By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
In a high school career that has been filled with noteworthy personal and team accomplishments, Washburn Rural three-sport star Brooklyn DeLeye took things to a different stratosphere last weekend.
Washburn Rural multi-sport star Brooklyn DeLeye went over the 2,000 career mark for career kills in last Saturday's Emporia Invitational volleyball tournament. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
DeLeye, a 6-foot-2 Kentucky volleyball commit, surpassed the 2,000 mark for career kills in last weekend's Emporia Invitational volleyball tournament as the 38-1 Junior Blues went 6-0 to claim the tournament championship.
"I knew I was getting close, but I had no idea that it was going to be this early,'' Deleye said.
A Rural standout since her freshman season and a player of the year at the city, Shawnee County, Centennial League and state level, DeLeye said she set a few career goals earlier in her career, but that reaching 2,000 kills wasn't one of them.
"I somewhat did (set goals), but I didn't expect to get this far,'' DeLeye said. "I wanted to break the (school) kill record but this is just a bonus. I didn't even know until (Tuesday). Coach told me right before practice.''
Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick, who has over 1,000 wins in his career while leading Rural to seven state volleyball championships as well as two basketball titles, said that reaching the 2,000 mark is a rare accomplishment.
"I knew she was close and I knew she had a chance to get it but some of the teams we don't have her hit against so I knew that she was losing some kills because of that,'' Bordewick said. "But I still thought she had a chance to get it and sure enough she ended up (Saturday) 13 over 2,000.
"I almost bet that she might be the only one in 6A or 5A that's got 2,000, and to me that's tremendous.''
The softspoken Rural star admitted that reaching the 2,000 mark will be a special memory.
"It means a lot, obviously, just kind of being that representation for the younger girls to try to beat and just trying to be that top person,'' she said.
Bordewick, who also coaches DeLeye in basketball, said that she is very deserving on any honors she receives.
"I still think she has a ceiling that she doesn't realize and this is a kid who has great work ethic,'' Bordewick said. "She's got a mind for the game and studies it. She's the only kid I've ever had that gave me a detailed scouting report on an opponent last year, and it was good stuff.
"She's a real student of the game and I think when she gets into a weightlifting regimen (at Kentucky) it's really going to help her jumping and her quickness and her shoulder strength and she'll be phenomenal. And it's not like she doesn't work out in the weight room now because she does put time in there, but it's a different animal when you get to college and I'm excited to see what she does. What she accomplishes doesn't really surprise me and when she was a freshman I told Amanda (Vanderbogart, Rural assistant coach), 'Let's just enjoy these four years because we may not have another one like this.' ''
While DeLeye is probably best known for her volleyball exploits, she has also received numerous postseason honors in basketball and soccer at Rural.
DeLeye helped lead the Junior Blues to the Class 6A basketball title as a junior and played for Rural's soccer team that reached the 6A championship last spring.
DeLeye said she feels like playing three sports is a benefit.
"I definitely think it helps,'' DeLeye said. "I know a lot of single-sport athletes get sore easily in some areas where I am able to do different stuff for my body in other sports that you don't do in volleyball. It just helps me be quicker and the different actions in each sport just help me overall in volleyball.''
Bordewick agrees.
"I'm not just saying this because I want her to do all three sports, but I think it helps any athlete if they are a multi-sport athlete and there's evidence out there that says that,'' he said. "No. 1, mentally it gives you a break from your primary sport. No. 2 it make you more competitive and I think that helps her from that aspect, too.''
DeLeye will turn all her attention to volleyball at Kentucky, but until she gets to Lexington she plans to take full advantage of all the time she has left in all three sports at the high school level.
"I really enjoy it,'' she said. "I've been playing them since I was young, and I didn't want to give them up this early when I knew I was going to in college, so I was going to do it until the very last minute.''
Right now DeLeye's focus is on trying to get one of the few things that's eluded her in her volleyball career.
"I just want to get that last thing -- a state championship,'' she said. "We've been second, third and fourth, so now we either have first or fifth so hopefully it's going to be first this year.''
Washburn Rural, which will host a 6A sub-state tournament on Saturday, entered last year's state tournament with a perfect 41-0 record before losing in the semifinals and the third-place match to finish fourth.
"Going in as the top team and then ending up the last place (in the final four), it was kind of an embarrassment for us, so we just know we can't have that happen again,'' DeLeye said. "So we're going to change some stuff and make sure that doesn't happen. We've gotten a lot more closer and worked together very well this year. I think our team chemistry is better than ever.''
"We've had chances, we've been close,'' Bordewick said. "I think we have a good chance if we can just all be on the same page. I like our chances but we remember what happened last year and I think we're pretty driven to not let that happen again.''
