School: North Penn
Volleyball
Favorite athlete: Shane Victorino
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Going to the AAU Volleyball Nationals in Orlando, Florida
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: My friend was climbing the volleyball pole to attach the net to it, and her spandex got caught on one of the hooks, and she got stuck.
Music on iPod: Anything!
Future plans: Go to college for nursing and play volleyball
Words to live by: “The opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference.” –Elie Wiesel
One goal before turning 30: Travel the world
One thing people don’t know about me: I can be very shy when people first meet me, but I am actually talkative and outgoing.
Devon Redilla was faced with some tough decisions when she reached ninth grade.
Should she play soccer or volleyball since both sports were played in the fall?
Redilla chose volleyball.
There was also the not so little matter of deciding between volleyball and youth orchestra since both occupied the majority of her weekends.
Redilla chose volleyball.
They are decisions the North Penn senior has never regretted. Redilla recently was named the Player of the Year for the Continental Conference, and the Maidens’ senior captain is being recruited to play volleyball at the collegiate level.
Best of all, Redilla is still able to enjoy her love of music, thanks to the Comprehensive Music Technology class she is enrolled in at school. The class affords her an opportunity to continue playing violin, and she will be performing in the upcoming winter concert.
“It was harder to give up orchestra than I thought it would be,” Redilla admits.
Still, her decision to stick with volleyball turned out to be a win-win for everyone involved.
“She has improved a different aspect of her game every year,” North Penn coach Bryan Yost said. “She has an incredible work ethic. She knew what she had to work on to become a better player, and she did it. She just worked and worked.”
Redilla actually grew up playing soccer, and by the time she reached middle school, Redilla was playing on the competitive travel circuit. She also played community league basketball and softball, but those sports fell by the wayside.
She got her first taste of volleyball in ninth grade, and it took the persistent encouragement of then jayvee coach John Benedix for her to give the sport a try.
“He was a teacher at my middle school, and he didn’t even know my name, but he just was like, ‘You’re tall. You should come out for volleyball,’” Redilla recalled with a laugh. “He kept bugging me, and I decided to give it a try.
“It’s unlike any sport I’d played before because you’re separated by the net. It was something new, and it was fun. I liked it immediately.”
Redilla made an immediate impression on Yost.
“We knew right away she was going to be something special,” the Maidens’ coach said. “She was the Freshman of the Year, and we knew right away if she stuck with it she would be a gold mine.”
By the time she was a sophomore, Redilla – who is 5-10 – was starting at outside hitter for the varsity.
“She didn’t really have the best defense, but she went out and worked on her defense, and she came back as a junior and played all the way around for us,” Yost said. “She greatly improved her defense and could pass and serve, and she became a monster hitter.
“She came back her senior year improved in both aspects, and she probably became a defender good enough to be a libero in college, and she still was a powerhouse at the net.”
It didn’t take long for volleyball to become a year-round sport for Redilla.
“Every year after the school season was over the coaches give us information about different club teams in the area,” she said. “I ended up trying out for a club team and making it.”
Redilla initially played for Xcelleration out of Hatfield, and that team merged with her present club team, PVA (Philadelphia Volleyball Academy).
“When I came into club, I didn’t know what to expect because it was my first time ever doing that,” she said. “The level of competition is higher and it’s faster paced, and that really helped me.”
Redilla has traveled all over the East Coast playing volleyball and will be making a trip to Las Vegas with her club team.
After suffering a shoulder injury during her sophomore season, Redilla took seriously the task of getting in shape for her junior season, throwing herself daily into her P90X training. The results were noticeable.
“Her legs were stronger, and she improved her vertical and her upper body strength,” Yost said. “She has that desire to constantly improve and be the best she can be out there.”
Yost points to Redilla’s ability to read the ball as her strength on the court.
“We had a player a couple of years ago – Leanna Heston, and what made that girl a D-1 player was the fact that she could read where the ball was going before it came over the net,” the Maidens’ coach said. “I could see Devon turning into that.
“This girl has really learned how to read what the other team is doing and how to beat the ball. I don’t think she has reached her potential. I think it’s something she’s going to be amazing at in college.”
This year, Redilla was one of three captains of a squad that won its first 12 matches of the season and earned a berth in the District One Class AAA Tournament.
“She did a really good job as a captain leading the team,” Yost said. “She’s a tremendously nice girl, overly nice, and there were points where I wish she would have had a little more fire and yelled at the girls.
“She’s the nicest person on the court. Everyone got along with her. There’s nothing really to not like about her. She’s just very personable.”
Redilla was named MVP of her squad this fall, and she led her team in kills with 315 and was second in digs with 197, but ask Redilla what she will remember most about her high school playing days, and she points to her teammates.
“Especially going in when you’re a freshman and you’re going into this big high school – it’s an immediate group of friends that you have, and you stay friends with them for the rest of your high school life,” she said. “Probably all the good friends I’ve made are from volleyball.”
Redilla has been interested in pursuing volleyball at the collegiate level since she was a sophomore and saw some of her teammates moving on to play at the next level.
“It was kind of like, ‘Oh, if they can do it, I guess I can do it too,’ and it built from there,” Redilla said.
She will have that opportunity next year and has narrowed her college choices down to York and West Chester. Interestingly, West Chester is recruiting Redilla for her defensive prowess.
“In the volleyball world, I’m not very tall,” she said. “In the beginning, I liked getting the big hits and everything, but now I enjoy getting the big digs and shutting down the big hitters. I think that’s fun.”
A member of the National Honor Society, Redilla – who plans to major in nursing - takes a full course load of honors classes and is in the top 15 percent of her class with hopes of finishing in the top 10 percent.
At her church, Redilla volunteers her time to help with the children’s services.
“She’s just a great all-around kid,” Yost said.
