Flashback to five months ago: Skyline Spartans 2014 graduate Crystal Anderson experienced the pinnacle in the world of collegiate volleyball.

Anderson, who has been a starting outside hitter for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team since her sophomore season in 2015, was part of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas volleyball team that defeated Wittenberg University 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-22) on Nov. 18, 2017 in Grant Rapids, Michigan.

“When we scored that final point and there was confetti falling, it was just an incredible feeling. That is when I knew all of the hard work, especially over the past four years that I had put in really had finally paid off. I ended my volleyball career on a great note,” Anderson said.

Anderson said Athenas head coach Kurt Vlasich predicted a D-3 national championship while she was being recruited as a high school athlete during the 2013-14 school year.

“The day I visited CMS the coach (Vlasich) told me during my time at CMS that we would win a national championship which was hard to believe at the time because that is such a big comment. He told me and I chose to believe him. We actually did it,” Anderson said of winning a national championship.

Playing the position of outside hitter was something Anderson relished throughout her collegiate volleyball career.

“It is a cool position because it’s a position of leadership. If there is a bad play, the setter sets the ball up to the outside so the outside (hitters) have to make something special out of a bad play. That aspect is challenging but it is what makes that position so fun,” she said.

Anderson believes volleyball has had a positive effect on every aspect of her life.

“Volleyball has given me confidence on the court but also in the classroom and the professional world,” Anderson explained.

Anderson will graduate from CMS this spring and plans to pursue a career in accounting and finance.

Recently the Issaquah Reporter had an opportunity to ask Anderson a few questions about her life away from the volleyball court.

Issaquah Reporter: What is your favorite restaurant in California?

Crystal Anderson: Eureka! It is a burger joint.

IR: What is your biggest pet peeve?

CA: Closed blinds in the classroom. I like to see what is going on outside.

IR: What is your dream vacation spot?

CA: Fiji. I have never been there but it looks very pretty and tropical. It looks like a great place to be.

IR: What kind of music are you listening to the most in your car right now?

CA: I listen to a lot of Luke Bryant (country music artist).