As the opponent hitter leaps up for a swing, Anya Haeberli ’25 is in place, loading a jump before blocking the hit back over for a point. As she lands back on the ground, her teammates crowd around her as the bleachers erupt in a roar.

Although Haeberli started playing volleyball in sixth grade, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily cut her playing short. She cycled between rowing and field hockey but missed volleyball more than she wished to play either sport.

“I really didn’t like any other sport I was doing at the time,” said Haeberli. “So I was like, ‘let me try [volleyball],’ and it turned out to be a lot more fun than anything else.”

Although she is a successful player now, Haeberli’s reacquaintance with volleyball started on a sour note, as she failed to make the team in ninth grade. This was a challenging period for her, and though she never planned on quitting, there were moments where she felt like her skills did not measure up.

“In my freshman year ... I thought I knew what I was doing more than I really did,” said Haeberli. “But putting myself out there during tryouts was really hard for me, and I didn’t play club like a bunch of the other girls did.”

When Haeberli made the junior varsity team the following year, she started to find her stride as a player. She recalls making her first good hit, which, even though the ball went out, still inspires her today.

“[With] the feeling that was left on my hand afterwards, I knew that I’d done things right. It went out, but I was like, ‘that’s what I have to strive for every single time now, this feeling,’” said Haeberli.

Now that she is a returning varsity player and a senior, Haeberli finds that she has a new role to play on the team. Beyond being an example for others with her skills, she takes an active role in improving the underclassmen’s game.

“I definitely try to take on a mentorship role ... when I see [underclassmen] struggling to do something during practice, [I point] out things that don’t seem right. [I] also cheer for them,” said Haeberli.

According to Girls Volleyball Assistant Coach Katie Dineen, the energy and her commitment to helping her teammates both on and off the court is the strongest traits Haeberli brings to the team.

“There’s never a time when she doesn’t put a smile on every other player’s face,” said Dineen. “When she scores a point, when she gets a kill, everybody cheers louder. They’re just so happy to be happy for somebody who makes them feel important.”

One of Haeberli’s teammates, Sedona Arminio ’27, also finds that Haeberli has a major positive influence on the team. As a fellow middle blocker, Arminio has seen Haeberli grow over the time they have played together.

“She’s gotten much more confident on the court. Towards the end of the year she got the confidence to [serve], and she actually got to serve in a game. We were all screaming for her,” said Arminio.

Beyond her energy and positivity, Haeberli is known by her teammates as a talented volleyball player who significantly increased her skills over a short period through personal dedication. As her coach, Dineen has seen her grow from her first tryouts as a freshman into her key role as a middle blocker on the varsity team.

“She ... was the starting middle [blocker] on JV, and ... she became really consistent at blocking. In fact, she has the highest vertical of anyone in the program. And then she’s a state champion her junior and her senior year on the starting roster, playing middle, and just being a really instrumental part of our defense,” said Dineen.

As a middle blocker, Dineen says she reliably supports her teammates every game.

“Blockers really are the unsung heroes of the defense,” said Dineen. “She is just so consistent in closing that block every time. Her timing has gotten much better, her hand positioning has gotten much better, and it’s really her specialization.”

After high school, she plans to explore her interests in literature, neuroscience, and psychology. She will not leave volleyball behind, though, and plans to join her school’s volleyball club or intramural team.

“[Volleyball has] given me insight into having people to go to and how I want to find that in the future again,” said Haeberli.

As Haeberli’s final year on the PHS girls volleyball team comes to a close, she leaves some final words of advice for younger players both on and off the court.

“I think being okay with failure and having other people around you be okay with that failure as well is really important,” said Haeberli. “Having experienced a lot of failure myself, it’s something you just need to accept and move on from and learn from.”