After she was named the MVP of the Dave Mohs Memorial Tournament in late September, Jane Croson of Los Alamitos was on the radar screen of the committee that chooses each week's award winners.

Croson didn't get the nod that week, and with the difficulty of the Griffins' schedule, she was additionally passed over a few times as the team had an up-and-down several weeks playing many teams in the ESPN RISE FAB 50 national rankings.

Then, last week, the junior 6-foot outside hitter put on a performance that finally could not be overlooked, registering 25 kills, 11 digs and 4 aces in a 3-2 win over previous FAB 50 No. 5 and current No. 28 Newport Beach Newport Harbor.

For her efforts both last week and all season for current 25-7 and FAB 50 No. 42 ranked Los Alamitos, Croson has been named this week's ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Girls State Athlete of the Week. 

 

Her season totals after 12 kills in a win over Anaheim Esperanza on Tuesday night stand at 364 kills (4.4 per game), 182 digs and 53 aces. 

In the win over Newport Harbor, Croson recorded her 1,000th career kill with the rest of this season and another year left of high school. 

"Jane is a great player that has great athleticism but what sets her apart is her court awareness,” said Griffins' coach Dave Huber, a substitute teacher in his fifth year at the Los Alamitos helm.  

"She sees the court extremely well,” continued Huber, who also coaches at Golden West Volleyball Club. "Offensively, she finds the open spots, and she fills the holes in the back row on defense.”

"Since she walked into the gym as a 13-year-old freshman you could see she was special and had all the physical tools,” said the coach with pride.

Croson is no longer a young freshman but she still is a young junior, having just turned 16. That fact hasn't meant anything when it comes to her on-court play against the nation's top teams.

"We don't play an easy schedule but Jane is not intimidated,” Huber told CalHiSports.com between classes of a subbing assignment. "She enjoys the challenge of playing against star players and has played her best volleyball against the top players and teams like Mira Costa (FAB 50 No. 22 of Manhattan Beach) and Newport.”

While Jane is the first student-athlete of Hawaiian descent to be honored, she also bears a distinction she, Huber and the rest of her Griffin mates wish weren't true.

She played feeling sick on Tuesday, but Croson missed Thursday night's match against Huntington Beach Marina because she is the first honoree this year to be down with the flu when the call came informing her of the award.

In fact, it took a lot of guts for Croson to even do the Thursday morning interview from bed that was arranged by her biggest fan, her mother Lila Croson.

"I'm going to have to sit it out tonight,” said Croson dejectedly to begin the interview.

She started a little slow, and you could feel the weariness in her voice, but once she got going, she perked up, especially when it came to the team.

"We definitely want to make it to CIF and give it our all to try and win it,” Jane said. "State is tough. We're a young team and there are a lot of good teams out there. Hopefully we can pull it together.”

"We're really close and I get along with all the girls on the team, but my best friend on and off the court is Halli Amaro,” said Croson about the 6-1 junior.

Jane used to play softball when she was younger but now concentrates solely on volleyball. 

Called "one of the hardest hitters in California who plays great defense and brings it when she's in the front row,” by ESPN RISE High School Volleyball, Croson also excels at beach volleyball.

She's on the USA Junior National Beach team and was the youngest participant in the Junior (U21) World Championships in England at age 14 two summers ago.

This past summer in Turkey, together with Summer Ross of Carlsbad, who was also Jane's partner in England, the pair finished fifth, the best ever finish for a U.S. team in the U21 category.

Previously mentioned mom Lila, a native Hawaiian who works in the hospitality and food service industry, wasn't much of an athlete growing up in the islands, but she never misses a match. "She's definitely my biggest fan and goes to all my games,” Jane said.

Her father, Greg Croson, an electrician who played basketball growing up in St. Louis, very rarely misses a match himself.

There was an older brother Greg, who played basketball and baseball. Tragically, he passed away from an auto accident. "Oh yes, I definitely do have positive memories about him,” said Jane softly.

It would seem to make sense that tons of schools would be interested in Croson, and it's not surprising Hawaii is one of them and near the top of Jane's list.

"I'm really interested in them and they're real interested in me,” said Jane about the Wahines' volleyball program.

What is a little surprising but understandable is Croson's islander mother is not pushing her daughter to go to Hawaii. "She wants me to stay close to home,” said mom's only remaining child. 

Although Hawaii is on the top, Long Beach State has offered her a scholarship and UC Irvine is also in the top three on Jane's list. "I've narrowed it down to those three but I'm still visiting other schools.” 

As for her advice to other young girls?

"Play your hardest on the court and in practice and work hard in the classroom,” said Croson, who currently carries a 3.0 GPA.

Just like the school's mascot, an all-powerful legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, this week's ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Girls State Athlete of the Week, Jane Croson, is a true Griffin, in every sense of the word.

Comments or corrections? Email mark@studentsports.com and be sure to leave a comment so others can check out what you have to say.