Athlete of the Week: Notre Dame-Belmont’s Gia Rivera

“My dad actually told me all about her,” Rivera said, “because he’s a super crazy sports person. So, he knows everything about every sport. So, he told me — you can look up to her for that role model.”

An interesting footnote to that 2015 state title run. It was the Tigers’ final season in the West Catholic Athletic League, a league in which the team — despite its postseason success — settled for a fifth-place finish while dueling WCAL champ Mitty, and the like.

Now, NDB is looking at a more dramatic disparity. In the West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division, the league the team has played in since 2016, the Tigers finished in last place with a winless record against WBAL opponents, a slate that includes heavy hitters Mercy-Burlingame, Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo School.

Rivera has earned Daily Journal Athlete of the Week honors, though, because the junior terminator is looking to write a similar story to 2015. It isn’t likely, according to CCS, as NDB earned a No. 10 seed in the Division IV tournament. But after the Tigers retooled their lineup and efficiently swept No. 7 Half Moon Bay in Saturday’s postseason opener, it seems there’s more to Rivera’s 2024 NDB squad than the regular-season result would suggest.

“We’re just trying to keep it a positive season,” NDB head coach Jen Agresti said. “We understand that we have players maybe not playing ‘their positions,’ and we’ve got kids playing different spots. But everyone’s staying positive, and we just keep grinding.”

One of the aces up NDB’s sleeve has been the legend herself. Smoot returned to her alma mater this season as an assistant coach with the varsity squad. One of the first insights she was given about the team was the scouting report on Rivera — a 6-foot, heavy-hitting game-changer of an attacking left-side hitter.

The scouting report sounded familiar. It sounded just like Smoot.

“So I was excited to watch her and check her out,” said Smoot, who was quickly impressed with Rivera’s arm swing, her fast attacking lines, her ability to get up and power the ball. All those familiar volleyball weapons Smoot was notorious for when NDB was hanging championship banners on the wall at Moore Pavilion.

“Yeah, it’s been super fun to watch her as the season’s gone along,” Smoot said.

Rivera shot her season average Saturday, totaling 16 kills in the 25-18, 25-20, 25-17 victory. The junior is averaging 5.2 kills per set and, with 362 kills on the year, is approaching the 400-kill plateau. That’s hardly unfamiliar territory. As a sophomore in 2023, Rivera recorded 502 kills despite a lower, yet still impressive, average of 4.7 kills per set.

“In terms of being able to terminate, Gia is our go-to for that because we know nine times out of 10 when she’s getting set, it’s going straight down,” Smoot said.

The difference this year is Rivera, in terms of NDB’s attack, has been a one-woman show. Smoot was famously paired with outside hitter Tammy Byrne, a legend in her own right. And Rivera, last season, was paired with outside hitter Karly Bordin, making for a combo so fierce that both earned 2023 first-team All-WBAL Foothill Division honors.

With Bordin graduating after last season, NDB mixed things up, moving its outstanding libero Adrianna Agresti to outside hitter. “A,” as the daughter of coach Jen Agresti is affectionally nicknamed, performed well as an attacker. The Tigers’ defense suffered, however, and “A” ultimately donned the libero jersey heading into the playoffs. Saturday against Half Moon Bay, the senior totaled a match-high 23 digs.

“‘A,’ even when she was little, she was a super athletic kid,” said Smoot, who during her playing days at NDB would babysit Adrianna Agresti and her younger sister Gabby. “You could just tell she was going to be athletic.”

Now, the pressure is on Rivera. And things will get more daunting in a hurry, as NDB travels to No. 2 Carmel for Tuesday’s Division IV quarterfinals. As a longtime six-rotation player, Rivera can score from any quadrant on the court, as she demonstrated Saturday.

“She’s been playing great volleyball,” Jen Agresti said. “Her passing has just really come along unbelievably from last season. And this year, she’s our dawg. She’s got us on her back. So, she’s been doing a great job.”

And with that ace up NDB’s sleeve, it turns out NDB has a spectacular pairing after all. Albeit this time it’s a pairing of teacher and student. And with the expertise of Smoot on the sideline, scarily enough, Rivera only stands to improve.

“Oh my gosh, it’s awesome,” Rivera said. “I learn so much from her. She’s a role model to me. I look up to her and I want to be like her. She’s awesome.”