The Dreyfoos and Seminole Ridge girls volleyball teams were neck and neck, each fighting to get the victory. With her eyes fixed on the ball, setter and visual junior Tora Cooper ran towards the net, her purple Nikes screeching across the vinyl floor. Her heart beating out of her chest, she jumped and stretched her arm as high as she could reach. In one swift movement, she slammed the ball over the net, straight into the opposing team blocker’s face. Her teammates erupted into cheers. Cooper had won them another point and helped her team to a 3-2 set triumph.

By the end of the game, Cooper totaled 41 assists, 19 digs, and seven aces. Two weeks later, The Palm Beach Post recognized Cooper as “Athlete of the Week” during the week of Oct. 7. After an initial nomination by athletics director Matthew Vaughn, the community voted between Cooper and five other nominees, ultimately awarding her the title.

“I was really surprised and excited to be nominated,” Cooper said. “I didn’t think I was going to win because I was up against some really talented athletes, but I really just had so many people from our school voting for me. It felt really nice to have that much support from our community.”

Seminole Ridge was one of 15 teams the girls volleyball team defeated this season, meaning the team concluded with a 15-3 win-to-loss ratio. Cooper led her team to the best record in the Palm Beach County School District’s girls volleyball program.

“When I step onto the court, I forget about everything else,” Cooper said. “I always just focus on playing and having fun.”

Her interest in volleyball sparked at age 12 after seeing her father watch the sport on television. Her parents enrolled her in a volleyball program at her local recreation center, and she later transferred to play in a volleyball club league, the Palm Beach Juniors.  

“My earliest memory of her playing volleyball was of her not being able to serve over the net,”  Cooper’s father Jonathan Cooper said. “She worked very hard to get better so she could make her serves. She is always up for playing more volleyball and trying to get better.”

When Cooper was 15 years old, she changed leagues and joined Tribe Volleyball. Despite spending four hours a week practicing, Cooper said for a brief time, she felt that her “hard work wasn’t being recognized by the coaches (she) was with.”

“I am on the shorter side for a volleyball player, so I was overlooked a lot of the time because of my height, and that was really frustrating because it wasn’t something I could control,” Cooper said. “The next year, I had a different coach, so I didn’t feel that way anymore. They looked at my actual athletic ability.”

In Cooper’s freshman year, she tried out for the varsity volleyball team. Out of over 50 candidates, she was selected as the team’s setter.

“I knew we needed a setter and hitters to replace the seniors we had lost the previous season,” varsity girls volleyball coach and social studies teacher Michael Esopakis said. “About thirty minutes in, the team captain that year, Amelia Guliani, approached me in the bleachers and said, ‘We found a setter!’ referring to Tora Cooper. I quickly recognized that Amelia was right.”

At the end of her first season, she was voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) by her teammates, marking the first time a freshman won the title in the team’s history.

“She knows what she’s doing, and she’s such a skilled player that it’s hard to not look up to her,” setter and communications senior Olivia Williams said. “She has that kind of spirit where she knows when to help other people. She’s just one of those people who’s very empathetic and very understanding.”

According to MaxPreps, a website that provides information about high school sports, Cooper totaled 449 assists this season: 73 percent of the team’s total assists.

“Her volleyball IQ, skills, and, most importantly, her aggressiveness on the court set her apart,” Coach Esopakis said. “Once she steps onto the court, she becomes assertive, commands her teammates’ attention, and plays fearlessly, diving and moving without hesitation. She consistently sets the bar high, bringing her ‘A game’ to every match.”

Cooper serves as one of three captains alongside defensive specialist, opposite hitter, and right-side hitter and visual senior Edeena Saint-Vil, and outside hitter, right-side hitter and visual junior Sarah Cohen. Cooper was elected to this position by her teammates.

“I was really excited to be picked this year,” Cooper said. “I really like to communicate with the team because that is a really important skill in volleyball. I try to be as supportive as I can, like always high-fiving people and trying to keep them in a positive mindset.”

On and off the court, Cooper said she focuses on “building chemistry with the team,” spending four times a week after school together during practices.

“The team is just full of such nice girls, and they’re all just really supportive,” Cooper said. “I just feel really lucky to be with this group. I have such a nice sense of community in volleyball, and I feel like since it’s such a small community, everyone knows everyone, and everyone is super supportive.”

This year, the team reached districts, an achievement that had not been reached by the school’s girls volleyball team since 2019. However, they lost the game 3-0 to North Broward Preparatory School. Now that the season has ended, Cooper has already set goals for her upcoming senior season.

“Next year, we are going to definitely shoot for district championships,” Cooper said. “I think that if we keep improving, it will definitely be possible.”