Taft volleyball’s Alexa Barajas knows it’s her turn to lead

WOODLAND HILLS — Leadership for Taft setter Alexa Barajas came from from watching and learning.

First by watching her mother, Gabrielle Chavez, help coach at VAAS (Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences) and then by learning as a freshman on the Taft varsity team.

Barajas was a freshman on Taft’s CIF Open Division championship team in 2024. That season she observed the work ethic of City Section player of the year, setter Francine Baltazar-Shine.

“I had a big opportunity to work on my game and to become a better setter,” Barajas said. “Those experiences made me who I am today.”

Now a senior, Barajas finds herself being a guide for her teammates.

She had 22 assists and 10 digs as Taft swept Castaic 25-17, 26-24, 25-22, on Thursday night.

Taft improved to 2-0 while Castaic (3-1) lost for the first time this season.

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Taft is hoping its collection of 11 seniors led by Barajas will factor into a deeper run the CIF LA City Section Open Division playoffs this season. Taft lost in four sets to Palisades in last year’s City playoffs and then lost to Mission Vista in the CIF State Division III regional playoffs.

Barajas can always look to Chavez for support, even if her mother didn’t play volleyball in high school. Chavez learned the sport and passed her knowledge and work habits onto her daughter.

“She’s always pushed me and she’s hard on me,” Barajas said. “She teaches me hard tasks in a simple way to make me better.”

Barajas is taking the leadership she learned from Chavez and passing it on to Toreadors sophomore outside hitter Janice Sanchies.

Sanchies led Taft with 10 kills and was cracking jokes between plays.

The laughter and her joy were on display for Sanchies, who, with her bubbly energy, has made it a goal to focus on mastering the details of matches.

Her focus on arm angle and footwork helped springboard Taft in a third-set win after it nearly blew a 12-2 lead in the second set.

“I felt like I could’ve done better than what I had been doing,” Sanchies said. “I was a little bit slower in the first set but my friends kept pumping me up. That definitely helps me a lot.”

While Barajas dotted zones 2 and 4, Sanchies kept finishing with authority.

“I’m more engaged than I was last year,” Sanchies said. “I was a little bit more inconsistent last year compared to this year. I’m adjusting to the sets better, talking to my setter better and talking to (Barajas) gave me a better view of the court. We are always together and we have a really good bond.”

All tying back to the demeanor Barajas leads with through the examples set watching her mother at VAAS before rising to the challenge and leading Taft.

“We just need a lot of discipline,” Barajas said, “and pushing ourselves to our limits and getting the best out of the girls and myself. My No. 1 goal before I leave Taft is to win another Open Division championship. But it was to come through hard work, discipline and pushing ourselves to our limits.”