Kallie George making waves for Ironwood Ridge volleyball programs

George "became a starter right away" for the Nighthawks, said head coach Bill Lang, and she quickly became one of the faces of Ironwood Ridge's beach volleyball and indoor volleyball programs.  

"We have a longstanding tradition that freshmen don't make our varsity team," said Lang, who coaches both of Ironwood Ridge's volleyball programs. "That's mostly because our enrollment was so massive and the juniors and seniors we had were so good, not only on the court, but their maturity level is what you'd expect. Freshmen don't usually hit that bar with maturity, work ethic and talent.

"Kallie came in and she was ahead of the curve. She also looked everyone in the eye when she spoke. That's one of my non negotiables. When I talk to you, you need to look at me. Some of those kids from the Covid era don't have that skillset anymore. Kallie has been around some pretty good coaches, so she came in with the ability to look me in the eye. ... She's always been different that way." 

As an indoor volleyball player, George is one of the top players in Southern Arizona as an outside hitter and has 770 kills, 523 digs and 438 points in her two-year career at Ironwood Ridge. She was second on the team with 455 kills this past season. 

Lang said the "springy" George "handles the ball and she does a good job reading the game."

"She watches what's happening, she makes predictions and she's steady enough to go after it," added the Ironwood Ridge coach. "Her ability to read the game, then add that to her athletic ability, even though she's undersized, it makes her a pretty good player. When she's jumping, she hits the ball at the height."

Ironwood Ridge's beach volleyball season came to an end with a 4-1 loss to Flagstaff in the Division II semifinals. IRHS ended the season with an 11-3 record — the same record as George's combined record with freshman Marcella Landers and senior Maria Lemas. George is a combined 23-6 since last year.  

"I was really proud of our team," George said. "We had a goal of making it to the state championship, but we still had a deep run."

George and Landers are competing in the Division II Open Division state championship this week at Casteel High School in Queen Creek. The sixth-seeded George and Landers, who are Ironwood Ridge's only tandem in the field, will play their first match Tuesday evening.

If they win, they'll likely face No. 3 Scottsdale Saguaro's tandem of Sloan Kribel and Nylah Bibby, a UA volleyball commit and daughter of former Arizona basketball star Mike Bibby. The championship match is set for Thursday evening. 

Gone to the beach

George started playing volleyball as early as she can remember. She played basketball, too, but she gravitated toward volleyball after playing it consistently at a nearby YMCA. 

"I'm very competitive, so it's really fun being on the court," George said. "It's fun playing with my teammates and I like getting pushed. I fell in love with it because it's a way for me to be competitive and play in a team sport." 

George, like many other high-level volleyball players, played for clubs and travel-ball teams. Her youth volleyball club, "Club Cactus Juniors," is where she connected with Lang, who is the club's director. Club Cactus Juniors has competed in tournaments in Arizona, California, Texas, Las Vegas and Boston. 

"I've been everywhere with Kallie," Lang said. 

George began her beach volleyball career around 2021-22 and joined Phoenix-based "RPM Sand," which is considered one of the top club beach volleyball programs in the state.

"It gives an outlet for indoor girls to learn the game," George said. 

George has participated in a number of camps for high school beach volleyball players in California and the Steve Walker Sand Volleyball Camp at the UA.

During the indoor volleyball season, George spends her Sundays training for beach volleyball. She also plays in tournaments for RPM Sand in addition to playing at Ironwood Ridge. 

"The kid works hard, super hard," Lang said. "She doesn't take days off. We have to tell her that she's not practicing sometimes."  

The biggest difference between indoor and beach volleyball, "in indoor, I won't say you can't hide, but if you have a rough day, there's five other people who can help you get back up and carry out points for a win," George said.

"In beach, there's no way of hiding," she added. "If you're having a bad day, it shows a lot of your weaknesses. You have to do everything in beach: pass, set, hit, play defense. In indoor, certain positions don't do that. In beach, you have to communicate at a really high level. You can't hide on the court in beach like you can in indoor." 

Kallie life

When George was in middle school, she mulled over two high schools to play volleyball at: Salpointe Catholic and Ironwood Ridge.

"The culture of Ironwood Ridge volleyball is at such a high level, it drew me in," George said. 

Plus, a prior connection to Lang through Club Cactus Juniors made playing at Ironwood Ridge an easy choice for George. 

"Kallie fit our rebuild," Lang said.

The Ironwood Ridge volleyball star doesn't have a preference between indoor and beach volleyball. 

"Whatever I'm playing at the time, I just love it," George said. "I love both equally."

George, whose favorite subject in school is math, is also a standout student at IRHS and currently has a 4.4 GPA. She plans to study law and become a lawyer when she goes to college in two years.

As she turns into an upperclassman, "I definitely need to work on my leadership skills," George said. She's got all the tools to become a leader and arguably the best volleyball player in Ironwood Ridge history. 

"Her competitiveness, her work ethic and her ability to read, those are the the three things that separate her from a lot of good players," Lang said. We know she's just going to get better. We know she's good. When you come to a beach match, you're going to point at her. When you come to an indoor match, you're going to point at her.

"What I want her to do now is make everyone around her better. Those players are rare. They don't happen all the time. ... Kallie is clearly one of our best players, but can she make everyone else better? That's my goal for her as she gets ready for her junior and senior campaign." 

Fast Five with Kallie

Who is your dream beach volleyball partner? 

"Kerri Walsh (Jennings). She's an Olympian and she runs a lot of foundations for club (volleyball). That would be really cool." 

What is your favorite pre-match meal or post-match meal? 

"The night before, I usually like to eat chicken alfredo. After the game, I love In-N-Out. I get a number two — just a plain burger. I don't get anything on it, only meat and cheese." 

What's your go-to music of choice before a match?

"Probably Drake or some type of rap. Maybe country music. I always listen to Megan Moroney, Lainey Wilson, female country music artists. I love Ella Langley."

What is your favorite movie or comfort TV show? 

"My favorite movie is 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' and then my favorite show is 'Gossip Girl.' I love rom-coms and dramatic stuff." 

What are must-haves for your volleyball bag? 

"'Honey Stinger' energy chews. I always bring those to indoor tournaments. At beach tournaments, I have a mini fan for when it's hot during Arizona tournaments, so I love that. Probably just a lot of food."