Kennedy Klusendorf tried a lot of sports before finding the right one. She gave everything a chance—basketball, tennis, softball, but none of them could satisfy her hunger.
When she turned 11 years old, she found her passion and has committed 100 percent of her energy to it ever since. She has a voracious appetite for volleyball.
“It takes over my life, but in a good way,” the 15-year-old said.
Klusendorf plays on the varsity girls’ volleyball team at Ernest Righetti High School.
Although the Warriors lost their PAC 8 League opener to the San Luis Obispo Tigers on Sept. 18, Klusendorf helped her team stay on the Tigers’ heels all night. There were a couple of close games in the four-set match. The scores were 19-25, 25-23, 23-25, and 20-25.
Leading the Warriors, Klusendorf put away 14 kills and delivered 13 assists. Now a junior, she started on varsity as a freshman.
Head varsity coach Diana Strasbaugh said that having an experienced player like Klusendorf on the team contributes to its overall execution.
“Her volleyball IQ is really high,” Strasbaugh said. “She knows the game so well, she can anticipate things and read what’s going on, on the other side of the net.”
Wearing No. 6, Klusendorf plays the right side and setter. A loud smack bounces off the walls of the gym when she hits. When she sets, the ball floats off of her fingertips and falls into place for her hitters to crush.
The skill that Klusendorf demonstrates is the result of many hours of hard work, her father, Don, said.
Klusendorf eats, drinks, and sleeps volleyball year round. As soon as the high school season is over, she jumps into club ball.
For three years, the 5-foot-9-inch setter has played for the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club. During its season, the team practices three days a week in Santa Barbara and travels down to Anaheim for games.
The level of competition is more intense than high school, and the techniques for setting are more complex, Klusendorf said.
The Santa Barbara Volleyball Club took third place in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championships in June.
The team traveled to Orlando, Fla., for the tournament and Klusendorf was awarded a letter from the AAU for being one of the best players in the tournament, she said.
“I’m a positive person on the court,” she said. “I get so pumped up and that brings the whole team up and everyone starts playing better.”
Klusendorf comes from an athletic family. Her father played basketball for the University of Illinois, her older sister plays volleyball for Franklin Pierce University, and her mom played volleyball in high school.
Klusendorf hopes to follow in her sister’s footsteps and play volleyball in college. Her dream school is Pepperdine University, but she would also be satisfied playing for Cal Poly or UCSB, she said.
As a junior, this is Klusendorf’s recruitment season, and she’s going to do everything she can to impress the college recruiters. Over the years she’s learned that if you want something, you have to work hard to get it.
“Nothing is handed to you,” she said.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 2, 2014.