Rutgers-Newark Athletics

By Jim Hague

The news reports from southern California, concerning the devastating wildfires that engulfed the area for three weeks, really hit home for Rutgers-Newark sophomore girls’ volleyball standout Sagan Caldwell.

That’s because the fires were burning out of control close to Caldwell’s home in Ramona, California.

“There were a lot of different fires close to my home,” Caldwell said. “Some of them were about a mile away. My parents were supposed to evacuate our home, but they wouldn’t do it because we have four horses and a pony and no place to put them. So they didn’t want to leave. It was very stressful for a while. I knew the fires were getting closer and closer. I knew some people whose homes had burned down.”

Through it all, Caldwell tried to remain as focused as possible, as the Scarlet Raiders’ volleyball season was drawing to a close.

“It was so stressful,” Caldwell said. “The first night I found out about the fires, I was talking to my family and they didn’t know what they were going to do. And we had a game going on while it was all happening. I really thought it affected my plan. It was hard, because I had to be here in Newark and it’s all happening out there.”

Now, the Santa Ana winds have died down and the fires are somewhat under control.

“Our home had some smoke damage and there’s all this ash in our pool that got into the filters,” Caldwell said. “But we were lucky. A lot of people lost their homes and it’s very sad.”

However, Caldwell’s ascent as a volleyball player is not depressing. Although the Scarlet Raiders had a tough 3-22 campaign this season, Caldwell emerged as a premier performer for the program, a year after seeing very little action as a freshman.

Caldwell led the Scarlet Raiders in kills with 131, collecting at least 60 more than the next best R-N contributor. She had twice as many points as any other player with 164. Caldwell had 11 kills in the season-ending victory over Lehman.

“From a player who got very little playing time as a freshman, Sagan came a long way,” said associate head volleyball coach Gary Moore. “She became our go-to outside hitter and developed more in one year than any other player I’ve ever seen. She definitely came out from the beginning of the season and grew immensely, in terms of maturity. She became much more vocal and more assertive on the court. She got more responsibility and she flourished.”

Caldwell said that she went back to California after her freshman year and played volleyball as much as possible, including a ton of beach volleyball, like most people who live in southern California.

“I got to the beach as much as I could before I had to come back to New Jersey,” Caldwell said. “Volleyball is a much bigger sport back home than it is here. There are so many club teams and they play volleyball all year round. When we’re not playing for our school or club teams, then we’re playing on the beach in between. So there’s a lot of difference.”

Caldwell said that her beach training actually prepared her for the college season.

“It’s a lot harder to jump and get balanced in the sand,” Caldwell said. “So when I go back out on the court, I feel like I can jump about 10 feet in the air.”

Caldwell said that she also runs on the beach as part of her off-season training.

“It just makes it easier to get ready,” Caldwell said.

When she returned to Newark this fall, Caldwell had an instant connection with new coach Moore.

“Gary is a really good coach and he worked with me and inspired me,” Caldwell said. “I improved a lot under him. I worked harder before this season because I wanted to play more. I knew that the girls who returned had to step it up.”

“We needed players to step up and Sagan certainly stepped up,” Moore said. “She really helped us achieve the wins we had. We wouldn’t have even been close. If Nazly (Hasanizadeh) was the bat for the team and we were a baseball team, then Sagan was the batting gloves. She has given us a good basis to build on for next season.”

Caldwell came to R-N from California after being recruited by the prior coaching staff.

“I came for a visit and got along well with the other girls here,” Caldwell said. “It seemed as if the program was going to be good, so I’d give it a try.”

It’s been a bit of a culture shock, knowing that she was going 3,000 miles away from home and then had to endure a coaching change.

“It’s definitely been different,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell said that she is looking forward to next season.

“Hopefully, we can all keep improving,” Caldwell said. “Gary is a good coach. Things are looking up. With two more years here, I have a lot to look forward to.”

There’s another thing Caldwell’s looking forward to – a return trip home for the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I’ll get to go home this year for Thanksgiving,” Caldwell said. “I didn’t get to go last year. In some ways, I’ll be excited to be going home and then in another way, I’ll be nervous to see all the damage. It’s not going to be exciting to see all the blackness.”

However, going home will have a whole new meaning this Thanksgiving for Sagan Caldwell.