Superlatives: Saydel at Gilbert
Tuesday night, Gilbert trounced Saydel to the tune of a 25-9, 25-7, 25-11 sweep. The win improved the Tigers — a regional finalist last year — to 7-9, while Saydel fell to 0-3. Here are some superlatives of what stood…
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Continue ReadingTuesday night, Gilbert trounced Saydel to the tune of a 25-9, 25-7, 25-11 sweep. The win improved the Tigers — a regional finalist last year — to 7-9, while Saydel fell to 0-3. Here are some superlatives of what stood out:
(Pictured: Thea Rotto (5) approaches the net as Gilbert warms up Tuesday night.)
Most impressive performance with a sore shoulder:
Gilbert sophomore Thea Rotto, whose older sister is a freshman volleyball player at the University of Northern Iowa, entered Tuesday with the second most kills in 4A and added to her total in the first set, posting seven kills. However, with a comfortable lead and nursing a sore shoulder, Rotto was relegated to the back row and bench for the final two sets, but still made an impact in the second set with three aces.
Probably the Tigers’ top player, Rotto will have the option to play in college, but said she is unsure if she will go that route. For now, she’s simply a strong six-rotation player and leader.
Said junior Haleigh Hadley said: “(Rotto) acts as a big leader even though she is a sophomore.”
Strongest play by a group of classmates
Gilbert sophomores. The Gilbert class of 2021 is a talented and deep group, with five members starting on Tuesday and leading the way for the Tigers. Inexperienced, but talented, the sophomores showed plenty of strong moments.
Gilbert coach Stacy Johnson said of her young team: “They’re very talented. They all have a lot of experience outside, but they’ve never really all played together as a high school team. So we’re working through some issues there and just getting that connection.”
Most dominant duo
Up front, Gilbert was led by its two middle hitters: Hadley and sophomore Emma Bulman. Against an outmatched Saydel front row, the two 5-foot-11 athletes (both qualified for the state track meet in the high jump) owned the net. Hadley finished with nine kills, while Bulman added six kills and six blocks.
Smoothest-setting pair
This year, Gilbert is utilizing a 6-2 offensive system, with sophomores Taylor Grinley and Nessa Johnson as their two setters/hitters.
Both setters have over 100 assists on the season and are third and fourth on the team in kills, behind Rotto and Hadley.
“We really didn’t anticipate that happening,” Johnson said of the dual-setter system. “(Grinley and Johnson) are primarily setters in their club teams, but we knew that we needed them as hitters and so they’ve embraced that role and done a nice job with it.”
Said Hadley: “It’s kind of fun to learn how to play with always having three hitters instead of just two.”
The two are also terrific servers, making them especially complete players.
Saydel’s finest
Most of the highlights from Tuesday’s match belonged to Gilbert, but Saydel had its moments.
Undersized up front, it is difficult for the Eagles to notch many kills, but senior Destiny Butters attacked well throughout the match and also added a nice serve. Sophomore Jaedyn Gill and senior B’Elanna Trulove (a nominee for the best name in Iowa high school volleyball) each notched one powerful kill and played well otherwise. Emily Harden was also a capable front row player.
Most diversely versatile
Gilbert has several versatile players: Rotto can play all over the court and was as comfortable passing as she was attacking, both Tiger setters could do it all and so forth. But none of them sang the national anthem. It was junior Monique Nespor who sang the national anthem as part of an acapella group ahead of first serve, and then notched two kills in the third set. She’s fifth on the Tigers in kills this season, but likely first in national anthems sung.