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Elaiza Martinez didn’t start playing middle blocker because she was some extraordinary defender.
“They said, you’re tall — you play the middle,” the now-senior middle for Roma said. “I had no idea what to expect.”
Now, she knows what to expect, often times before the attack starts — and she’s turned into that extraordinary weapon, both offensively and defensively,
for the Gladiators.
Last year, Martinez broke the record for both kills and blocks in a season at Roma. Those marks were set in 20009 and 2011, respectively. This year she could break her own records, already with 467 kills and 166 blocks, closing in on her 509 kills and 190 blocks from a season ago.
She’s also eighth in the state in solo blocks, according to MaxPreps. She’s s single-person wrecking crew. She has been for three years, not playing varsity her freshman year due to COVID-19 and the restrictions surrounding the pandemic.
“She’s a beast, such a talented athlete, great teammate and coachable kid,” said head coach Angie Garcia, in her 18th season at Roma. “As big as she plays, she’s also such a silly girl who is so funny and always in a good mood. The girls love her.”
“Starting my sophomore year I was a little nervous, the only sophomore on a senior-based squad,” Martinez said. “I didn’t feel comfortable at all, but it was a really good experience.
“At first, I didn’t like the sport. I had trouble making friends and didn’t want to go to practice.”
No matter what, she still put in the work — plenty of if. If she was going to play, she was going to play at the highest level she could reach, and then some. Something happens, however, when a person starts doing something over and over. Muscle memory sets in and the growth doesn’t stop.
“When you keep going and get control of your body, it becomes fun,” she said. “When I got that first block, I thought, ‘Wow, that is fun.’ It just got more exciting along the way and I gained more rhythm. Getting blocks felt amazing — I just shut you down.”
During a match at Gold’s Gym, Martinez was playing in the middle with her team against the Venom 15s travel club — a program she ended up playing with during the summers. There was a long rally and Martinez said she was getting tired. Then a ball went to the middle and when Martinez jumped to defend it, the ball was right in the palm of her hands.
“It wasn’t really a block,” she said. “I just threw it down on the floor. I was so excited the rally was over. When I saw the video, I was, like, ‘Wow that’s amazing.’”
Like a numbers person who can spell or a word person who can do math, Martinez is a middle who likes to block. She’s been told that before by coaches.
“I’ve been told that there are middles who like attacking more, and one coach told me I was a middle who wants to block. At first I didn’t understand but now I do. I want to put my hands on the ball and get a good block — it’s all mentality and I have to.
Roma has a 26-9 record and is 9-2 in district, solidly in second place in District 30-5A. For most of the 2010s, Roma won just a couple district matches a season. In 2020, the Gladiators went 4-6, in 2021 they were 7-4 and in 2022 they were 10-5. It’s not coincidence that Martinez played an integral role in two of those years — and this year.
“To me, blocking is a little volleyball joust. I get to fight with my opponent and show them who is here to win.”
