Ryan Asp and Savannah Hartman know they no longer have others to fall back on for leadership: This year is their turn to take the reins.
“It’s exciting to finally start and feel like it’s my turn,” Asp said.
They don’t have career and single-season kills leader Tazi Apple. They don’t have the defensive prowess of Karina Daniels, who set the single-season record in digs in 2013 and is second all time in Gavilan history for digs.
Daniels also holds the single season and career records in aces. They likewise don’t have setter Sabina Gerard, who was the starting setter for the Rams the last two years and holds single season and career records in assists.
That’s what they don’t have. What they do have is Asp’s experience and Hartman’s ability to keep things loose and five other sophomores to give the team much-needed depth.
“I think at first, we were a little nervous because we were losing everybody, but as soon as we got all of our freshmen and everybody started playing together, that nervousness went away,” Hartman said. “We have a pretty strong and deep team.”
Gavilan will be tested out the gate, taking on playoff teams from last year, starting with Cuesta College on Wednesday. The Rams host two tournaments in September, along with road trips to Southern California and the Sacramento area before opening conference against Hartnell on Sept. 24.
Asp and Hartman, graduates of San Benito and Live Oak, respectively, said they welcome the challenge of leading the team this year. The two outside hitters said they were intially tepid about stepping into the role, but have since embraced it.
“We’re not trying to fill anyone’s shoes because we’ve already filled them,” Hartman said.
Hartman added the yolk of leadership forces her and Asp to be good role models on the court.
“It makes you work a lot harder because you have to step up and lead because people are watching.”
Coach Kevin Kramer said all around, he sees the squad coming back not having lost too much from last year.
“With seven sophomores returning—and not one position is dominated by that group—we have returners who can contribute to every facet of the game,” Kramer said.
The returning sophomores have helped the Rams to a sustained period of success. Gavilan has advanced to the Northern California playoffs the last five years running. It has done so as Coast Conference South Division champions three of the last four years, including back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.
“I feel like there’s some pressure, but its pressure to make us do better,” Hartman said.
Asp added the pressure is really on the other teams in the conference who will need to focus harder on Gavilan than they might otherwise think.
“A lot of teams might underestimate us because they think we lost all our power, but no, no, no,” Asp said in a singsong voice.
The sole question mark for the Rams will be in the role of setter. Kramer will rely on split duties of sophomore Lissette Pedraza and freshman Cheyenne Dela Merced.
He said he is largely going with two setters because he has an abundance of hitters, which will force a girl who would be a starter in most cases to be on the bench. And neither girl is relatively tall, Kramer said, meaning he might have to shift players to cover the middle.
But he has five pure hitters with Kendall Campbell joining Asp and Hartman as returning sophomores and freshmen Alexia Balistreri from San Jose and Samantha Nydam, a former Sobrato standout hitter.
Covering the middle is sophomore Lilly Martinez with freshmen Ilenia Balistreri and Greer Watson.
Asp has the added benefit of watching much of Gavilan’s success during her tenure with the team.
Asp is a redshirt sophomore, having to sit out the 2011 season because she injured her knee, but her ties with the Rams go back to 2010 when as a high school senior, she worked out with the college players, forgoing her senior season with San Benito.
“It’s interesting. I’ve seen teams go in and out and I should have left with the group that left last year, but it’s comforting knowing I have another year with a good group of girls,” Asp said.
Kramer said he’s seen a growth in Asp’s confidence level from the days of when she was a high school senior to today.
“She’s gotten a lot stronger, a lot quicker and she’s hitting the ball a lot harder,” Kramer said.
And that experience is proving vital as she finds her leadership voice along side her complementary opposite in Hartman. Where Asp is serious Hartman is lively.
“Having that loudness, talker on the court (in Hartman), they are opposite ends of the spectrum which is good for us, it brings us kind of full circle on the court,” Kramer said.
Kramer said while Hartman is vivacious on the court, she still has shown growth since he first met her on a volleyball club team.
“She’s has grown a lot too,” Kramer said. “She played club for me a couple years back and confidence was an issue, but it’s one of those things where the more times she’s gotten on the court and the more success she’s starting to have, she’ starting to believe in her self a little bit more.”
But for the success Kramer has enjoyed as coach and the potential he sees in the team this year, the goal, he said, is not winning a conference title, it’s getting the girls to go as far as they can in the collegiate ranks.
“If we’re hanging banners on the wall, that’s great, but for these kids, that’s not going to change their lives,” Kramer said. “It’s earning (a scholarship), getting a degree, moving on and graduating from a four year, that’s what it’s about. So if we don’t win a conference championship, but we play well and every kid who wants to move on moves on, that’s what I’ll be happy about.”
