High School Female Athlete of the Week: Nikki Senske gives CdM volleyball an edge
When Corona del Mar High volleyball coach Sam Stafford took on the girls’ head coaching position in May, he had a decision to make.
Having previously served as an assistant coach under Steve Astor, Stafford had familiarity with the group of girls he was about to take over. In his mind, there was no decision to be made regarding his team captain.
Senior outside hitter Nikki Senske was the obvious choice for Stafford, owing to similarities in their competitive mindsets.
“I think, before anything [else], we both want to win, and I think that’s at the forefront of our thinking,” Stafford said. “I trust her completely with what she does on the court because I know in her head, what she is doing is the best for our team. Regardless of whether I agree with it or not, I know that she is doing what she thinks is right.”
Senske has played three years at the varsity level, and she also has three sisters — Hailey, Riley and Katie — who have gone through the CdM volleyball program.
Having gone to volleyball matches at CdM since she was in elementary school, Senske can hardly believe that her high school volleyball career is nearing its end. The program has become a home away from home, and Senske is glad that her relationship with her teammates has been as great as those her sisters experienced while playing for CdM.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to play volleyball, even when I was on club soccer,” Senske said. “Since I was younger, I’ve just always known. I’ve seen how much fun that [my sisters] had, the girls on the team, how much of a bond that they’ve had.
“I’ve seen how much fun it is to play in this competitive sport and to really be in this competitive and fun environment. It’s been so cool for me to kind of live through what they lived through.”
Many of those relationships go back to middle school, which is where senior libero Michelle Won first met Senske. They have become a critical back-row tandem for the Sea Kings.
Won, who’s also a three-year varsity player, has played with Senske for six seasons. They also played together with Tstreet Volleyball Club last year.
“We’re both super chill, but when it comes to important games, we get super into it,” Won said. “[We become] super competitive, but we’ve never been on each other that hard.
“We’re only on each other when we know that we can do better because we expect the best from each other.”
The recent graduation of 6-foot-4 outside hitter Kendall Kipp (Stanford) has had this year’s team feeling like underdogs, but they have also come together out of necessity.
“I definitely can say that we’re the underdogs in this situation,” Won said. “After Kendall left, everyone is like, ‘Oh, they’re not going to do well,’ and everyone really underestimates us, but we’re actually a really scrappy team.”
It is hard to picture a defending league champion as an underdog. The Sea Kings are 3-0 in the Surf League and remain in first place through the first half of league play, but the road has been anything but easy.
Molly Joyce’s 25 kills, three aces and two blocks lead the Sea Kings to a 19-25, 25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 15-12 victory over the Griffins in a Surf League opener.
All three league matches thus far have gone to five sets. Senske had 19 kills and four service aces in the league opener at Los Alamitos on Sept. 18.
Remarkably, Senske has never lost a league match in her career at CdM.
“I’ve thought about it, but it doesn’t seem real,” said Senske, whose team is 15-5 overall. “I haven’t even realized that I actually haven’t lost a league match. Wow, that’s really weird to think [about]. We just beat Los Al, which was a huge win for us. We definitely have been the underdog without Kendall, and so coming out with that Game 5 and pulling through was awesome.
“I’m so proud of my team because we worked so hard in practice, and we tried so hard to get better. It’s awesome. I do want to win league. It’s my final year. I want to go as far as I can.”
In the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, Senske pounded out 54 kills to go with eight aces and six blocks. She was named to the all-tournament team, and the Sea Kings finished fourth as a team on Sept. 21.
Senske does not think that she possesses the height to play outside hitter for a Division 1 college, but she plans to pursue higher education. Senske said she carries a 4.2 grade-point average, and she is interested in working in sales or advertising.
Senske played club soccer on the SoCal Blues with local standouts like Megan Chelf and Trinity Rodman. While she has competed predominantly in volleyball and track and field at CdM, Senske has yet to take the pitch for the Sea Kings in girls’ soccer.
That is likely to change this year. After years of turning down requests from CdM girls’ soccer coach Bryan Middleton to join the team, Senske said she is ready to put her concerns of injury aside.
“[Middleton has] asked me since freshman year to play on the team because he knew that I was on the SoCal Blues with [Coach] Greg Baker, Trinity Rodman and Megan Chelf,” Senske said. “I just told him I couldn’t [play] just because I didn’t want to get hurt because high school can be gruesome.
“I told him, ‘My senior year, I’ll come play.’ I am, so I’m excited for it. It will be fun.”
Nikki Senske
Born: Feb. 18, 2002
Hometown: Newport Beach
Height: 5 feet 9
Weight: 155 pounds
Sport: Volleyball
Year: Senior
Coach: Sam Stafford
Favorite food: In-N-Out Burger
Favorite movie: “This is the End”
Favorite athletic moment: Senske is proud to say that she has never lost a Battle of the Bay match to rival Newport Harbor.
Week in review: Senske had 54 kills, eight aces and six blocks in leading the Sea Kings to the semifinals of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions on Sept. 21. The senior outside hitter was also named to the all-tournament team.
::
Support our sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.
For more sports stories, visit latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/sports or follow us on Twitter @DailyPilotSport.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
