The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Greta Davis’ dreams of playing Division 1 volleyball have come true. Davis, who has played volleyball since she was in elementary school, has earned a full athletic scholarship to play volleyball for the Sacramento State Hornets.

Davis has lived in Sisters her whole life, and started playing volleyball in third grade when the Myhre family introduced her to the sport. In fifth grade she started to play on a local club volleyball team and has been on a club team ever since.

In the eighth grade, Davis joined the NPJ (North PAC Juniors) Club team and played with the same group of girls all through high school. The team traveled extensively, including big tournaments in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kansas City, Missouri, Columbus, Ohio, Salt Lake City, Utah, Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, and Spokane, Washington. The NPJ attended at least four big tournaments every year, plus participating in local power leagues — local meaning the I-5 corridor.

Davis has always played as an outside hitter, and she’s received many awards over the years for her stellar play. Awards include First-Team All Conference her freshman, sophomore, and junior years. She earned All-State Honorable Mention her freshman year, All-State Second Team and All-State First Tournament Team her sophomore year. Her junior year she was named Co-Player of the Year.

An unfortunate accident caused Davis to miss her entire senior season, except for the very first league game. Her outstanding play over the previous years was noticed, and although she only played in one league game she was dubbed Honorary Player of the Year, and also Honorary First-Team All Conference.

In addition to indoor volleyball, Davis joined a beach volleyball club in Bend her freshman year, and has played beach volleyball every summer.

Davis was noticed by colleges from all over the country as early as her sophomore year, including Dartmouth, West Point, the Naval Academy, Syracuse University, University of Alaska — Anchorage, and Gonzaga.

Davis told The Nugget that, for a time, she thought she wanted to go to a military academy. In the fall of 2021 she went to the East Coast and visited the Naval Academy and West Point. She also made a point to visit Dartmouth while she was in the area. In the spring of 2021 Davis visited the University of Alaska — Anchorage.

Davis said, “What I wanted kept fluctuating constantly and I just wanted to keep my options open.”

In the spring of 2021 Davis was at the Triple Crown West Tournament in Salt Lake City when she was noticed by Sacramento State. The day after Davis got home she received a call from Head Coach Reuben Volta. Volta flew to Portland the following weekend, where Davis was playing in a regional tournament. He watched her play, and they met following the tourney.

Volta invited Davis for an official visit, and the following weekend he flew her to Sacramento. Davis got to stay with some of the players on the team, had a tour of the campus, and at the conclusion of the weekend Volta offered Davis a full athletic scholarship.

“He gave me two weeks to think about it,” said Davis. “I wanted to make the right decision, but I knew that what they were offering me was unmatched. I stress about things a lot, so I took the full two weeks and then I called him back and accepted the offer.”

At Sacramento State, Davis will play both indoor and beach volleyball. Davis told The Nugget that she’s very excited about that opportunity, as most Division 1 schools don’t allow their athletes to play both.

“I love them (indoor and beach) both so much, and wouldn’t want to have to compromise and choose just one,” said Davis. “The time commitment will be much more because I’ll be playing two Division 1 sports and won’t have an off-season.”

Davis explained the difference between indoor and beach volleyball.

“Beach is definitely a game of ball control and volleyball IQ, with more responsibility, and indoor you have a smaller responsibility but contribute to a larger team,” said Davis. “I just love volleyball! I love the competitiveness. I like being part of a team, and I just have a passion for the game.”

Sisters High School’s head volleyball coach Rory Rush had high praise for Davis.

“Greta has established herself as one of the best outside hitters in the state,” said Rush. “She is powerful and smart when planning her attack and is constantly keeping the opposing defense on their toes. She has worked hard over the last four years to not only be a great hitter, but an all-around player as well, which gives her the ability to provide a powerful attack from anywhere on the floor. She is a dynamic player and leader on the floor. Sacramento State will be gaining a powerful, smart, and competitive hitter to add to their program.”

Davis will graduate on June 10 as Sisters High School’s salutatorian, and then head to Sacramento on July 20. The university is going to pay Davis to run volleyball camps for high school students for two weeks, and then practice will start the beginning of August.