Blume commits to San Jose St.

Hanah Blume was The Union Democrat’s 2008 All-Area most valuable player for volleyball. File photo

The Sonora High School senior has verbally committed to play for California State University, San Jose, becoming the fourth Sonora player to commit to an NCAA Division I college directly out of high school.
 

Blume joins Michelle Banks (Nevada-Las Vegas) and Jessica Peterson (Fresno State) in 2002 and Lindsy Evans (Santa Clara) in 2005. Evans is entering her senior year as an all-West Coast Conference setter.

Evans actually committed to Santa Clara before her junior season and proceeded to win back-to-back Valley Oak League Most Valuable Player awards for Sonora in ‘04 and ‘05. She says committing early, as Blume did, is the way to go.

“I loved it,” Evans said. “It was so stress-free to be able to go into my senior year and relax. I knew what I had to do and I knew what was expected of me.”

Blume, 16, is looking forward to her final prep season.

“This whole next year, in club (volleyball) and high school,” Blume said, “I’ll be able to concentrate on training for San Jose State.”

She isn’t, however, forgetting about Sonora’s task at hand as defending co-champion of the VOL.

“Our goal is still to win the VOL and win sections ... really make some noise,” Blume said.

She plans to ink her national letter of intent for a full-ride scholarship during the NCAA’s early signing period, which is Nov. 14 through 21.

San Jose State went 13-18 in 2008, including 7-9 in the Western Athletic Conference for a fifth-place tie. Traditional power Hawaii and New Mexico State tied for the WAC title last season with 15-1 records.

Blume toured the San Jose campus during spring break.

“I didn’t think I’d like San Jose, but I went on my official visit and I just loved it,” she said. “I really like the other players. They made me feel good about being there and I really like how competitive they are.”

Blume has a competitive streak a mile wide.

“Hanah’s a very physical player and she’s an aggressive player,” said Kathy Spotorno, Blume’s coach at Sonora. “I love her passion for the game. She’s put in a lot of time and she has a lot of focus. She’s an all-around player and she could easily be a three-sporter, but she made a choice.”

Blume played volleyball, basketball and softball through her sophomore year before deciding to pare down her commitments. She dropped basketball and softball as a junior, though she high-jumped for the track and field team this spring to stay in shape.

The coach at San Jose State is fourth-year man Oscar Crespo.

“I’m very excited about playing for him,” Blume said. “He made me feel comfortable and he’s really stepping up his recruiting classes. By the time I get there, all the players will be his recruits.”

Crespo recruited Blume as an outside hitter, her all-VOL position in high school.

“He was pretty clear on that,” Blume said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to step right in and play (as a freshman). My goal is to do that.”

Evans played a significant role as a freshman at Santa Clara, but she sounded a cautionary note for Blume.

“No matter how prepared you are, freshman year is going to be tough,” Evans said. “Being away from home ... facing a whole different kind of pressure. After freshman year, it’s going to get better. It’s definitely worth it to stay and play, no matter how hard it gets.”

Blume’s twin, Sarah, is jazzed for her younger (by five seconds) sister.

“I’m really excited for her,” Sarah said. “She deserves it. She’s really worked hard for it.”

Spotorno agreed.

“Hanah has worked very hard,” Spotorno said. “She’s an amazing athlete and she gets stronger and stronger every year. (The scholarship) is well-deserved.”

Blume is a powerful hitter who scatters defenses with her sizzling kills. Now, said Spotorno, she’s learning some finesse.

“She’s doing what we call ‘hitting off the line,’ ” Spotorno said. “It’s an across-the-body swing and it’s something a lot of kids can’t do. It’s not as hard a swing, but it’s deceptive.”

Blume is 6-feet tall — “hopefully, still growing,” she said — and already has been given some marching orders by Crespo.

“I need to improve my jump and get my mental game better for the college level,” she said. “And I need to improve my defense and serve-receive game.”

Blume said she received recruiting interest from Sacramento State — where her brother, Andrew, went on a football scholarship in 2006 — and the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

“But they hadn’t offered anything yet,” she said.

Her scholarship at San Jose will cover room, board, books tuition — the whole package. There are some other small matters, as well.

“I was thinking green-and-gold, like Sonora (and Sac State), but I can be blue-and-gold (San Jose). And a Spartan instead of a Wildcat? I can do that.”