The Harker School in San Jose is a private, co-ed school with three campuses – grade school, middle school and high school. Founded in 1893 as Manzanita Hall, it later was renamed the Palo Alto Military Academy. In 1972, the name was changed yet again, when the military academy merged with Harker Day School and moved to its current Saratoga Avenue campus.

Harker is known for its emphasis on academics. Athletics? Harker did not open its high school until 10 years ago. Until recently, the college prep school of 700 students hasn't been a big-time player on the playing fields and gymnasiums of the Bay Area.

Enter a 6-foot-3 dynamo from Cupertino named Tanya Schmidt. The middle hitter was recently named to prepvolleyball.com's list of Top 100 players in the nation. She averages 4.7 kills and .8 blocks per game for an Eagle team that is 21-4-1, including a 5-0 record in league.

The Eagles' modest crowds have taken to exclaiming "Holy Schmidt" whenever its star makes a resounding kill or block.

"I guess it sounds like another word," Schmidt said by telephone with a nervous laugh.

Added Harker coach Theresa Smith: "At 6-3, she's quite tall. She gets a lot of kills and is a big blocker on the front row. But she also plays on the back row for us and is a very good all-around player."

Schmidt teams with junior outside hitters Kristina Bither and Candace Silva-Martin and 6-foot senior middle Gwynne Davis to make the Eagles formidable. Many of the Eagles have attended school together since they were young girls, and have followed Schmidt's lead in staying at Harker.

"She's one in a million," said Smith, who graduated from nearby St. Francis in Mountain View. "We're a smaller school and Tanya is so nice and has so much talent that some of the girls decided to remain at Harker for high school, rather than attend one of the more traditional powers like Mitty, St. Francis or Presentation."

Harker has only struggled against schools named St. Francis this season – losing three times to the one in Mountain View and once to the Sacramento campus, which defeated Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World for the 2005 state title.

But then, family tradition says Schmidt should be an Eagle. Her sister, Sylvia Schmidt, played at Harker, actually teaming with her younger sister in 2004 and '05.

"It was really cool playing with her," the younger Schmidt said. "She pushed me to my limits and made me improve. She was a great role model and teammate."

Sylvia, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter, is now a sophomore on the UC San Diego team. Tanya also has gained valuable experience playing for the Vision volleyball club of Los Gatos.

Off the court, Schmidt is no less impressive. She studies both Spanish and Chinese, the latter because her mother, Lillian, is originally from Taiwan. She has a 4.2 grade point average, is a National Merit Scholar semi-finalist and has written for the school newspaper. She is also president of the Red Cross Club and used to play the piano until her many activities didn't allow her to continue.

The beneficiary of this renaissance girl will be Santa Clara University, the private, Catholic institution where Schmidt feels so much at home. She committed to SCU in July and plans to study either business or engineering there.

"I'm excited to be a Bronco," Schmidt said. "I think Santa Clara has a good balance of academics and athletics. I just love the atmosphere there. It's Jesuit and everyone is so welcoming and encouraging and supportive."

In other words, SCU will just be an extension of what Schmidt has experienced at Harker.