Volleyball defensive specialist Alex Krzyz, a man of many consonants, wants to fly. Yet in his favorite sport, he stays grounded, guarding the rear row and backing up the high-leaping hitter-blockers that populate the front.
Krzyz – whose surname is pronounced “Chriz” (“like ‘Chris’ with a ‘z’,” the La Jolla High School senior says) – wants to be a commercial airline pilot. But right now, he’s doing quite well, thank you, with his feet firmly planted in the sand of Mission Beach as the Vikings sand volleyball team continues competitive play undefeated after the first month – this despite a health problem that threatened to sideline him for half a calendar year. Krzyz and new teammate Luke Lentin, a freshman who likewise is shorter by volleyball standards, play mostly as the Vikings’ third pair in coach Dave Jones’ varsity lineup. “Indoors, Alex is one of our best jump servers and passers,” says Jones, who coaches Krzyz in fall sand volleyball (not yet a California Interscholastic Federation sport) and in spring indoor volleyball.
Meanwhile, Krzyz explained, the airplane and the idea of flying captured his imagination while on a family vacation to Cancun, Mexico (the first time he’d ever flown). Since then, piloting has grown to become his career goal.
“I’ve wanted to be a pilot since I was 4,” the 17-year-old said.
But on the volleyball rectangle, things are quite different. In the six-man rotation of La Jolla’s indoor squad, he stays on the back line and is more likely to dive to the floor to intercept an opponent’s bullet serve than to jump for the ball. The one skill that involves him leaping is his jump serve, with which he registered 25 aces last spring, with an 81.8 percent success rate. He played a key role in La Jolla’s ascendancy to the CIF semifinals.
But there was a time last spring when all this was taken away, when Alex couldn’t play the one sport he excels at. He was diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, and doctors told him he would have to sit out for six months. He remained with the team and traveled to tournaments, but he couldn’t step on the court and do what he has enjoyed ever since his older brother Sebi told him he ought to go out for indoor volleyball as a freshman three years ago. He played tennis for eight years as a child, but eventually it lost enjoyment for him. He tried high school football concurrently with his initial taste of volleyball, but after two years playing cornerback and safety, he stopped. “I wasn’t planning on playing (volleyball),” he remembers of his start in the sport. “I had never played before.” But instead of a half-year, Alex had to sit out only a month and a half during the Vikings’ indoor season. After treatment and rest, he was OK’d by doctors for a return to the court.
“It wasn’t fun sitting out,” he recalls. “I was excited to be able to practice again and to be able to play again.”
The Vikings, having graduated much of their core from the 2013 CIF championship team, weren’t expected to go far in 2014. But behind juniors Joe Palatella, a middle hitter-blocker, and Jack Chapman, an outside hitter, and the likes of Krzyz and others who stepped up, Jones’ squad marched to the semifinals before falling. In his comeback, Krzyz averaged 4.6 digs per match from his position as a defensive specialist. He totaled playing in 61 sets, remarkable after the doctors originally said he would be out for the season.
He’s philosophical about his forced time on the sidelines. “I knew there was nothing I could have done about it,” he remarked, seemingly offhandedly. Meanwhile, the Vikings sailed through their first three matches this fall. Krzyz enjoys studying science and U.S. history. He would like to stay in California for college as he begins his preparation to be an airline pilot. He says he wouldn’t mind staying really close by attending San Diego State University.