Meet The Bee’s volleyball player of the year and coach of the year after another title
When Gabby Russell was a sophomore reserve on the Clovis West High volleyball team, her job was to be a setter.
Lucky for her, the Golden Eagles system fosters all-around play.
Two years later as a libero, Russell was the glue cementing Clovis West’s repeat Central Section championship in a four-set victory over Clovis North.
After finishing the season with a team-leading 60 aces, 434 total serves, 232 points and 474 digs (11.9 digs per match), Russell is The Fresno Bee’s Player of the Year.
“I was shocked and scared because I never played the position before,” she said. “I was going in blind and I had no idea what I was doing. I had amazing coaches to get me through that and become the libero, and I feel I exceeded my full potential this season.
“I’m grateful that happened.”
Coach Rhonda DeRuiter said Russell’s transition is part of the design.
“We don’t just have them focus on a specific position because we frequently have girls that maybe fill a role,” DeRuiter said. “We just wanted them to be great volleyball players and know how to do every skill. Even though Gabby was a setter, she still got reps and it didn’t take long for us to notice she had a very natural passing platform.”
Russell credited teammate Maddie Rey for helping her make the move.
Russell said coming into the season she was concerned how her team would coexist with 18 players. But, “we all came together,” she said. “We’re all pretty much (about) the same thing: playing for the girl next to me and we’re all unselfish players that helped us win that title.”
DeRuiter complimented Russell for how she pulled the team together.
“She’s the reason how we finished,” she said. “We were a great sideout team. We did not get stuck in service. We saw a huge potential in Gabby in that skill and wanted to see where she would take it. She took a larger area of the court. She intentionally made herself a target by taking a large area of court frequently and she got it done. She was our top passer and I thought the best passing libero in the Valley. She’s a fantastic setter.
“She carried a heavy load and really elevated her game from beginning to end of the season.”
Russell summed up her last year as a Golden Eagle.
“I feel like I worked really hard to get where I am today especially with the transition from setter to DS (defensive specialist),” she said. “I was super proud of myself that I succeeded as a volleyball player.”
DeRuiter is Coach of the Year
No matter where DeRuiter coaches, success follows.
It began at Central Valley Christian where she guided the Cavaliers to six consecutive section championships.
She arrived at Clovis West in 2005, the Golden Eagles won a section title in 2008 and continued to win five more including this season.
DeRuiter is The Bee’s Coach of the Year.
“I saw how balanced we can be,” she said. “I always compare coming up with lineups to putting a puzzle together and I just saw how many strong pieces that we had. We knew they could do multiple things in multiple positions. It was about timing and staying healthy. It was a fun season as a staff because I feel we did a great job in working together to match ourselves up against every team that we played. They were great at being coachable and understanding that we’re going to have a different game plan every match.”
DeRuiter has an impressive record as a coach. She is 595-212 and is fifth in wins in the section, according to section historian Bob Barnett.
Just like other coaches, DeRuiter knew it would be a challenge with no matches being played in 2020 because COVID-19 canceled the season.
The Golden Eagles had just won a section title in 2019.
It took a little time early in the season, but DeRuiter saw growth by her team.
“We took early losses that we thought were going to hurt us more down the home stretch and these girls really improved as a team.”
DeRuiter credited her staff.
“We are so balanced skill wise top to bottom,” she said. “We had a great group working together and we hang out a lot off the court. (The players) made their own legacy and our staff really helped them because they were different from 2019.”
