GILROY — You don’t have to be a lifelong volleyball player to be successful. Gavilan’s Brittani Siaz is proof of that.
The sophomore — who began playing in her freshman year of high school — signed a letter of intent with Pacific Union College in Angwin Wednesday at Gavilan. The event, Siaz hopes, will serve as an inspiration for the young girls she coaches on a club team in Gilroy.
“I worked really, really hard to get where I’m at,” Siaz said. “I put my mind to it and I just want people to be like ‘That’s the type of person that I want to be.’ … You don’t have to play for a long time to be something. As long as you go out there and try hard, you can do anything you want.”
Last season, Siaz split her time between volleyball and softball — the sport she had played for 12 years. But this season, she made the decision to focus solely on volleyball. Skipping practice wasn’t even an option as far as she was concerned, especially on the days she needed to let off steam as she considers the sport her stress reliever.
The 5-foot-6 defensive specialist’s hard work was evident in the numbers she posted. Siaz racked up 215 digs and 24 service aces through 106 of the Rams 107 sets this season. Gavilan coach Kevin Kramer said Siaz was instrumental in Gavilan’s back-to-back Coast Conference titles.
“In a lot of ways, she was the heart of the program out there,” Kramer said. “Our defense, our backrow players were key this year — as a group they all contributed. They were probably the best defensive group we’ve ever had in the seven years I’ve been here. Brittani was one of those starters. She was out there every single game and she played all but one set this past year. She was part of that.”
PUC is just under a three-hour drive from Siaz’s hometown of Prunedale. That and its reputation for being a top-tier Communications school — her major — made it the perfect fit for her.
To make things even sweeter, the Pioneers are fresh off their most successful season in school history, finishing 17-9 overall. Their head coach, Brittany Brown, was named the 2013 California Pacific Conference Coach of the Year after transforming the program from a last place team to a third place one.
“I think she’ll be one of the hardest workers and most dedicated athletes they have,” Kramer said. “Her improvement in the game of volleyball and her volleyball I.Q. has shot up a great deal. She spent a lot of time studying the game and learning the game, so that’s got to continue. I think if she continues on the same path she’s been on the last couple years, she’ll be fine. The school is going to be a great fit for her to be successful.”
