Mission Bay volleyball player Zander Caufield is ending his athletic and academic careers on high notes, respectively.
Caufield, a four-year varsity player and team captain the last two years, leads the team in serving aces and points, along with being second in kills and digs.
Caufield is the class salutatorian with a 4.6 GPA. He is headed off to UCSB in the fall to continue his studies. He was voted All-League Second-Team, team MVP and All-Academic Team.
Beach & Bay Press caught up with Caufield for an interview. BBP: What got you into playing volleyball?
Caufield: The main reason why I started playing volleyball at Mission Bay is my parents. They have been playing volleyball for many years, and I really enjoyed being a spectator. I started playing a little bit of club volleyball beforehand, so I decided to join the team as it was fun for me. BBP: In looking back at your four years, what stands out? Caufield: I am currently the only player on the team who has played for the school team for four years. In my experience, the thing that stands out most is our ability to rise up and meet our competition when the occasion arises. Out of all my time playing for the school, we had never won against Clairemont High School. Last Friday, we competed against them, and they were a great team, ranking at Division II, while we had not played a team as high of a level as them since the very beginning of the season, in the kickoff tournament. The first game was a little rough, since we were not used to hitting against such a large block, but we were able to adjust and beat them in five games. BBP: As a senior, how have you worked to help the younger kids? Caufield: As a senior, I have been trying my best to set a great example for the team, putting in as much effort as I can into my play, and communicating well and keeping composure even in stressful situations. Additionally, I have helped them improve their own play by giving them tips I have learned throughout my time playing the sport. BBP: Any aspirations of playing volleyball at UCSB? Caufield: The whole reason why I chose to go to UCSB as an undeclared major, versus my acceptances to both UC Berkeley and UCLA under a mechanical engineering major, was because of the community around the campus, especially volleyball. I know I will have difficulty making the school’s team, given that it is a Division I team and that I don’t quite have the height to play as an outside hitter for their team. However, I do plan on trying out for their club team, as well as playing a lot of beach volleyball for fun.
Additionally, I would like to add that we are currently trying to raise funds to build beach volleyball courts on campus. The closest courts to our campus are about a half mile away. There are only two, and they are side-by-side, with low-quality sand. Due to all of this, we are unable to host games at our campus, and we must travel to other locations whenever we have beach volleyball games. 
We currently have a GoFundMe running, since we want to have four courts on campus, costing a total of $40,000. Through another fundraiser, we have already raised more than $15,000, so we need $25,000 more in order to build our courts.
Here is the GoFundMe link:
https://www.gofundme.com/mission-bay-high-school-sand-volleyball-courts