Anyone watching any portion of a Sedona Red Rock High School volleyball match will most likely see senior Lizbeth Corral-Diaz with a smile on her face. If she’s not smiling at any given moment, chances are good that she will be in a matter of seconds. That’s something that her teammates notice and can’t help but respond to.
“Everybody else on the team of course gets into bad moods — but Liz is never in a bad mood,” fellow senior Amari Sonn said “She’s always happy. She’s just there for everybody … just everybody’s friend.” That was a sentiment echoed by another senior teammate, Odalis Robles.
“She has a smile that’s contagious to other players,” Robles said. “She’s just very positive. Even if she’s going through it.”
Like anyone, some days are better than others for Corral-Diaz. But she attributes her generally positive demeanor to an overall optimistic outlook on life, even when things aren’t going great.
“I definitely have bad days,” Corral- Diaz said. “I just like to look at the positive side of everything, not the negative. Why ruin a whole day for just a couple of minutes of a bad part of your day?”
Corral-Diaz’s role with the Scorpions goes beyond just brightening everyone’s day. On the court, she’s had a lot to do with the team’s strong start to the season. She doesn’t score many points for SRRHS but does contribute to them as one of the best passers on the team.
Additionally, Corral-Diaz is a defensive specialist. So, even if she’s not scoring a lot of points, she does do a lot to keep teams from scoring against the Scorpions.
“No matter how small she is, she’s always everywhere on the court,” Robles said. “She’s always getting a ball up, no matter where it is.”
While she doesn’t yet know where she’s going, Corral-Diaz hopes to attend college and get a degree in nursing when she’s out of high school. In the more immediate future, Corral- Diaz and her teammates are focused on continuing their winning ways through the early season. Through a tournament held on Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21, SRRHS is 11-4 overall and 2-0 in 2A Central play, having not dropped a set to a section opponent. The play of Corral-Diaz has done a lot to lead to the strong start. Coach John Parks is proud to have her on the team.
“She keeps her priorities straight,” Parks said. “She makes the effort to keep her grades up. She still makes all of the practices. She still puts in all of the work and does all of the extra little things that she’s asked to do for volleyball and for school … She’s a good student. Good in the classroom and fun to be around. That’s what you want from all of your players when your coaching.”
People in Sedona have plenty of chances to see Corral-Diaz and her teammates in the near future. The Scorpions are home for matches against Valley Lutheran on Tuesday, Oct. 1, Camp Verde on Monday, Oct. 7. Both matches start at 6 p.m.
Michael Dixon can be reached at 282-7795 ext 131 or email to mdixon@larsonnewspapers.com
