Rampart’s Anjelina Starck named Gatorade girls volleyball player of the year
Anjelina Starck has this quiet demeanor about her, at least until she sees the perfect set hanging over the net. The Rampart hitter has been a big factor in the Rams’ success this season and for that – and other reasons – she has been named the Colorado girls volleyball Player of the Year by Gatorade.
Starck has 164 kills on the season and has helped the Rams earn a 10-1 record on the court, the only loss coming to Cheyenne Mountain, a game in which Starck was held out of the front row.
In her two seasons at Rampart, she has totaled 594 kills. She will continue her volleyball career at Penn State next fall.
“It shows that all the work that I’ve put in, all the extra time at the gym has paid off,” Starck said. “This happened by working hard, staying dedicated and not listening to all the negative comments. If you stay on line with what you want to do, it pays off.”
Starck joined Rampart last year after her family moved to Colorado from Las Vegas. She immediately felt at home and benefitted from Rampart’s family atmosphere that has been building for several seasons.
“She’s a really well rounded player,” Rampart coach Nikki Bloemen said last year. “She can do just about everything. She can hit, she can set, she can pass, she can serve. I can put her in any role and she just does her job.”
And the Rams have certainly felt her impact. They swept their way through regionals to earn a berth in next week’s Class 5A state tournament. And luckily the team won’t have to travel far as the tournament will be held at the Broadmoor World Arena.
It’s the exact environment that Starck wants to thrive in and she’s hoping that she can help the Rams claim their first state volleyball title.
“I won one in Las Vegas when I lived there,” Starck said. “My goal since I moved here has been to win one. Our team this year, we’ve been playing so well together and our practices have been great. Our coaches are also really amazing and I think we have a really good chance.”
Starck also earned first-team Under Armour All-American honors for 2020-21. She’s the kind of student-athlete that makes a team and a school better the second she walks in the door.
“She’s just raised our level of play and forced other people to be more competitive,” Bloeman said. “The team as a whole has been more competitive and played at a higher level.”
