When West’s volleyball team made it to state for the first time in nine years, the team was composed primarily of underclassmen. One of those vital players was outside hitter Cyan Blommer ‘29, who transferred from Orion High School in Illinois this year and reclassified from a sophomore to a freshman.

Blommer led the team this year in kills, racking up 287, and also got 22 assists and 765 attacks. Outside of the school season, she plays for Iowa United, a club team based in North Liberty, Iowa.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
WSS: How long have you been playing volleyball for?

A really long time. Like, third grade, so seven years.

That’s a long time. How much time do you spend playing outside of the school season?

A lot, because I do club volleyball, and I’ll do camps and clinics and extra rep sessions.

You reclassified this year as a freshman. Can you take me through that decision?

So basically, I was thinking about reclassing in my eighth grade year, because my age for club and the class that I was in were different for recruiting. There’s a cutoff during the summer. And I made the cutoff so I could play younger, but I was young for my grade. So I either had to take a year off from club or reclass. So I decided to reclass.

What does that process look like?

There’s a lot that happens. I went to an Illinois school before this, and you can’t reclassify in-state. So I couldn’t go to, like, Rock Island and reclass in the state, so I had to go to a different state. I just like Iowa, and I like West, because I play for a volleyball team that’s here. So, I talked to my coaches and my parents. I decided that I wanted to pre-class instead of skipping a year, because I’m missing a lot if I skip a year, and then I wouldn’t have a 15U season.

So you had previously lived in Illinois, and this is your first year at West, but you were playing for Iowa club teams previously, right?

Yeah, so, I drove an hour and 15 minutes for practice three times a week.

Were there no programs you would play for in Illinois?

There weren’t really any located near me. Davenport was the closest one, which is Iowa Select and Platform, but I wanted to go to a better team. I made the decision to go to United, so I was there for a while. It was about 20 minutes from my house.

So are you taking sophomore-level classes now? How does reclassifying affect the rest of your high school courses?

Senior year, I won’t really have to take many classes, because I’m in sophomore classes now, like English 10. The only thing I could think of is Spanish IV, because I’m in Spanish I right now.

What have been the benefits of reclassifying?

For volleyball, I gain an extra year, and I can play my 18U season. If I didn’t reclass, I wouldn’t be able to have an 18U season because I would be graduating before that and then going to college. I think it’s less stress because I have five years of high school now — so a lot of time to get my credits.

Would that also allow you to get better for the recruitment process for college?

Yeah, it’s good for rankings too, because I’ll be ranked higher than what I would have been if I were still in the class of 2028.

Like you have more time to climb up in the rankings?

Prep day will rank people from class of 2028 and 2029. 2029s don’t get ranked because they’re a freshman until next year. But 2028s are ranked right now, and I was young for my grade, so I’d be playing 15s and most of them are playing 16s. So now that I’m reclassed, and I’m a freshman and not a sophomore, I’ll probably be a lot higher than I would have been.

Do you feel like reclassifying has affected your high school experience so far?

I wouldn’t have come to West if I didn’t reclass; I’d probably still be at my old school. So I think that’s a lot better, because I like West a lot better. There are a lot more opportunities at West than there were at my old school.

How big was your old school?

Really small. We had like 60 people in a grade.

What was it like coming to West this year, which is already a significantly bigger school, when the team was having such a good year?

The first few games I was really nervous, and didn’t play very well because I wasn’t expecting that many people to be there at all because I came from a school where there was a student section of like 20 people. So it’s been fun.

Besides volleyball, what else are you involved in?

I think I’ll do track this year. I did track a couple years ago. I couldn’t do it last year because I was driving really far for volleyball. I’m not really involved in any clubs.

In this offseason, how much time is it now that the club that you play for is closer?

Three two-hour practices a week, plus lifting after, so like eight hours. If I do other lessons, probably more.

Are there any mentors or people who have really had an impact on you as you’ve grown as a player?

I’d say definitely my coaches, and my parents, because they’ve made all this happen and paid for it.

Anything else you want to say?

I’m glad I came to West.