The Paul VI High School volleyball team can build a pretty good case for being the top power in South Jersey, and there might not be a better person to argue that point than senior Kam Wertz.
Wertz has been part of the program the last four years. She enjoys driving home a point almost as much as driving down a volleyball. Her passion for both has put her on a path to study political science at Arcadia University while playing volleyball for the Knights next year.
“I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since fifth grade,” Wertz said. “I know a lot of people in my family that are lawyers or they work in a law firm as paralegals. I’m very open and outspoken. I love to argue and get my point across.”
Wertz has been helping the Eagles get points across the net as the team’s reliable middle blocker. She’s the perfect complimentary piece alongside highly recruited seniors Maggie Carcillo and Megan Evans, who will both play in the Big East next year for Saint John’s and Connecticut, respectively.
Wertz’s path to the top of Paul VI’s program wasn’t as linear. But she’s enjoyed the bumps along the way.
“It doesn’t come lightly,” Wertz said. “I tell myself going into practice that I need to work hard and have to uphold my position. Just push and make other people better, and that will make you better as well.”
Wertz said starting positions are not just given out to the older and more experienced players. It’s what makes Paul VI a special place to play and a perennial powerhouse, having made multiple trips to the state championship over the last decade.
“Competing in the program is hard,” she said. “I don’t take anything for granted or anything lightly. I don’t go into games thinking I’m going to start because you never know.”
Wertz started volleyball in middle school at Saint Teresa Regional School, Runnemede, and Jersey Juniors and played on the freshman team at Paul VI before getting promoted to junior varsity that same year. She cracked the starting lineup last year as a junior after biding her time and working hard to seize a spot.
“She’s one of the few kids who started out on the freshman team and went through all four years,” Paul VI coach Dan Chung said. “She worked extremely hard. We are extremely happy with her ability to play, but as a person also. She’s a good kid. She’s well-rounded and does a lot for her school.”
Wertz is a school ambassador and is part of student council. She also danced competitively for 14 years before focusing on volleyball. Her work ethic was certainly noticed.
“That’s been our culture since I got here,” Chung said. “You have to work hard, but you also have to be a really good academic student and just be a solid student athlete. I think everyone on this team understands it’s about doing the job the right way and making sure we are doing the things in a positive manner.”
Through Oct. 5, Wertz had contributed 24 kills and 23 blocks on the season, and Paul VI extended its season-opening winning streak to 14 games with a three-set sweep over Notre Dame in a best-of-five match on Oct. 4. It was a little bit of revenge for the Eagles, who were knocked out of the playoffs last season by Notre Dame. But it was seen as one small accomplishment on the road to the ultimate goal of a state championship.
“We’re good, but we could always be great,” Wertz said. “I think we all know in our minds what the end goal is.”
It helps when volleyball practice is a highlight of the day.
I go into school looking forward to practice and looking forward to games because I love the team and the girls and the community,” Wertz said. “We not only want to make ourselves better, but we want to make each other better. We’re laughing and we’re joking, but we’re serious when we need to be and we hold each other to the high standard that our coaches want from us.”
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