Girls Volleyball:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

Peyton DeJardin doesn’t settle for mediocrity.

And that includes her desire to be the best volleyball player, student and person that she can be.

As her impressive career at Flintridge Sacred Heart recently came to an end, her next step was a big one.

DeJardin signed on the dotted line last week to continue her academic and athletic career at the University of California, Berkeley.

FSHA coach Trent Tcheng described DeJardin as smart, versatile and a leader.

“Peyton pretty much had to learn on the job to be a leader,” Tcheng said. “She was always the best if not one of the best players on her team. Normally we’ve had some really good upperclassmen where Peyton could have learned from in the past, but starting from her freshmen year to her now, she has always been the player that the team has leaned on. She has done a great job of learning how to communicate and how to motivate each teammate individually.”

Although Peyton described herself as ‘incredibly timid’ during her freshman campaign, DeJardin was already the girl that FSHA players looked to in crunch time.

Thanks to COVID-19, DeJarin’s prep career totaled just three years.

In each of those three seasons, however,  she led the Tologs in kills.

Peyton’s 399 kills back in 2018 was 110 more than fellow freshman, Dani Thomas-Nathan.

DeJardin also led the program with 82 aces as a freshman.

“Starting my career at FSHA, I was incredibly timid on the court and often defaulted to just playing it safe,” she said. “I was fortunate to be playing in the Mission League with top notch teams and competitors, which seemed daunting at first. I had to learn how to be aggressive and elevate my play to keep up with our competition. Because I was playing against such big-name players, my freshman season gave me a boost of confidence that I have carried and built upon throughout my time at FSHA.

My sophomore season, I stepped into more of a leadership role on the team. Although I had been court captain my freshman year, I took on more responsibility and learned how to manage a team of all different ages and skill levels during my sophomore year. The absence of a junior year season due to the pandemic left me hungry and excited to jump into my senior season. This year, I was the captain again and made my main goal to help all of the new and younger players to not only feel welcomed into the program, but also comfortable playing on the court. I found this season to be the most rewarding, because I was able to help in the growth of confidence and comfortability for the girls who are the future of the program.”

A few traits that Peyton learned at FSHA will serve her well in life.

“During my years at FSHA, I had three different coaches, multiple injuries, and a pandemic, all of which taught me how to adapt quickly, confidently face adversity, and keep a positive mindset,” she said. “At FSHA, I embraced my role as a leader and learned how to best work with a wide variety of personalities and commitment levels. FSHA also encourages students to not only challenge themselves academically, but to also get involved in co-curriculars, clubs, and athletics, so I have been building time management skills to be able to happily balance my interests with school, which will definitely help me when I get to Cal. I have enjoyed challenging myself academically by taking on a difficult work load and look forward to the rigorous academics at Cal.”

Yes, you read it right, this busy and bright young lady said she’s looking forward to the rigorous academics at Cal.

More times than not, that mindset isn’t something that most college athletes share, but DeJardin was raised in a family that emphasized the importance of academics and Peyton took it to heart.

As mentioned, and from the very beginning of her high school career, DeJardin has led the Tologs in kills and in two of her three seasons (freshman & senior years), she also paced FSHA in aces.

DeJardin’s 451 kills this season was 245 more than junior Nikki Garriola, who tallied 206 kills.

She also led the Tologs with 54 aces.

For her career, DeJardin finished with 1,430 kills and 193 aces.

FSHA had a record of 78-42 during DeJardin’s time at the La Canada school.

Despite being ‘the stud’ her entire career, DeJardin is thankful for those who came before her, including her teammates, and she took great pride in helping her younger teammates prepare for next season and beyond.

“I would love to thank Lola Foord, (South Pasadena alum, currently playing at Rice), Michelle Zhao (LaSalle alum currently playing at Washington State), and Caitlin Du (FSHA) for always pushing me in practice and games to be a better player,” Peyton said. “Their honesty and consistent encouragement throughout my career has significantly helped me to be the player I am today. I would also like to thank Brian Thornton and Jimmy Lo, my club coaches, who have been instrumental in helping me get prepared to play at the collegiate level. Throughout my volleyball career, they have pushed me to develop my leadership skills and put in the work to achieve my greatest potential.”

Lastly, we asked Peyton who she’s most grateful to and how they helped in her maturation as a player and person.

Said Peyton DeJardin: “I want to thank my parents, Whitney and Brad DeJardin, for their constant support of my education and volleyball career. They have made countless sacrifices to help me and I am eternally grateful for all they have done. They have pushed me to work hard throughout my life, whether it is in academics or volleyball, and taught me that character is much more important than skill in the long run. Without their words of encouragement and constant pushing me to be my best, I would not be the person I am today.

I would also like to thank my siblings for all they’ve done for me: Ellis, my oldest sister and current Yale Volleyball senior, for acting as an incredible role model and example of dedication and determination, Riley, my middle sister and current sophomore at University of Delaware, for showing me the importance of friendship and exploring creativity, and Buck, my twin, a senior at St. Francis and committed to Carnegie Mellon for basketball, for challenging me my whole life in academics and athletics and pushing me to always be better.”

FSHA coach Trent Tcheng has great praise for Peyton and says she’ll be dearly missed.

“Peyton has a great ability to stay even keeled,” he said. “She is very good at limiting the emotions on good and bad plays. When she’s playing bad, she looks exactly like she does when she’s playing well. She isn’t afraid to take a big swing in the big moments. She will have to experience some growing pains as the jump to Power-5 volleyball is a huge jump, but I think she is mentally and physically ready for it. The best thing about Peyton is that she works so hard. She will come in and do what she needs to do and understands that nothing is personal, and that we’re both trying to achieve the same goal. She wants to know if you are seeing something differently,  and just like she isn’t afraid to voice her opinion if she sees the situation differently. Peyton is very respectful and will treat everyone the same regardless of grade, team or ability. That is something you want to see out of your best player, and from day one, she has always shown respect to everyone.”

Peyton DeJardin Career Stats:
2021: 451 kills, 54 aces
2019: 580 kills, 57 aces
2018: 399 kills, 82 aces,

FSHA Records w/DeJardin:
2021: 24-14
2020: No season (COVID-19)
2019: 29-13
2018: 25-15