ON CAMPUS: Giesler making an impact for Kentucky

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Those among the St. Charles North volleyball community will be glad to know the one they fondly remember as The Goose has a volleyball career that’s alive and well.

She’s just flown about 400 miles south.

In fact, Gretchen Giesler’s volleyball career, as well as her nickname, is better than just alive and well.

The Kentucky sophomore arrived in the 15th-ranked Wildcats’ starting lineup as a middle blocker this year, and she hasn’t left the floor since.

“It’s been really exciting,” Giesler said. “Basically the whole team is the same so initially I felt like the only one who wasn’t out on the court last year, but they’ve definitely welcomed me out on the court now. It’s been a lot of fun and we’ve been competing very well.”

Giesler spent last year essentially as a practice player. She saw the floor in matches at times, but spent most of her time simulating opponents in practice for Kentucky’s starters to prepare against.

It was a role that took some getting used to – one Giesler was anything but familiar with after her time at North – but she took it seriously, and her coach took notice.

“She didn’t play a whole lot of matches but in practice was a very strong presence, a dominant player in practice on the other side of the net,” Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said. “She really prepared herself last year and in the spring to make a big impact when she got the call to be in the lineup.”

The impact is clear by looking at the numbers. Giesler has started all 16 of the Wildcats’ matches and leads the team in blocks (57). She’s fourth on the team in kills (117). But possibly most impressive, she’s fourth in all of the SEC in hitting percentage (.353) for a Wildcats team that leads the conference with a team clip of .280.

Giesler has produced since the beginning of the year after filling the team’s only open starting position, but Skinner looks back and sees the SEC opener against LSU as her coming-out party. She had 10 kills and six blocks in the road win, including six kills and three blocks in the second game alone.

“There was a stretch where I think we got up 7-1 or 8-1 and she was responsible for about six or seven of those points for us, whether it was kills or blocks,” Skinner said. “It just really set the tone for how we were going to compete at that point and was a great way to start our conference season.”

Since then, Giesler and the Wildcats haven’t calmed their pace. They’re 15-1 overall and are off to a 5-0 start in the SEC. Their season went from solid to eye-catching Friday when they beat No. 5 Florida in five games.

Giesler again stepped up for the Wildcats, recording a career-high 11 kills.

It was an early conference win that added fuel to the fire of Kentucky’s goal of winning the SEC and doing some damage beyond that.

“Our goal is always to win an SEC championship,” Giesler said. “We were so close last year and finished second. We want to put those rings on our finger and then get into the NCAA Tournament and just go for it.”

And with the first 16 matches as evidence, having The Goose in the middle is only helping their chances of doing so.

• Kevin Chroust writes a weekly On Campus column on area athletes competing in college. To submit a column idea, e-mail him at kjchroust@hotmail.com.