Payton Brunick
She helped Cox win state title in her final indoor season
VIRGINIA BEACH — Payton Brunick’s final act on the indoor volleyball court sparked a crowning achievement.
Brunick helped lead Cox to the Class 5 state championship in a five-set win over North Stafford — her final competitive match indoors before transitioning to beach volleyball at the University of Tampa.
“I’m glad we could finish strong, especially for all of our seniors,” said Brunick, a senior outside hitter.
“Since we’ve worked so hard to finally win a state championship, it feels good.”
Brunick’s stout defense and timely hitting made her an elite all-around player and the 2019 All-Tidewater girls volleyball Player of the Year.
“I wanted to make (my senior season) my best,” Brunick said, “especially since in college I won’t be playing (indoor) again and for the rest of the year I’ll be playing beach.”
Brunick and her twin sister, Maddie, who made the All-Tidewater first team, started with indoor volleyball, but a middle school coach introduced them to beach volleyball. They took to it immediately, teaming up to win a national tournament when they were 14.
“We figured at that point that beach was probably gonna be the sport for us,” Brunick said.
The demanding nature of beach volleyball, with just the two players on each side, requires an all-around athlete. Brunick brought that to Cox.
If one aspect of her game was off, the opposite would be just as important.
“Starting off in states, I struggled with my hitting, so I tried to focus on defense,” Brunick said.
“So just making sure, perfecting everything, making sure I’m contributing to the team when sometimes I might not be in another thing.”
Brunick’s belief really kicked in during a region semifinal win over Princess Anne, then the top-ranked team in Hampton Roads, which had already beaten the Falcons twice.
Cox won the third matchup 3-1 and went on to the state final, where it erased a pair of one-set deficits against North Stafford to cap Brunick’s high school career.