Santa Clara Magazine

A will to win

Junior Megan Anders ’14 has the ability—and the drive and desire—to be a real champion on the volleyball court.

Growing up, Megan Anders ’14 always had her eye on becoming a college athlete like her mother, a basketball player at Oregon State. But by middle school, the already towering Anders had found a different sport to excel in, much to the understandable dismay of her basketball coaches.

Their loss has become SCU's volleyball's gain. The 6'4" middle blocker was key in the team's resurgence last season, leading the team in kills and ranking second in blocks as the Broncos returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.

Megan Anders ’14. Photo courtesy SCU Athletics

Her career-best 25 kills in a 3-2 win over No. 16 BYU earned her WCC Player of the Week honors last October. And she ended the year as the sole Bronco on the WCC All-Conference team, the 15th consecutive year a Santa Clara player has been so honored. Sophomore Taylor Milton ’15 received honorable mention.

“Her ability is one thing, but her drive and desire this year have been that of a champion,” Coach Jon Wallace says about Anders, a junior.

Anders prefers to deflect credit to the teammates who pass and set her the ball, though she does admit to the extreme will to win that her coach praises. She can hardly play a friendly game of bowling without getting overcome with competitiveness. “It's a disaster,” she jokes.

Anders, a bioengineering major, has her hands full off the court with her studies and with involvement as an intern in SCU’s Office of Sustainability, where she works in areas like waste diversion. Every hour of the week is planned before the week even starts, she says:  “Otherwise, I forget what I am supposed to be doing and lose productive time.”