Published for Sun City Team IX fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 24, 2026
🏐 Sun City Team IX Fans — Your Desert Is Calling!
Three years ago this team did not exist. Now the maroon and gold are playing Tier 1 volleyball in the VLA’s West Division, with back-to-back West Cups and a national title in the cabinet. The journey continues in January — wear the sunset and ride with IX.
The Club
Sun City Team IX might be the fastest rise in American volleyball. The club was founded in August 2022 in Irvine, California, as Team IX (Irvine Xtreme), and was acquired in January 2023 by Vince Zanzucchi — a co-owner of the Volleyball League of America and the owner of Phoenix Ascension — who brought the program to Arizona. In September 2023, setter Tyler Gardenhire took the reins and assembled the Arizona roster from scratch. The team played as Chandler Team IX before rebranding to Sun City IX in January 2025 to represent the Phoenix West Valley, and it now calls the Surprise, Arizona area home under the IX Athletics banner. The look is pure desert: a deep maroon jersey with the “SunCity” wordmark in flowing gold script, gold numbers, and a sunset band across the lower torso that reads “WELCOME To Fabulous SUN CITY” — a wink to the famous Las Vegas sign, reworked for the West Valley.
The rise was not just a rebrand — it was a trophy run. IX won its first tournament at the December 2023 Winter Bash in Henderson, Nevada, then lifted the West Division Cup in January 2024 and again in January 2025, back-to-back. The men finished runners-up at the 2024 Tier 2 Championships in Hamilton, Ohio, went back a year later and won the VLA Championships Tier 2 title in June 2025 — the club’s third cup — and that crown earned promotion to Tier 1. Searching for the Sun City Team IX roster, the latest schedule or a Sun City IX jersey? Start here, with the West Valley’s maroon-and-gold standard bearers.
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Last Season (2026): The First Tier 1 Campaign
Promotion is a promise you have to keep, and 2026 was the season Sun City IX kept it. Playing Tier 1 volleyball in the VLA West Division for the first time, the maroon and gold opened the year on home sand: on January 10, 2026, IX hosted the Men’s West Division Cup at Ottawa University Arizona in Surprise — the club’s own West Valley event, barely three years after the program was built from nothing. A month later came the spotlight weekend: the West Division Event #1 in Phoenix, February 13–15, billed as the first Men’s Tier 1 West Division regular-season event and hosted by sister club Phoenix Ascension. League cameras picked IX for the showcase, filming a Sun City vs SoCal Rising Tide clip at State Farm Stadium in Glendale — a semi-pro program from Surprise, featured on an NFL stadium floor.
The spring road ran through familiar country: West Division Event #2 in Irvine, California — the city where Team IX was born in 2022 — hosted by the Rising Tide, then the two May majors that define every VLA season. IX contested the VLA Cup in Las Vegas, May 8–10, 2026, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and closed the campaign at the VLA Championships in Orlando, May 22–24, staged inside the USA Volleyball Adult Open National Championships. It was a season of firsts: first Tier 1 home cup, first Tier 1 showcase, first Tier 1 championship weekend. The club has not published official 2026 finishes, and this guide will not invent any — the documented story is the journey itself, from a 2022 startup to a seat at the West’s top table.
Best Players Right Now (Published Roster)
The numbers below come from the club’s official May 2025 VLA Cup roster graphic — the most recent numbered roster Sun City has published. No numbered 2026 roster has been released, so these are the verified numbers to know until the next one drops.
Tyler Gardenhire, Setter (#11) — The captain and the program’s on-court founder. Formerly Phoenix Ascension’s setter, Gardenhire took over IX in September 2023 and built the Arizona roster himself; the club bills him as “Men’s Captain — Founder and leader on the court.” Everything IX does runs through his hands.
Charles Pollnow, Outside Hitter (#8) — The January 2025 hero. Pollnow was named to the All-Tournament team at the 2025 West Division Cup, where IX defended its title in San Diego — the run that set up the Tier 2 national championship five months later.
Jesus Izaguirre, Libero (#1) — The most decorated player on the roster. An AVCA NAIA All-American at Benedictine University at Mesa, a two-time NAIA Defender of the Year and a Mexico national-team libero who won bronze at the 2023 NORCECA Final Six and a Mexican league (LMV) title in 2023. As the libero he wears the white contrast kit — the lone white #1 among the maroon in the club’s team photos.
Joao Friedrich, Outside Hitter (#5) — A four-time AVCA All-American at Park University, twice a NAIA First Team All-American and the 2023 HAAC Player of the Year and Attacker of the Year. His 1,212 career kills rank fifth in Park program history. Serious firepower on the left side.
The rest of the published roster: #2 Austin McBain, #3 Troy Kates, #4 Emery Outin, #6 Nate Mayfield, #7 Geoffrey Mike, #9 Valesis Vaisuai, #12 Cole Oliver, #13 Mike Legros, #14 Treven Clizbe and #15 Abraham Romero — the fourteen names on the club’s May 2025 VLA Cup graphic, every one of them part of the squad that carried IX to the Tier 2 title and into Tier 1.
The program: Owner Vince Zanzucchi — VLA co-owner and Phoenix Ascension owner — has run IX since January 2023, with partners Oasis Volleyball Academy, Ottawa University Arizona and Spooner Physical Therapy behind the club. It is a community-first build, and it shows in everything from the roster to the sunset on the jersey.
