The Urzua Family Athletic Legacy Shines On at Bishop Diego

A fast start to the season has cemented the Bishop Diego girls’ volleyball team among the elite units in Southern California — and at the heart of the program’s resurgence is senior outside hitter Eliana Urzua.

Eliana has been a phenom since she first stepped foot onto the court for the Cardinals as a freshman in 2021 where, along with her older sisters Alina and Siena, she led Bishop Diego girls’ volleyball to its first CIF Southern Section Championship in 30 years. Eliana was named CIF-SS Division 7 Player of the Year as a freshman.

Fast-forward to 2024, and the Cardinals are once again in position to claim a CIF title with Eliana and the last of Larry and Amy Urzua’s four daughters, Karina, playing a key role as a freshman.

“I think that team that we won with was so committed to our goals,” Alina said. “Having three of us in the starting lineup coming from the same family, we took that commitment off the court as well with the way we talked about our goals.”

The Urzuas are a legendary Bishop Diego family — Larry and Amy are both alumni. Larry recalled the two going to prom together in their senior year. Larry played football at Cal State Northridge, and Amy initially attended Long Beach State, but the couple rekindled their relationship in college. They moved back to Santa Barbara in 2003 to start their family.

“My mom graduated from Bishop Diego in 1974, and all of Amy’s older brothers and sisters graduated from Bishop Diego. My younger sister and I graduated from Bishop Diego,” Larry said. “Going to Bishop Diego and what that school meant to me at the time kind of changed my path and did something for me that I don’t think any other high school in Santa Barbara could have done.”

Their eldest daughter, Alina, paved the way for tremendous athletic success in the Urzua family as she continued her athletic exploits playing beach volleyball at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. She has now transferred to the University of Washington beach volleyball program and has three years of eligibility remaining.

“I loved everything about Stetson. I am so thankful for my time there. The academics were good, and I loved my team so much,” Alina said. “When thinking about going into the portal, I was excited for a new opportunity.”

In a time of specialization among athletes, Larry and Amy allowed their daughters to compete in multiple sports for most of their youth.

“My number-one goal was to raise confident girls. I really didn’t care what they did, but I wanted to raise confident girls that felt like they could go out and accomplish anything,” said Larry, who is a longtime assistant coach for the Bishop Diego football team. “I felt like it was important to let them know not to feel the pressure of club sports. Go and play whatever you want and be a multi-sport athlete.”

Siena competed with her sisters in volleyball at Bishop Diego, but she also excelled in soccer. She signed her National Letter of Intent to play Division 1 soccer at Cal Poly at a ceremony in the Brick House.

The Bishop Diego girls’ soccer team won its first CIF Championship in 2022, with Siena serving as a key contributor. Her impact on the historic success of two Bishop Diego athletic programs puts her in rare company.

“I remember people asking me, ‘Why are you sending your girls to Bishop Diego? Their girls’ program is terrible. Why don’t you send them to Santa Barbara or San Marcos?’” Larry said. “I always told the girls, ‘What you are doing in club sports is what’s really going to matter. High school is all about the experience, and trust me, if all you girls go to Bishop Diego, things will change.’”

Eliana’s college recruitment was a little different than that of her two sisters, as she was sought after by nearly every top volleyball program in the country. 

On the first day that colleges could legally contact her — on June 15 following her sophomore year — she was bombarded with countless text messages, emails, and phone calls. “It was a lot of stress on a 15-year-old kid,” Larry said. Eliana committed to UCLA a few weeks later and continued to focus on improvement.

This season, Bishop Diego added Nicole Schuetz from Santa Barbara High, who is a two-time first team All–Channel League selection and committed to Loyola Marymount to play in college. Schuetz and Eliana are club teammates at Sports Academy and great friends.

That dynamic duo figures to push Bishop Diego to a new level as the top team in the Santa Barbara area and one of the best in Southern California. The Cardinals also added former Laguna Blanca standout Sophie Otte.

“We are best friends. We have been playing together since we were 12 or 13 years old,” Eliana said. “We got really close traveling down to Thousand Oaks together for club volleyball three times a week.”

The Cardinals started out the season at 11-0 before their two impact transfers became eligible and have now added significant firepower as they pursue another CIF championship.