Libero Gabi Ailes is a Stanford Mainstay
Cardinal Junior Women's Volleyball Player is on Record Setting Pace
Aug 26, 2009
The junior women's volleyball player was raised in Nebraska, playing basketball, volleyball and tennis. She was good enough to earn the 2006 Gatorade State Player of the Year award, and was a state finalist the next year. Her Bellevue West High team won four state championships and she was team captain for three years.
Ailes could have just as easily attended Nebraska, a high-powered women's volleyball program that has been a part of the national scene for a long time and where Cornhuskers' fans treat anything Nebraskan like superstars.
Instead, Ailes chose to head west and play for Stanford, another quality program but a college often overshadowed by the area's professional sports scene.
Ailes could have joined her best friend, 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore middle blocker Brooke Delano, in Lincoln. They were teammates at Bellevue West.
"I grew up there and Nebraska was in my top three," Ailes said. "But once I picked Stanford I never looked back. I do get huge applause when I'm announced there. My teammates think it's cool. They say 'oh, it's just Gabi's fan club.' "
Setting, Hitting, Serving, Spiking and Digging
Ailes was born into a volleyball family. Her older sister, Tatum, played at Missouri and her grandfather, Art Lima, has been coaching club volleyball in Nebraska for well over 30 years.
Ailes enjoys visiting her grandfather since they can talk shop for hours.
"Volleyball definitely runs in the family," Ailes said.
Ailes, at 5-foot-7, began as a setter. She swiftly moved to outside hitter spot, where she developed into one of the state's top players.
Ailes also played four years of basketball and was a state champion in tennis. Once she knew her future, though, height became a factor.
"I knew I would have to be a libero because of my height," Ailes said. "I started to focus on passing and defense with my club team during my senior year."
Making the Grade at Stanford
Ailes won the starting position at Stanford in her freshman season and, as she said, never looked back.
"Libero is primarily about attitude," Stanford coach John Dunning said. "It's about being aggressive, going after it. Gabi has all that and more. It's what she is made of and she has only added and refined that in her position. She's a skilled player. She's something special."
Ailes has appeared in every set Stanford has played the past two years, earning the starting spot as a freshman over an incumbent. She set school records for single-season digs (533), digs per set in a season (4.26) and single-match digs (31) as a freshman.
With 1,024 digs, she's well on her way to establishing the Stanford career record for digs. An average year would put her second on the all-time list to current U.S. senior national team member Kristin Richards' school mark of 1,597.
Fans Dig Libero Rotation
Ailes has her own fan club these days at Maples Pavilion, the campus home of the Cardinal volleyball team. Fans enjoy her enthusiasm and hustle. Stanford draws an average of about 2,500 fans to every match. Pretty good for the Pac-10, though not even close to what volleyball draws in Nebraska or Hawaii.
Ailes will be part of a new-look Stanford this year. Gone are two All-Americans (outside hitter Cynthia Barboza and middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo), and junior Cassidy Lichtman will probably move to outside hitter from setter.
Ailes likes what she sees.
"There might be a couple of bumps in the road but we'll be competitive," she said. "We'll get better as we go and hopefully we're playing our best in the playoffs and we learn along the way."
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