Star Spotlight: Stories You Should Know
Built from scratch in three years. In August 2022, Team IX was a startup in Irvine, California. By June 2025 it was a national champion. The through-line is Gardenhire: an Ascension setter handed a blank roster sheet in September 2023 who recruited the Arizona core, captained it to a first tournament win that December in Henderson, and then to back-to-back West Cups and a Tier 2 crown. Programs are supposed to take a decade to build. This one took thirty-four months.
The 15–13 game. Defending a West Cup is harder than winning one, and January 2025 in San Diego came down to the thinnest margin in volleyball. IX beat SoCal Rising Tide in five sets on the way to the final, then reverse-swept the Dallas Dawgs — stealing the fifth set 15–13 — to keep the Cup. Pollnow’s All-Tournament weekend powered the run. When West fans talk about Sun City’s identity, they start with that night: down, not out, and toughest at the end.
The libero in white. Scan any Sun City team photo and one shirt stands out: white among the maroon. That is Jesus Izaguirre, the libero — an All-American, a two-time national Defender of the Year and a Mexico international playing floor defense for a three-year-old semi-pro club in Surprise, Arizona. His professional résumé lists Team IX alongside a NORCECA medal. It might be the best story on the roster, and the white #1 is its signature.
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This Season (2027): The Tier 1 Sophomore Year
The next chapter opens on January 9, 2027, when the VLA’s 2027 season gets underway and Sun City IX begins its second year in Tier 1. The club’s 2027 fixtures and roster had not been published when this guide was checked in October 2026 — VLA schedules land closer to the season — so circle the opener and watch for the West Division dates. What carries over is everything that matters: the maroon-and-gold identity, Gardenhire’s program, Pollnow’s big-match pedigree, Izaguirre’s world-class floor defense and a core that has already won at every level it has played. The road runs through the West Division campaign to the VLA Cup and the Championships in May. Year one in Tier 1 was about arrival. Year two is about belonging — and this group has never played like an underdog for long.
Mark Your Calendar: The Road Ahead
One date is locked in for 2027, Sun City fans — and the 2026 Tier 1 debut, plus the 2025 title run, are worth reliving before the new season lands:
- January 9, 2027 — VLA 2027 season opens: The Tier 1 sophomore year begins. IX’s first fixture will be confirmed when the league publishes the schedule.
- Relive it — January 10, 2026, West Division Cup, Surprise: IX hosted its home cup at Ottawa University Arizona — a Tier 1 West Valley weekend, three years after the club was founded.
- Relive it — February 13–15, 2026, West Division Event #1, Phoenix: The first Tier 1 West weekend, with the IX vs SoCal Rising Tide showcase filmed at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
- Relive it — May 8–10, 2026, VLA Cup, Las Vegas: IX’s Tier 1 debut at the Cup, played at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
- Relive it — May 22–24, 2026, VLA Championships, Orlando: The club’s first Tier 1 championship weekend, inside the USA Volleyball Adult Open Nationals.
- Relive it — May 31–June 1, 2025, VLA Championships, Hamilton, Ohio: The Tier 2 national title weekend — the championship that won IX its promotion to Tier 1.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. SoCal Rising Tide — the West Cup final rivalry. The team IX beat in five sets on its way to defending the West Division Cup in January 2025. The league paired them again for the February 2026 State Farm Stadium showcase, and Rising Tide hosts West Event #2 in Irvine — the very city where Team IX was born in 2022. The West’s defining matchup, and it is only getting started.
2. Phoenix Ascension — the family rivalry. Both clubs belong to Vince Zanzucchi, and Gardenhire came over from Ascension’s roster to build IX. Ascension is the West’s established Tier 1 power; IX is the promoted upstart from the same Arizona stable — and the Ascension organization’s own site logs a five-set IX win over Ascension in local Arizona play. Family dinners must be interesting.
3. Dallas Dawgs — the 15–13 rivalry. One game, one margin, forever linked. IX’s January 2025 West Cup run turned on reverse-sweeping Dallas and taking the fifth set 15–13, the narrowest escape in volleyball. Every Dawgs fan remembers. Every IX fan reminds them.
4. The Arizona circle. In local play, IX is part of a Phoenix-area VLA ecosystem with Phoenix Valor, Mesa Las Muertas and the Gilbert Ducks, plus regional Tier 1 visitors such as the Colorado Kingsmen. Desert volleyball is a neighborhood fight — and the maroon and gold intend to own the neighborhood.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When do Sun City Team IX play next?
Sun City Team IX return to the court when the VLA’s 2027 season opens on January 9, 2027. The club’s individual 2027 fixtures had not been published when this guide was checked in October 2026, so watch for the West Division schedule release for the first home dates.
Where are Sun City Team IX based?
In Arizona’s Phoenix West Valley, around Surprise. The club hosted its January 2026 West Division Cup home event at Ottawa University Arizona in Surprise, and its program is run by IX Athletics with partners including Ottawa University Arizona, Oasis Volleyball Academy and Spooner Physical Therapy.
Have Sun City Team IX won a championship?
Yes — the club won the VLA Championships Tier 2 national title in June 2025 in Hamilton, Ohio, the crown that earned promotion to Tier 1. IX also won back-to-back West Division Cups in January 2024 and January 2025, and finished runner-up at the 2024 Tier 2 Championships.
Where can I buy Sun City Team IX fan gear?
Toxlay Sports offers fan-inspired apparel for Sun City Team IX supporters — fan-designed maroon-and-gold gear made for real fans. Note that fan-inspired apparel is not official VLA licensed merchandise.
Sources: Volleyball League of America (usavla.com), IX Athletics, Ascension Volleyball, AVCA and Park University athletics — schedules, rosters and records checked October 2026.
Train with purpose, compete with passion — the desert is just getting started.
