GILROY—As Savanna Hartman approached the end of her sophomore year at Gavilan, she considered ending her volleyball career.
Hartman even gave up the sport during the sand volleyball season, but her retirement lasted only a week. That’s when she knew she needed to continue playing at the next level.
On Monday, the sophomore outside/middle hitter took the next step in her volleyball career and signed her letter of intent with William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa at Gavilan College.
It’s been a long road for Hartman, who struggled in her senior season at Live Oak High School. That rough patch left her searching for a place to call home after high school. She finally found it with the Rams and head coach Kevin Kramer, who has worked with her for five years at the JUCO and club levels.
“I had a really bad attitude coming in because I had so much frustration from high school,” Hartman said with a laugh. “Kevin was like ‘that’s not going to happen or you’re not going to play here.’ The biggest lesson I learned was to be positive and brush off my mistakes and not dwell on them. Because of him teaching me how to deal with it, I became a much better player.”
That attitude adjustment has paid off in dividends for Hartman and the Rams. They won their second straight Coast Conference South Championship her freshman year and earned First Team All-Coast Conference South honors this past season.
Hartman was second on the team in kills her sophomore year, racking up 167. She also had 21 aces and 39 blocks in 79 sets.
Her heart and athleticism earned her more than trophies and accolades, however. It paid off in the form of her scholarship, which Hartman had been working towards since she donned the Acorns’ uniform.
“It was a huge weight off of her shoulders but mine too because I knew she was going to be happy finally,” Kramer said.
Through two seasons of Rams volleyball, plus the inaugural sand volleyball season this year, Hartman has learned the skills necessary to make her a stellar all-around player. Skills which, she admits, she didn’t have when she came to Gavilan.
“I couldn’t pass to save my life and I was always in the front row,” she said. “By the end of my sophomore year, I was playing all the way around. I learned a lot—it was awesome.”
Hartman joins a Statesmen team, which went 2-30 overall last season under second year coach Jennifer Carlson. She’ll be joined by Rams teammate Lilly Martinez, who inked with WPU on March 23, and will be among several former Gavilan grads who are currently on campus playing a variety of sports.
While she had offers from other schools, Hartman said her mind was made up the minute she stepped foot on the Oskaloosa campus.
“I went to see William Penn and fell in love,” said Hartman, who will major in psychology. “The little, small town was so pretty and the coaches are so cool. The environment and the facilities are great, so I was like ‘I’m going here’.”
Kramer said he’s hoping Hartman’s story, the local girl who stayed close to home until she found her perfect fit, will inspire other young and confused volleyball players to keep working until they reach the next level, too.
For as proud as he was, the day was bittersweet for Kramer. He said he’ll miss Hartman, not only for what she brought to the team, but for the fact that she’s become such a big part of his life.
“I coach these kids for four or five years. They’re not just volleyball players, to me they’re family,” the Rams coach said. “They’re my girls. Personally, it’s tough to see those kids go because they’re part of my everyday for so long.”
