Wichita 14-year-old follows role models to win 3 national beach volleyball titles

Wichita is beginning to carve out a reputation in the beach volleyball world.

The trailblazers in town have been Valley Center graduate Ellie Shank and Bishop Carroll graduate Ella Larkin, who have both excelled recently for the LSU beach volleyball team. But the duo’s protege, 14-year-old Sage Illian, is flashing the potential of taking beach volleyball success in Wichita even further.

After training under Shank and Larkin for years in Wichita, the eighth-grader just wrapped up a breakout summer on the national beach volleyball circuit in the 14-under age division.

In the month of July alone, Illian traveled from coast to coast to capture three national championships at prestigious tournaments — the USAV Beach National Championship (with Caitlin Carrizales), the BVNE Kauai Bikini National Championship (with Dreya Scherfenberg) and the BVNE West Coast National Championship (with Elle Sossong).

“Ellie and Ella have definitely been my role models,” said Illian, who started playing beach volleyball at age 10. “I trained with them a lot when I first started and their leadership qualities have been amazing to watch in college. They’ve definitely played a big role in my life and they bring a lot of strong characteristics that I look up to.”

Larkin and Shank have paved the way for Illian to pursue a career in beach volleyball out of Wichita.

On top of earning scholarships to one of the top beach volleyball programs in the country at LSU, Shank made headlines in November 2022 when she won the Fall AVCA Pairs National Championship.

This past spring, Larkin and Shank both helped the LSU beach volleyball team pull off the largest upset in NCAA beach volleyball tournament history, when the 11th-seeded Tigers engineered a Cinderella run to the Final Four.

Back home in Wichita, girls like Illian paid close attention to what was possible.

“Those two girls have honestly inspired a new generation of girls not only from here, but in the Midwest,” said Alisha Illian, Sage’s mother. “They have really poured into that next generation and helped to train them and inspire them. They’re showing that you can live in a place like Kansas and still compete against the best girls from the coasts in Florida and California.”

Sage Illian grew up playing indoor volleyball for Shockwave Volleyball Academy but fell in love with the beach game when she was first introduced to the sand.

She now plays beach volleyball year-round, driving up to Kansas City for training with P4:13 Beach Volleyball when Larkin and Shank aren’t in Wichita.

Already standing 6-feet tall, Illian is a dominant force at the net on offense and defense. That kind of versatility is ideal in the beach volleyball game and has made her one of the top prospects in the country for the class of 2028.

“It’s honestly a completely different sport (than indoor),” Sage Illian said. “The difference for me is just the connection you have with your teammate in beach. It’s fun both ways, but I just really like the atmosphere in beach. You’re outside with the music and just the vibes. It’s just amazing.”

Illian is an incoming freshman at Trinity Academy and plans to play high school volleyball this fall.

She isn’t sure how long her indoor career will last because she is planning to prioritize beach volleyball moving forward. As a three-time national champion, rightly so.

“It’s kind of crazy to think about how far I’ve come,” Illian said. “It’s just a lot of fun because I never thought I would be here. The journey has been incredible so far and I can’t wait to see how I continue to improve and play better volleyball.”