MCC’s Gabby Caskey to play volleyball at Mary U.

McCook Community College sophomore Gabby Caskey has signed a letter of intent to continue her volleyball career at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.

The Marauders compete at the NCAA D2 level in the Northern Sun Conference.

"I am happy Gabby has found her next volleyball home, as I know she is going to do great things there," said MCC Coach Hayley Kobza.

Caskey, a middle blocker from Ogallala, said University of Mary gives her the best opportunity to pursue both her academics and athletics.

"The coach there is similar to Kobza in the way that she is keen on recruiting players that will come in and make a big impact on her team," said Caskey. "And the way that she believed that I would be able to do that really got to me."

After her visit, she also felt a connection with the girls on the team.

"They all made very personal efforts to make me feel welcomed and generally at home," said Caskey. "The school is also very pretty, and their biology department professors have high accolades that make it a very respectable program."

She plans to continue her pursuit of a bachelor's degree in biology with the goal of getting into medical school in the field of family medicine or orthopedics.

This season Caskey played in 35 matches and averaged 1.81 kills and 1.24 blocks per set. She had 219 kills, 75 digs, 24 service aces, 10 solo blocks and 140 block assists. That block total was fourth best among players from 88 Division 1 NJCAA schools and her 140 block assists led the nation.

She recorded a season-best 15 kills in the Aug. 25 match against Cloud County. That was one of four double-digit kill games. Her best blocking match came Sept. 23 against Northeast Community College when she recorded 10 assist blocks to go along with 12 kills.

"Gabby was a solid player for us these last two seasons. She always came in and just got to work," said Kobza. "Not only was she a valuable player for us, but she also was a great academic student as well."

In her two years at MCC, Caskey recorded 411 kills, 225 total blocks, 292 digs and 76 service aces. Academically she was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association all-academic first team for student athletes maintaining a 4.0 grade point average. She was named to the President's List in both of her freshman semesters.

Caskey said beating Western Nebraska on their court in Scottsbluff on Oct. 14 was a highlight of her career. It was only the second time in the last 29 years, MCC was able to pick up a win over the Cougars, who had won seven straight matches between the two schools and 64 of the past 66 meetings dating back to 1994.

"Coming back to the locker room after that game was so exciting and us girls were beyond excited," Caskey said.

She said her favorite of her time at MCC includes attending baseball games with teammates and "being chatty" towards the opposing team during their times at bat.

Her new team in Bismarck is graduating seven players and Caskey said her role will be to come in and make a big change to the intensity of the program.