Kathleen Wright Kathleen Wright’s passion for volleyball is embedded in every molecule of her body and soul.

“If she had two days left to live, she’d play volleyball for 40 hours,” said Heidi Buonauro, the Royal High girls’ coach.

A senior outside hitter for the Highlanders, Wright knew the sport was right for her the very first time she played. She was an 8-year-old Wood Ranch Elementary School student.

“It felt really natural for me,” Wright said. “I remember getting the ball over the net and how great that felt. It was just my thing.”

Wright made a lasting impression on Buonauro at summer youth camps.

“This little girl would show up and destroy the ball on the low nets,” the coach said of her future outside hitter. “The ball might have been flying all over the place. But she always hit it hard.”

Wright, 17, still hits the ball with the force of a NASA space shuttle engine during liftoff.

Buonauro, who has coached at Royal for 11 years, including the past five at the varsity level, asks her players to volunteer to at least two sessions at the Ferguson Volleyball Camp through the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.

Unless she’s on a family vacation, Wright has coached at every single camp, usually for four or five weeks each summer.

Wright has been a clutch player this season for Royal.

The senior jump served eight straight points in the decisive third game of the Highlanders’ victory against defending league champion Thousand Oaks on Oct. 8.

It was the first time Wright had earned a victory against the Lancers at any level.

Before this season Wright felt that this team, loaded with experienced athletes at nearly every position, could be special.

“Through the years, we kept waiting and waiting for our senior years,” Wright said. “We knew it was coming, but I didn’t think it would be this good.”

Setter Maddie Simpson, middle blocker Abbey Prusa and Wright— all seniors— set the tone for the rest of the team, Buonauro said.

Libero Katelyn Atkin, another senior, and junior outside hitter Amanda Soper have also played well for Royal.

Opposite Kayla Rubio and middle hitter Kasey Ring play important roles for the Highlanders. Even the bench contributes.

“I couldn’t ask for a better senior year,” Wright said. “The girls on this team are the greatest group of people. . . . The non-starters are pushing us to play harder.”

When they were all in elementary school, Wright, Simpson, Prusa, Atkin, Soper and junior Lindsay Glugatch played together with Classic Volleyball club out of Simi Valley.

Wright has played with some teammates for almost eight years.

Besides her ferocious offensive skills and lethal jump serve, Wright adds an unquantifiable ingredient for the Highlanders.

“She is really crucial to our team because of her consistency under pressure,” Buonauro said.

“She hits the ball with an incredible amount of force. She plays incredible defense, and she passes and serves well.”

Simpson also thinks highly of Wright.

“She always plays with a ton of fire,” Simpson said. “She’s strong at the net, and she’s strong at the back row. She’ll make these crazy saves that we think nobody can get to.

“She’s just a really strong player for us hitting, blocking, passing and serving.”

Wright gets restless if she’s not playing volleyball.

The outside hitter literally can’t wait for the next time she can throw down a kill or sling a jump serve over the net.

“I hate the time between games sitting and waiting to start,” she said. “I just want to play.”