The Anzar High girls volleyball program is the only sports team at the school that plays in an upper-tier division while also fielding a junior varsity team — no small feat considering the Hawks are perennial contenders in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
“We take pride in being that one team sport that has both a varsity and JV team at Anzar,” said Anzar co-coach Chris Wardlaw, who has been with the program since 2001 and is in his third separate coaching stint with the team after not leading the squad in 2005 and last season. Tom Schatz is Anzar’s other co-coach.
“Our feeder schools know we’re good, and the younger girls on those teams see their older sisters playing at Anzar, and they want to do it. It’s a cycle that repeats itself, and that’s why we rarely have a bad season.”
No kidding. The Hawks have missed the playoffs just twice in the last 12 years and notched another solid season in 2012. Anzar finished 23-6 overall — 12-2 in the Mission Trail Athletic League — and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CCS Division V tournament.
Simply put, the Hawks are buoyed by an influx of fresh talent every season. That’s why Wardlaw wasn’t worried even after he lost every single starter off last year’s team, along with a number of key reserves who saw significant action.
“It’s a unique situation having to replace your entire starting lineup,” Wardlaw said. “We lost some players to graduation, but we also lost a number of players who were expected to be impact starters for this season. Three girls moved (out of the area), one is doing independent studies and another transferred. We’ll still be fine, though. We have a lot of raw talent, and the question is how quickly can we mold it.”
Most of — if not all — of the players on Anzar’s roster play club volleyball, meaning the Hawks are loaded with experienced athletes who play the sport year-round.
“We’ve got a lot of height and some great athletes,” Wardlaw said. “Almost all of the great girl athletes at our school, we can get on our team.”
Key impact players on this year’s team include junior libero Emily Papenhausen, junior outside hitter Karina Campos and senior opposite Kris Johnson-Powell. Last year, Papenhausen finished with 336 digs and 25 service aces, ranking third and fourth, respectively, in those categories.
“She’s the best ball control player on our team,” Wardlaw said. “She will undoubtedly lead our team in passing and digs.”
Wardlaw feels confident he’ll receive steady production from his taller frontline players, even though they lack varsity experience. Ashley Devery, Mariah Dugas, Tera Reed and Leslie Martinez are all 5-foot-10 or taller and possessing vast offensive hitting potential.
