Brent Mutis, CapU sport info & compliance officer
Vanesa Gatto has been asked to do a lot for her team in her Capilano Blues career.
The 2022 PACWEST Top Libero has left her share of skin on the floor, digging up would-be kills and making good first touches to give her teammates chances to score kills of their own.
Saturday at the College of the Rockies (COTR), it was Gatto getting a chance to take the swings as she was pressed into duty as an outside hitter after spending Friday night’s game and the first set Saturday in her usual libero role.
Not much was working for the Blues on the weekend road trip to COTR as they dropped Friday’s match in straight sets despite 11 kills from Grace Brisebois and four blocks from Anna Liniewski. Various Blues hitters made mistakes at the net on the way to 13 attacking errors to just five for the Avalanche.
The home side continued to look dominant in the opening set Saturday with a convincing 25-15 win which prompted the Blues to move Gatto to outside hitter, just to try something different. The move resulted in a more competitive second set and led to a 25-15 set win of their own in the third as Gatto went on to score six kills on the night.
With Gatto giving COTR something else to consider in the front row, Blues setter Lauren Roworth also made good use of Brisebois and Annika Kuznik who registered 13 kills apiece while middle blocker Sibby Bos had nine.
Ella Andreola got her first extended look at Gatto’s usual position with the latter moved to the outside. The first-year libero handled several digs well and showed decently on first touch despite limited floor time to this point in the season.
After six consecutive games on the road, the Blues get to come back to CapU Centre for Sport and Wellness (CSW) for a Friday-Saturday set against Columbia Bible College. It will be a 6 p.m. start both Friday, Nov. 25 and Saturday, Nov. 26 at the CSW.