Volleyball Player of the Year: SHP’s Elena Radeff

Radeff enjoyed a monster year as a fourth-year varsity senior, leading the Gators on both offense and defense. The six-rotation standout led the Central Coast Section in kills, according to MaxPreps.com, and was the only person in the section to surpass 500 kills on the year. She also ranked second on the team in digs.

The analytics, however, simply cannot define Radeff so far as head coach Allison Magner is concerned, who said the performance is a result of the dedicated, hardworking kid who walked into the Sacred Heart Prep gym four years ago and blossomed into a natural leader.  

“Elena has always been a leader,” Magner said. “This year she was able to match that with her athletic dominance. … This year it just took off in all aspects of her game.”

Two years ago, when Radeff was a sophomore middle blocker, then senior Cate Desler was the spotlight outside hitter who earned the Daily Journal’s top volleyball honors. This year, it is Radeff who emerged as a clear choice as the Daily Journal Volleyball Player of the Year.

Radeff converted to outside hitter this season and absolutely flourished. It wasn’t necessarily where she saw herself playing when she complemented Desler, who led the CCS in kills in 2017. Part of being a leader, though, is doing what the team needs you to do. And with a vacancy on the left side heading into 2019, Radeff stepped up.

“I definitely enjoyed playing on the pin,” Radeff said. “I think for me it was being on the floor with a lot of team players that, wherever the hole was, they had to be able to step in and do that. … We graduated a lot of talented players over the years and they left holes that were needed to be filled.”

And she did it with style, possessing some of the best sheer ups in the CCS. Radeff was a highflyer even before arriving at SHP. As a sixth-grader at Our Lady of Mercy in Burlingame, she competed in both basketball and track-and-field — specializing in high jump, of course — before dedicating herself year-round to volleyball.

Radeff said the reason she’s able to generate so much strength at the top of her vertical leap is because of the excellent work of SHP’s setters Millie Muir and Sarah Lin. Along with an array of complementary hitters, this year’s Gators were quite a volleyball machine to observe when they were at their best.

The proof showed up in the postseason as SHP advanced to the CCS Division IV finals, as well as the CIF Division III Northern California regional finals.

“I think we have girls that are so dedicated and have the drive,” Radeff said. “And great stuff happens when people are able to elevate their game. And it’s really cool to watch.”

Hitting is just one component of Radeff’s game, though. She and Muir were a force on defense this year as the Gators’ only two six-rotation players. Senior libero Evelyn Sutton played anywhere from two to five rotations in a given set, and ultimately ranked fifth on the team in digs, leaving Muir, a setter, as the team leader with Radeff a close second.

“Elena wants to touch every ball, she wants to touch the ball every play and she’s never going to let the ball touch the floor no matter what,” Magner said.

Radeff is committed to play at Santa Clara University, following in the footsteps of her father Victor as a collegiate athlete. Victor swam at two prestigious colleges, University of Miami and St. John’s University.

She’s quite conscious of her place in the Gators’ lineage as well. SHP’s volleyball program regained its footing during Radeff’s freshman year, enjoying its first season of winning at least 25 overall matches since the team last won a CCS championship in 2012.

With Radeff in the mix, SHP reached the 25-win plateau in 2016, ’17 and ’19.

“I think being a leader really means being a leader both on and off the court,” Radeff said. “For the underclassmen, being someone to look up to and helping others. On the court it’s about demeanor and keeping the fight in us even if it is a hard game. And off the court, being someone people can turn to because I’ve been there too.”

Fear not, SHP, there’s more Radeff reinforcements on the way. Radeff’s brother Johnny is a sophomore three-sport athlete, currently playing junior-varsity football, basketball and lacrosse. And arriving next year is sister Mia, currently in eighth-grade, who is just as serious about volleyball as Radeff.

“She’s catching up to me in height so it should be fun to watch,” Radeff said.