One year ago, Dream Lake Elementary student Khloie Berry walked into her first volleyball tryout knowing almost nothing about the sport. 

She left in tears. 

Less than a year later, the Apopka native helped lead the Winter Garden Volleyball Club’s 11U National team to the USA Volleyball Junior National Championship, completing a remarkable first season that has already earned her an invitation to the USA Volleyball All-Star Selection Camp. 

For Khloie, the journey began after years of playing basketball. Her mother, Kasie Berry, said the decision to switch sports came unexpectedly, but the family supported her pursuit and searched for a club close to home. 

“Khloie grew up playing basketball herself and was getting really good at it,” Kasie said. “One day out of the blue she told me she wanted to play volleyball.” 

The family found the Winter Garden Volleyball Club, which practices and trains at the Well Activity Center in Apopka. At tryouts, Khloie found herself surrounded by girls who had a couple of years of volleyball experience while she was stepping onto the court for the very first time. 

After the session, she returned to her mother in tears, ready to give up. 

Instead, Kasie brought her into the restroom, had her look in the mirror and repeat a simple message. 

“I am stronger than I think. It’s uncomfortable right now, but one day I am going to be the best volleyball player in the world.” 

Since that day, Khloie hasn’t missed a practice. 

Athletics have long been a part of the Berry family. Several relatives competed in high school and college throughout Central Florida, including her mother. Her aunt, Kourtnie Berry, played basketball and flag football at Apopka High School, while her uncle, Joel Berry II, earned Most Outstanding Player honors after helping the University of North Carolina win the 2017 NCAA men’s basketball national championship. 

Now, Khloie is beginning to create a legacy of her own. 

The Winter Garden Volleyball Club traveled to Minneapolis to compete against many of the nation’s top 11U teams at the USA Volleyball Junior National Championship, June 19-21. The team went 6-1 over two days to reach Championship Day before defeating PVA Elite of Pennsylvania in three sets, EMV Black April (North Texas) in two sets and Alamo Premier of San Antonio, Texas in straight sets, 25-21 and 26-24, to capture the national title. 

The championship match featured one final pressure-filled moment for the first-year player. 

With the match on the line, Khloie stepped behind the service line. 

“It was scary and I was so nervous,” Khloie said. “I didn’t know what the ball was going to do once I hit it. I took a deep breath and just hit it as hard as I can.” 

Her serve, along with three digs, helped secure the championship point. 

As soon as the final point was won, emotions took over. 

“After the game I just held on to her, both of us crying, and told her how proud of her I am and that she did amazing,” Kasie said. 

The celebration continued with a trip to the Mall of America, where the team enjoyed the moment together. They received a championship banner, hats and medals to commemorate the accomplishment. 

For Kasie, the moment was unforgettable. 

“It was Khloie’s first time on an airplane,” she said. “It was also her first time competing with girls with her same athleticism and height. Coach Emilio Gutierrez prepared the girls for the big fights. Khloie served the last play of the game and didn’t look nervous at all.” 

Kasie said watching her daughter become a national champion in her first volleyball season has been a testament to her willingness to embrace something completely new. 

“I am extremely proud of her,” Kasie said. “To walk into an unfamiliar atmosphere to learn a game that you have never played before, then learn it through an amazing coach who transformed an underdog and made her one of the best players in the state of Florida.” 

She said the championship was about more than volleyball. 

“I am proud of the team as a whole,” she said. “These girls cry together, they laugh together, they hurt together. They lift each other up. We are extremely blessed to be a part of this team, which is more like a family, and I think that’s why we are the national champions.” 

With a national championship already in hand and an invitation to the USA Volleyball All-Star Selection Camp awaiting, Khloie has quickly gone from a young athlete unsure of her place on the court to one of the state’s rising volleyball players, all in less than a year.