Athena Kazos is named after the Greek goddess of war and wisdom.

To hear her volleyball coach at Sarah Lawrence College describe her, the Santa Cruz High graduate more than lives up to her name on the court.

First, the war part: In a sport where points are typically scored via “kills,” Kazos’ combination of a vertical leap exceeding 10 inches and a powerful arm swing makes for thunderous spikes.

“It’s hard to put mileage (per hour) on it,” Sarah Lawrence coach John Carroll said when asked how fast a Kazos-spiked ball hurtles toward the hardwood. “But she gets a good swing on it, and it goes ricocheting off the floor.

“I’d say she’s in the top half of our conference in terms of power and velocity with the physical swing she has.”

Now, for the wisdom: Before propelling herself airborne, Kazos scans opposing defenses so she can exploit their vulnerabilities.

“She pre-reads holes in defenses,” Carroll said. “One of the biggest reasons why she has such a high hitting percentage is due to her ability to see where the defense is going.”

Combining both her wisdom and warrior qualities, Kazos essentially serves as a general on the court, keeping her troops — especially the younger ones — calm, diligent, and steady in her role as a team captain.

“Although it’s a looming title, I never let it get to my head,” the 5-foot-10 outside hitter said. “I see the people next to me on the court as equals with me. I don’t want to let them down, and they don’t want to let me down.”

All of those qualities are big reasons why Kazos was selected to the All-Skyline Conference second team last season for Sarah Lawrence, an NCAA Division III school on the outskirts of New York City. And judging by the numbers she’s put up this fall, the junior appears well on her way to earning first-team honors in 2024.

As of Oct. 25, Kazos ranked among the Skyline Conference’s leaders in several categories: She was second in kills per set (4.00), fifth in total kills (216) and sixth in hitting percentage (.198). In fact, she’s led Sarah Lawrence in kills in each of the past two seasons — and with 638 in her career through Oct. 25, she already ranked second on Sarah Lawrence’s all-time list. She was less than 200 kills away from breaking the school record and could become the first player in school history to reach 1,000 as a senior next fall.

Kazos also ranked fourth in the Skyline Conference in service aces (44). Perhaps most impressive, though, is that she was among the conference leaders in digs per set with 3.37. In fact, through Oct. 25, Kazos had posted double-digit totals in both kills and digs in nine matches, including back-to-back double-doubles on Oct. 15 and 17 in victories over St. Joseph’s University of Brooklyn and State University of New York Maritime, respectively.

“That’s hard for a hitter to do,” Carroll said. “It has to do with her being in the right spots.

“I trust Athena in the back row — I keep her in the back row all the time. She’s diving to get every ball and makes the hustle plays right away.”

Kazos’ efforts have helped make Sarah Lawrence one of the top teams in the Skyline Conference: The Gryphons (15-6 overall) were 7-2 and in third place entering their Friday road match at St. Joseph’s University Long Island.

Although she grew up in California, part of what attracted Kazos to Sarah Lawrence are her ties to the New York City area: Born in the borough of Queens, she regularly visited family there every Christmas and every other summer. She and her older sister, Julia, currently live in Queens with their grandmother, just a short subway ride from Sarah Lawrence’s campus in Bronxville.

“She’s at every single one of my games, cheering me on from the bleachers,” Kazos said of her sister. “It’s very comforting to have that kind of stability. It’s exciting to have her with me.”

Kazos loves attending school near the Big Apple — not only because she’s with family, but also because she can spend weekends exploring the City That Never Sleeps.

“There’s always something to do,” Kazos said. “It’s fun not to have a plan. The beauty of New York is that you can wander and get lost and have an amazing time.”

At Sarah Lawrence, Kazos said, students don’t have majors — they have “areas of study.” Hers is psychology. She eventually hopes to follow in her dad’s footsteps and become a marriage and family therapist.

“Child development is wildly fascinating,” Kazos said. “My dad talks about his experiences with his clients — he works with adults and also children. For him, the bottom line is helping people and seeing how happy his clients are after they’re done struggling with their issues.

“That’s really inspiring to me. Helping kids and people of younger ages seems really fulfilling to me. I could see myself really flourishing in that sense.”

For now, though, Kazos is focused on leading the Gryphons to a conference title — and possibly a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

“She’s not content to be good for one year,” Carroll said. “She works her butt off in the gym every single year.”