In Good Hands
By Joe Tone
They are setters, and Santa Clara's Roz Pelayo is one of the best in the country. "The setter is someone who grinds and grinds and gets no recognition," first-year coach Jon Wallace said of his former position. "And they get all the blame." In only her third season, Pelayo isn't getting blamed for anything. In fact, she's well on her way to going down as one of the best setters in school history, and no one even knows it - something that doesn't seem to bother her a bit.
"I don't think it's anything to worry about," she said. "It's something I have gotten used to after being a setter for eight years." Modesty aside, Pelayo can't deny the numbers. After two and a half seasons she's on pace to fall a small handful of assists short of Santa Clara's all-time mark, held by Kris Kosnoski (1991). Pelayo's 1,505 assists last season were the second most ever by a Bronco, and she's on pace to surpass that mark this season. On top of the school records, her assist average of 14.66 is the best in the country - but she's not concerned with any of these numbers. The only digits she's concerned with are these: 44-22, the Broncos record with her as the setter.
"If I hold any records it doesn't matter," she said. "As long as we're winning I could be at the bottom of all those lists." Pelayo's winning ways didn't start when she first hit the Toso Pavillion floor. She joined the Broncos after spending four years at one of the most storied volleyball schools in California, Saint Francis of Mountain View, which won three Central Coast Section titles and a pair of state championships with Pelayo at the helm.
"That helped me big time," she said. "(Saint Francis coach Dave) Gambelin teaches you about playing for the team."While with the Lancers, she raked in numerous on-the-court accolades, including All-American honors her junior and senior years and an all-state selection her sophomore year. Off the court, the combined science major seemed even closer to perfect, finishing with a 3.95 GPA to go along with her National Honor Society membership and her Saint Francis Scholar Athlete of the Year Award.
"She knows how to communicate with people," Wallace said. "She understands what we're trying to do."Pelayo's smarts have transformed into a floor presence and leadership that has the Broncos smashing through their first season under Wallace. At 5 feet 2 inches, the San Jose native usually stands as one of the smallest players on the court, but gives out the tallest of orders, directing and pointing the Broncos to win after win, including streaks of 10 in a row last season and 9 of 11 this season.
"She does know the players better than I do," Wallace said. "It's kind of like she's our quarter back."While her career is on path for a storybook ending, it started like the beginning of a bad combined science textbook. A collision on the last day of double-days prior to her freshman season hyperextended her elbow, tearing her medial collateral ligament and sidelining her for the entire campaign."It was good, though," she said as she flexed her fully healed left arm. "A lot of people get injured and can't come back."
Not only did she come back, she came back older and better. She's now a setter with a senior's smarts, a junior's eligibility and a champion's heart."If we can pull everything together, we're in there with San Diego and Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount," she said intensely while highlighting the WCC championship as her team's ultimate goal. "We all have to depend on each other ... I'm only one position."
And despite her unmatched success at her one position, the nature of volleyball dictates that her stats and her story will continue to be shoveled onto the bottom of the sports page, unless of course that championship comes. Then you might start hearing her name a little more often ... not that she'll care.