted to make her own identity at CDO,” Robles said. “They have that sibling bond and love each other so much and work so well together. But it’s also important for Ava to develop her own identity because this will be a team that she is leading when Rilynn (graduates).”

That identity is becoming clearer with every match as Brown progresses in her young varsity career. For the postseason, she hopes to help the Dorados advance beyond last year’s first-round exit in the state tournament, with hopes that the team’s chemistry and determination can take them further.

“I think we can for sure make a deeper run,” Brown said of the state tournament. “100% if we can keep the grit we have now.”

Off the court, Brown is a 4.33 GPA student with an interest in forensic science she acquired watching the 2006 crime television series “Dexter.” She hopes to play college volleyball when the time comes, and rather than teaming up with her sister in college, she wants to play against her.

“I think it'd just be fun, like the competitiveness between both of us,” Brown said. “It would be genuinely such a great match, and we’d have fun.”

For now, Brown is building towards a different competitive goal at CDO — win as much as possible, lead the way with her sister and have fun while doing it. The time to lead the Dorados on her own will come, but for now, it’s about enjoying the bond and talent on the court for as long as they can.

“I have no doubt about that,” Robles said regarding Ava’s future leadership in her senior season two years from now. “She already shows signs that she’s ready to take the reins when they are passed to her.”

“But Rilynn and Ava, they are something special. They are definitely two girls that are going to continue to make a name for themselves and are two players that people need to keep their eyes on more often.”

Fast Five with Ava

Do you have a favorite postgame meal?

A filet from Longhorn Steakhouse. 

What's your pre-game routine?

I have to listen to hype rap to get myself going.

If you could add any volleyball player to the CDO roster from any level, who are you picking?

(Nebraska middle blocker) Andi Jackson.

What are three must-have items in your gym bag?

Knee pads, shoes and a snack. The snack would be applesauce.

What's your favorite class in school?

Math.