Penn State volleyball recruit Anjelina Starck left her mark at Rampart
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BVM) 鈥� Just a little over two years ago, Penn State recruit Anjelina Starck wasn鈥檛 a part of the Rampart High School volleyball program. She wasn鈥檛 even living in Colorado.
Starck spent the first two years of her high school career playing for Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. But the Rams had another future Division I college player on their team at the time: Riley Simpson. And it was thanks in large part to the Baylor recruit that Starck ended up at Rampart where she would team with Simpson and lead the Rams to their first state title in program history this spring.
Simpson attended college camps during her freshman and sophomore years, and that鈥檚 where she met Starck and developed their friendship. In turn, the fathers of both Class of 2021 standouts began to get to know each other, and when Starck鈥檚 father found out that his job would be transferring to Colorado, he reached out to Simpson’s father, who highly recommended Rampart to the Starcks. The family would then move to Colorado prior to the 2019-20 school year.
It didn’t take long for Nikki Bloemen to receive the news that a Penn State recruit was on the way, nor did it take long for the Rams鈥� head coach to realize just how special of a player Starck was.聽
鈥淚 hear that [a Penn State commit is coming to Rampart] and obviously I鈥檓 thrilled,鈥� Bloemen said, 鈥渁nd then she came to our first open gym and I鈥檓 like, 鈥楾his girl鈥檚 a stud.鈥� You can just tell.鈥�
Starck posted a team-best 430 kills in her junior season with the Rams, who went 26-4 and reached the state quarterfinals in 2019. In the spring of 2021, with Colorado high school teams playing a delayed, shortened season due to COVID-19, the Rams won 13 of 14 matches and captured their first-ever state title May 13 with a win over Grandview. Rampart鈥檚 only loss — to Cheyenne Mountain on March 24 — came when Starck was limited to back-row action only due to an injury. Starck finished the season with a team-high 231 kills (with Simpson right behind her with 225) and also had 122 digs and 22 service aces.聽
鈥淚 think it was such a good way for a kid like Anjelina to go out,鈥� Bloemen said. 鈥淭hey missed out on a lot of stuff. We didn鈥檛 know if we were gonna get a season. These girls were trying to balance the club schedule because they were in the middle of club season at the same time as the high school season 鈥� The adversity that these kids kept having to face and then being able to come out on top in spite of all of that adversity, I think that鈥檚 what made it even sweeter.鈥�
Starck was named the 2021 Gatorade Colorado Volleyball Player of the Year, making history again by becoming Rampart鈥檚 first player in her sport to win the award. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter is also a 2020-21 Under Armour First Team All-American and has earned praise for being an exceptionally well-rounded player who excels in every aspect of the game.
鈥淪he鈥檚 an extremely versatile athlete who can excel at multiple positions,鈥� Pine Creek coach Molly Stowers said in a . 鈥淭hat Rampart team would not be the same without her.鈥�
Bloemen certainly wouldn鈥檛 disagree. And the Rams鈥� coach believes that what truly sets Starck apart from her peers is her volleyball intelligence and awareness.
鈥淚鈥檒l go up and block against her in practice, and I think I鈥檓 a pretty good blocker, and she never hits it just because she has so much control and so much awareness of what鈥檚 on the other side of the net that she can place the ball where the blockers aren鈥檛, or where the defenders aren鈥檛,鈥� Bloemen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the same thing on defense, just her awareness of the attacker鈥檚 approach. She does such a good job reading and she also knows where the ball is going before it gets there and I think that is just attributed to her volleyball IQ, her awareness of the game, her awareness of the court.鈥�
That will all likely bode well for Starck when she begins competing at the highest of levels in college. Starck will join a Penn State program with the longest tradition of success in the history of NCAA women鈥檚 volleyball. The Nittany Lions, who have won seven national titles, are the only program to qualify for all 40 NCAA Tournaments. Starck will undoubtedly have to work hard to earn a starting spot in a program with such a storied tradition of success, but it won鈥檛 be surprising if she鈥檚 making her presence felt for Penn State sooner rather than later.
鈥淚 think her experience, her ability to play at a high level is going to make her very successful there,鈥� Bloemen said.
