By Luke Holthouse and Charlton Azuoma

Three games into a preseason tournament in Oxnard, it finally hit Jo Kremer ’14. She wasn’t playing on the freshman team anymore.

“After the first serve [of the game], I realized, ‘wow this isn’t going to be easy,’” Kremer said.

As one of the only two sophomores on this year’s varsity girls’ volleyball squad, Kremer has already made her presence known on the court. In a 3-0 sweep against Chaminade, Kremer led the team with 15 kills. 

When tryouts approached over the summer, Kremer had been set on making the varsity squad from the get-go. 

“The first practice, I remember [playing] hard,” Kremer said. “I think it was one of my best practices because I sort of wanted to show the juniors and seniors that I deserved to be on the team.”

Kremer played soccer and volleyball until May 2009. She made the decision to commit to volleyball, she said, because she liked it more. 

It’s looking like it’s paid off so far as she has quickly evolved into a solid outside hitter for the Wolverines and the only sophomore starting on varsity.

Earlier in the season, Kremer was an offensive weapon off the bench for the team, but due to the recent shoulder injury to captain Lucy Tilton ’12, Kremer has been given the starting nod.

“I felt really nervous to step into Lucy’s huge role on the team,” Kremer said. “I’m really excited to play and show off how hard I’ve been working the past year or so and contribute to the team.”

When not in action for the school, Kremer plays volleyball with the Santa Monica Beach Club’s U-15 team as an outside hitter.

 “She comes in as a very well-rounded player. She can pass, hit, and is a solid blocker. All she needs to continue to refine [her skill]… and it’ll be really good stuff,” Head Coach Adam Black said.