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WILKES-BARRE – As a field hockey recruit at Division I Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, Wyoming Seminary senior Gabbie Volpetti has more sports in her future.
Stepping on the basketball court in competition for the last time, however, took on special significance for Volpetti, of Kingston Township.
“I didn’t think I’d be as emotional as I was,” Volpetti said after joining Lake-Lehman’s Cayle Spencer in the starting lineup to help Team Gray defeat Team Healey, 69-40, March 27 in the Dr. George P. Moses Wyoming Valley Conference Senior All-Star Classic girls game. “As we were leading up to the game, it was fun to get to know my previous opponents.
“But as it came to the game, I realized it would be the last one I would play and I was a lot more emotional than I expected to be.”
After leaving Dallas High School to attend Wyoming Seminary following her freshman year, Volpetti was a three-year starter in basketball and three-year letterwinner as a field hockey midfielder/defender for the Blue Knights. She was a two-time Wyoming Valley Conference first-team coaches divisional all-star choice and a 1,000-point scorer in basketball.
Those accomplishments landed Volpetti in the starting lineup for the team coached by Chris Gray from Meyers with assistance from Lake-Lehman’s Charlie Lavan and Holy Redeemer’s Chris Parker. The other team was coached by Pittston Area’s Kathy Healey with assistance from Wyoming Area’s Chad Lojewski. Healey and Lojewski, a Shavertown resident, coach together in the Rock Solid AAU program out of The Rock Recreation Center in Shavertown.
Volpetti enjoyed the chance to play with Spencer and Holy Redeemer’s Alexis Lewis, her AAU teammates and a first opportunity to be teammates with girls from GAR and Meyers with whom she had friendly rivalries throughout their high school careers.
“I was very pleased with how the game went,” she said. “The coaches did a great job. I loved the style of all three of them combined.
“It made for a great game.”
While Lewis earned team Most Valuable Player honors with 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals, Volpetti and Spencer also made contributions to a starting lineup that dominated the game when it was on the floor together.
Volpetti had eight points, four rebounds and two steals.
Spencer had six points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal. She also put on a show at halftime in the finals of the 3-Point Shooting Contest.
Setting a girls’ contest record, Spencer scored 14 of the maximum 18 points. She made 11 of 15 shots in under a minute and earned bonus points for making the last shot at each of three spots – each corner and the top of the key. Spencer hit seven straight shots at one point and nine of her last 11.
Tunkhannock’s Molly Hampsey started for Team Healey, sharing the team lead with three assists and also grabbing two rebounds.
GAR’s Brea Seabrook earned the game’s Defensive Player award after finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Volpetti will continue on in field hockey after helping Wyoming Seminary win the 2013 state Class AA championship. She had five goals and eight assists in her career with the Blue Knights, including the only goal in a 1-0 overtime victory over Holy Redeemer for coach Karen Klassner’s 600th career victory.