Four-and-a-half years ago, Reagan Miller, 15, and her cousin, Myah Brewington, 14, both of Ozark, began playing beach volleyball, and their dedication to the sport has paid off in dividends. The two girls, who will both be freshmen at Ozark High School this fall, recently won first place in the Girls 14U division of the AVP Juniors Nationals Championships, held at Hermosa Beach, Calif. on July 22-26. They received medals and other prizes, and were also named Beach Volleyball All-Americans.
About 400 teams altogether played in the tournament, 64 of which played in the 14U Division. Myah said that the tournament was one of the most prominent in the nation.
“It's one of the biggest tournaments of the year for volleyball,” she said. “And there's a lot of really good competition and a bunch of girls that come to play in those tournaments from everywhere.
“The competition was really good there.”
“It was really intense,” Reagan added. “There (were) a lot of girls that were fighting really hard to win like we wanted to. There are teams from Hawaii, California, Florida, Virginia.”
“(And) Texas, Washington, Arizona; I mean everywhere, every state,” said Dr. Kelsey Sylvara, Regan’s mother and Myah’s aunt. “And it was only the best teams in the nation can even be in the tournament.”
Not just anyone could enter the tournament. Competitors had to win what Reagan called a “bid” to qualify.
“You have to get a bid to go to nationals by winning one of these local tournaments,” she said. “And then once you win a bid, then you are eligible to play.
“There's … a lot of tournaments that you play in to get a bid. So, we've just played in all those throughout this year, and we've been pretty successful in all of them.”
Sylvara said that one of the tournaments the girls played at to get a bid was in Clearwater, Fla. in November of last year during the Thanksgiving holiday.
“They went to Clearwater and played in a really big tournament, like a really, really big tournament, and they actually got first place. So that was the first, and that was like 64 teams,” she said. “They won that tournament and then that's when we decided that we're going to go to nationals and actually compete with everybody else. So, they decided to sign up together, and they've literally been training up until a couple of weeks ago together.”
The girls’ success in the tournaments isn’t just a matter of luck. They follow a routine that includes weights, as well as drills that focus on speed and skills. They also practice by playing in leagues at Volleyball Beach in Ozark. Reagan said they train “just about every day.”
In addition, the girls also prepare mentally by watching films of their competition, and they also eat a clean diet, which consists of proteins, vegetables, and fresh-pressed juice (Myah did mention, however, they got to have ice cream after winning the Nationals).
As a consequence of having won the AVP Junior Nationals Championship, the girls have won a bid to the AVP Juniors All American Invitational, which will be held at Manhattan Beach in California on Aug. 15-16.
“What they're doing is they show up on Friday night and they get to eat and do a social with all the AVP pros,” said Sylvara. “And then on Saturday, they get to watch them play, and they get to do training with the pros. And then Sunday, they get to actually perform in the stadium and in front of everybody.”
The girls have also won a bid to play at the AVP Juniors West Coast Championships 2026, which will also be held at Manhattan Beach on Nov. 7-8.
So, what makes these two so passionate about beach volleyball? Myah said that she enjoys the different locations and the differing activities the game offers.
“I love how … you get to play on the beach, like by the ocean a lot, and there's always something new to do,” she said.
Reagan said she loves the community and the challenges the game poses.
“There's so many great people in the sport,” she said, “and the community's amazing. And it's just so fun to train and get better every day.”
After she graduates from high school, Reagan hopes to play beach volleyball at the college level and then go on to the Olympics. Myah also plans to play in college and is thinking about going into sports psychology or possibly public speaking.
