Feather River Athletics

By Ray Hamill — It’s been a challenging year for McKenna Curtis, but the former two-time Big 5 MVP believes the adversity she has faced since graduating high school two years ago has only made her stronger as an athlete and as a person.

Curtis, who was a multi-sport star during her time at Del Norte High, recently announced that she will be continuing her volleyball career at a four-year program, joining the Southern Oregon University beach team.

The 2024 Warriors graduate officially made her debut on the sand this spring and enjoyed a very successful campaign with the Feather River women.

The Golden Eagles, a perennial powerhouse program in the sport, placed third at this month’s state championships, which were won by Fresno City.

But the path to success for Curtis has been paved with challenges she didn’t foresee when she left Crescent City for Quincy two summers ago.

“I think I’m leaving Feather River more mentally tough than when I came here,” Curtis said. 

Curtis joined the Golden Eagles right out of high school and played 24 matches as a freshman on an indoor team that won a state championship.

The Golden Eagles have been setting the standard on the California JC courts for much of the past decade and have two straight state titles to their name and four in the past six years.

But towards the end of her freshman campaign, Curtis began to feel what she described as “really bad back pain.”

To make matters worse, no one seemed to know exactly what the problem was and the Feather River trainers were at a loss to explain what was causing the pain.

“Nothing I did was working,” she admitted.

But after seeing some specialists, it was discovered that she had a fractured vertebrae and it appeared as if her career might be over.

Feather River Athletics

Submitted photo

However, in July of last year Curtis underwent surgery in the hope of fixing the problem and returning to the court.

By January, after several months of careful rehab, she was cleared for full training again and returned to practice, rediscovering a whole new appreciation for a sport she has loved ever since her mother Meagan began taking her to high school games as a young kid.

The road back, however, was the biggest challenge she had ever faced as a player.

“Having the injury made it difficult just watching my teammates get to compete every day,” she admitted. “It was lonely. But I feel more grateful now, because not only did it bring me closer relationships that I will have for the rest of my life, but I feel it brought me closer to my coach (Sarah Ritchie).

“It was a really good experience for me, to be out on my own and having to handle that. It was a very humbling experience.”

At Feather River, the volleyball players are expected to go from the court in the fall to the sand in the spring, and the program rarely disappoints on either surface.

And that continued to be the case in beach volleyball this spring, with Curtis back competing and playing a key role for the team at the state championships.

Feather River Athletics — The success of the Golden Eagles can be measured by the number of players they are sending on to four-year programs.

More importantly, the experience of competing at the state championship tournament is one she won’t easily forget.

“It was a lot of fun,” Curtis said. “I felt like our team did well to prepare for it, we just happened to fall short. There were big crowds, big matches, and it was a lot of fun.”

This summer, Curtis will make the jump to a four-year school, and she’s going from one very successful program to another.

Last month, the SOU Raiders took home an NAIA national championship in just the team’s fourth year of existence, knocking off defending champion Ottawa (Ariz.) to win the crown.

Head coach Paul Elliott was also named the NAIA Coach of the Year.

Curtis first met Elliot when she was playing travel volleyball for The Rise National 18U team out of Medford before her senior year of high school.

Curtis reached out to him again earlier this year while trying to find a new school.

“I sent the coach an email looking for a beach program and he totally said ‘yeah, I remember you,’” Curtis recalled. “I talked with him and went down for a visit, and when I did I could see myself playing here.”

Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – McKenna Curtis was a two-time Big 5 MVP during her time as a Del Norte Warrior.

Curtis admits she did consider continuing her playing career on the court instead of the sand.

“It wasn’t that indoor wasn’t necessarily an option,” she said. “I just thought beach was better for my body, and I love it.”

Curtis, who wants to major in Health and Exercise Science, is appreciative to the many people who helped her along the way, including her two biggest fans.

“I definitely want to thank my parents,” she said of Meagan and her father, Kyle. “I feel they were so impactful in helping me go through all of it and just supporting me through my doubts. I’m very thankful to them and I’m thankful to my boyfriend (Ryan), and also my roommate (Sumer).

“I’m lucky to be surrounded by people who have my back at all times,” she added with a chuckle, excusing the pun. 

The setbacks along the way have given Curtis a new outlook for her career and life.

“Life goes on, whether volleyball does or not,” she said. “It was a very humbling experience for me. And now I have better outlook on the importance of being able to move.”

Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com