1,000 鈥� again
Brownsville鈥檚 Gates records 1,000th volleyball kill to match 1,000 points in basketball
Skyler Gates knows the importance of 1,000.
The Brownsville multi-sport star hit that number in points during her junior year in basketball.
Monday night she did it again 鈥� in volleyball.
Gates, a 6-foot-4 senior, rang up 22 kills in the Lady Falcons鈥� 3-1 win over California to make her a rare double-1,000 athlete.
The latter is a much rarer feat.
鈥淭he more I think about it the bigger that number sounds,鈥� Gates said of her 1,000th kill. 鈥淲hen I kind of take that in, it鈥檚 just an amazing feeling to know I accomplished that.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time in Brownsville history that a volleyball player has reached 1,000 kills,鈥� Lady Falcons head coach Rachael Salvucci said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure how many have done it in the WPIAL.鈥�
With a big crowd on hand, Gates was pushing to reach the milestone at home.
鈥淚 definitely wanted to get it in front of our fans,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淲e had a game at Charleroi the next night so near the end of the match I told our setters let鈥檚 try to get this done here tonight and get it out of the way.鈥�
Gates recalled kill No. 1,000.
鈥淚t was my setter Kenzie Adams who got the ball to me and I hit it middle back, just barely inside the line,鈥� Gates said.
Brownsville picked up wins over Charleroi on Tuesday and Bentworth on Thursday as Gates upped her career kills total to 1,035.
Gates, the 17-year-old daughter of Ricky Gates and Very Gates, is a Virginia volleyball recruit who will enroll early at the school in January.
Right now, however, it鈥檚 not the Cavaliers that are on her mind. With the 1,000th kill now in her back pocket, Gates is focused on the Lady Falcons鈥� season.
鈥淢y biggest goal is to try and win the section this year,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淲e all want that.鈥�
Brownsville is unbeaten at 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Section 3-2A. The Lady Falcons host Waynesburg Central, also undefeated, in a key section match Tuesday night.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of good to get the 1,000 done because I want to focus a little more on blocking now and just helping our team win,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had an amazing start so far. We won the FCCA tournament. We鈥檙e playing really well together.鈥�
Salvucci is blending in young players with the veterans and so far the formula is working.
鈥淲e have some freshmen playing and I think they鈥檙e getting comfortable enough where when they make mistakes they learn from them and just get better,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e really coachable and playing well with the upperclassmen. They鈥檙e asking questions and trying to improve.鈥�
Brownsville鈥檚 attack, obviously, revolves around Gates but she gets plenty of help, Salvucci pointed out.
鈥淪he鈥檚 our weapon,鈥� Salvucci said. 鈥淲e have other good front hitters on the team but we try to get the ball to Skyler as much as we can. One thing about Skyler, even though she gets a lot of kills she is not a selfish player whatsoever, she supports everyone else on the team.
鈥淥ur team wants to make good passes and get the ball to Skyler. It鈥檚 not just Skyler, it鈥檚 everyone working together to help set her up, and she delivers. We have a good team and they work together and genuinely want to see each other succeed. This 1,000 record is a team effort.鈥�
Gates agrees.
鈥淣o way I could鈥檝e done this without my teammates,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just me, it鈥檚 all of us.鈥�
Gates gives Salvucci much credit for the team鈥檚 success.
鈥淚 love her,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a great coach and has done so much for me, and she pushes us really hard, and Hig (Dave Higinbotham), too, our assistant coach.鈥�
Virginia head coach Shannon Wells continues to stay in contact with Gates.
鈥淲e鈥檒l text back and forth every once in a while, mostly talking about my schedule right now for when I go to school there,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be going there soon with the early commitment and I鈥檝e been keeping up on them, trying to find videos after every one of their games, but really I鈥檝e been more focused on myself and improving and helping our team here at Brownsville win.
鈥淚鈥檓 still trying to improve my blocking and passing and serving. I鈥檓 stronger in the front row but I want to be an all-around player so I鈥檓 working on getting better in the back row.鈥�
Salvucci, a former Brownsville coach who returned to the Lady Falcons for Gates鈥� sophomore season, has seen her evolve as a player.
鈥淭he one thing I鈥檝e noticed is her confidence level is much higher now than it used to be,鈥� Salvucci said of Gates. 鈥淪he knows what to run and when she wants to run it and communicates that really well to her team. You can鈥檛 run an offense without good passes, good sets. She鈥檚 worked on building up her team. She鈥檚 matured a lot over these three years.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 not afraid to speak out a little more and be more of a leader now,鈥� Gates said.
In addition to her 22 kills on Monday, Gates recorded nine service points, including five aces, and added four blocks.
鈥淪he鈥檚 one of our best passers and she鈥檚 really worked on her serves this year and is serving more aggressively,鈥� Salvucci said. 鈥淭hat was a struggle for her in the past but she鈥檚 worked hard on it and has come a long way on that. She鈥檚 just playing a strong back row.
鈥淪kyler is a team player and that鈥檚 been really important.鈥�
The downside for Brownsville from Gates鈥� early commitment to Virginia is that she won鈥檛 be able to play her full senior basketball season with the Lady Falcons.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to play in the FalconFest tournament and possibly in the assembly game we鈥檙e going to have this year but I鈥檒l have to leave pretty soon after that,鈥� she said.
Salvucci is eager to see Gates play at the NCAA Division-I college level.
鈥淚鈥檓 her biggest fan,鈥� Salvucci said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a huge college volleyball fan. Penn State (which won its eighth NCAA women鈥檚 volleyball championship last year) is my alma mater and I go to as many of their volleyball games as I can. I told Skyler that I鈥檓 going to have to squeeze at least one Virginia trip in there to see her.
鈥淚鈥檓 so excited to watch her and see what she does in college.鈥