Growing Up With Aztecs : Larsen Had to Wait for Chance at SDSU

Sally Larsen was used to people telling her what a great volleyball player she was when she was at Torrey Pines High School. She believed them. After all, there were plenty of awards to back up the compliments.

Larsen graduated in 1983 as the Most Valuable Player in the Palomar League and a first-team All-CIF San Diego Section selection. Schoolmates would chant her name during matches in the Torrey Pines gym.

Three months later, however, the former high school star was shagging volleyballs for the Aztecs. And this time she was doing the cheering.

When Larsen joined the Aztecs, she became part of a team that featured three All-Americans--Toni Himmer, Angela Rock, and Vicki Cantrell--and three future U.S. National team members--Rock, Himmer and Sue Hegerle, now an Aztec assistant coach.

“It was the shock of my life,” said Larsen. “They were so above me and so good. And I thought I would never get there. I still have a hard time thinking we are as good as they were.”

But the Aztecs are quite good, and Larsen has helped them get there.

SDSU (11-5 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. and 34-5 overall) is ranked No. 3 nationally, but has spent the majority of the season ranked No. 1. The team has already set a school record for consecutive victories with 23, and is just five wins short of the single-season record of 39 set in 1982.

Larsen has also made her mark on the Aztec record books. She will finish her career as the most prolific blocker for an outside hitter in SDSU history. And one of its biggest hitters. Larsen needs 64 kills to reach the 1,000 plateau for her career. She has three regular-season matches, the PCAA tournament and the NCAA tournament left to do it.

Tonight, Larsen and the Aztecs will be playing in their last regular-season home match when SDSU plays host to No. 6 ranked UCLA in a nonconference match at 7:30 in Peterson Gym.

There will be applause when the seniors are introduced for the last time tonight. And once again there will be cheers for Larsen.

But that wasn’t always the case in her career at SDSU.

“When I came in as a freshman I knew I was expected to come in and play middle,” Larsen said. “But Renee (Pankopf, also a freshman) was so superior I realized I wasn’t going to play.”

Said Coach Rudy Suwara: “It was hard for Sally. Coming from an outstanding team and being all-county in high school to being one of the worst players was really difficult.”

Larsen: “In practice, Rudy would say ‘Toni (Himmer), you hit strong, Renee, you block, and Sally, you’re in charge of cheering. It started out as a joke.”

And Larsen went along with the joke, spending most matches sitting on the bench. Until the summer before her junior year.

Then, when discussing the upcoming season with friends and teammates Pankopf and Kim Harsch, also a senior, Larsen came to a realization.

“I realized Angela (Rock) was gone,” said Larsen. “There was no Toni or Sue (Hegerle) to fall back on. I said, ‘It’s all us. Turn it on. Move it or lose it.’

“I worked out extra hard,” she said. “I worked harder than I ever did in my life. I knew if I was going to be anything, I was gong to have to work harder.”

So Larsen started a weight program and began running to improve her strength and endurance.

“Sometimes I’d grab my neighbor’s dog when I ran--our dog is only five inches off the ground and he couldn’t keep up,” Larsen said. “It almost got to be an obsession, where if I didn’t work out, I wouldn’t feel good about myself.”

Larsen says she started her junior season in the best shape she has ever been in. And it showed. Larsen finished the season with 403 kills, sixth best in Aztec history.

“I always thought Sally would be a good volleyball player,” Suwara said. “A player goes through a lot of changes as a freshman. Sally’s just really grown up.”

Her teammates also noticed the changes in Larsen.

“She was really frustrated as a freshman,” Pankopf said. “But she held tough--she did it. She’s one of the stability factors on our team. When we need our butts kicked, Sally’s got her foot moving.”

Said Hegerle, who was a senior when Larsen first joined the team: “The main part of it is her confidence level is much higher. She’s obviously had to work hard to get where she’s at. And it seems to have paid off. Now she knows what it took to get where she is. Now someone else is cheering for her.”

Larsen indeed knows what it takes and she tries to share some of her experiences with her younger teammates.

“I was all ready to go to college for some fun,” Larsen said. “I’ve had some trouble with school in the past, and I’m sharing with (the younger players) so they don’t mess up now. It’s like parents. But they’ll probably do it anyway.”

When Larsen played age-group volleyball, one of her rivals was Pankopf, who was living in Long Beach.

“I couldn’t stand her,” Larsen said. “I didn’t know her, but she was the enemy. We called her the cat woman. But Renee is the sweetest person you’ll want to know. I finally told her that I’d hated her in the middle of my freshman year. She just laughed.

“Before coming to SDSU I would never have been best friends with Renee. I’ve really learned to dig deeper.”