Ventura senior Kate Duffey is The Star's All-County Girls Volleyball Player of the Year
Kate Duffey was born to be a setter.
It just took her a little while to figure it out.
The Ventura High senior played soccer growing up. When she switched to volleyball in middle school, she played outside hitter, before finally transitioning to the position at which her mother Tracy was an All-American at Loyola Marymount University.
“I consider myself to be a leader on the court,” Duffey said. “I’m a loud, communicative player. The position suits me and I’ve been able to thrive in that position.”
Having found her natural role on the court, the UCLA-bound setter led the Cougars to a memorable year as a senior.
After missing most of her junior season with an injury, Duffey led the Cougars to a 27-6 season this fall, including the Channel League title and a trip to the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinals.
“It was so fun,” said Duffey, who was voted Channel League Most Valuable Player and now The Star's Girls Volleyball Player of the Year for the 2023 season. “I love the girls and had a great time playing with my friends. It exceeded all my expectations going into the season.
“Everyone’s mentality was so locked in and focused. We were very much in it together, which I loved.”
With Duffey at the helm, Ventura won 14 of its first 16 matches, swept through the Channel League 14-0 and earned the top seed in the Division 5 playoffs.
She amassed 639 assists in 92 sets, an average of 6.9 assists per set.
Despite her position, Duffey also was second on the team in digs (3.0 per set) and third in kills (2.0 per set).
“Because of her background and her mother’s history of playing, she was just a great all-around player,” Ventura head coach Bryan Ornelas said.
Duffey was an outside hitter at 16, when she moved volleyball clubs and positions.
“I always knew that I wanted to play in college at a high level,” Duffey said. “Being six feet, I knew that (setting) would be advantageous.”
“There was probably multiple conversations. ... And even more than wanting to switch for college, I really always loved setting. I felt like that position was really right for me.”
In making the switch, she had the best personal trainer at home. Tracy (Holman) Duffey set the career assists record at Loyola Marymount and the West Coast Conference in 1997. She’s a member of the LMU Hall of Fame.
“You have complete control of where the ball is going,” Duffey said. “I love that about the position. You don’t get to the be one who wins the point for your team. You get to dictate the flow and the rhythm of the game, which is fun for me.”
Duffey was recruited by Oxnard native Alfred Reft when he was the associate head coach at the University of San Diego.
When Reft was later hired as UCLA’s head coach, his interest in Duffey picked back up.
“I had the connection with him,” Duffey said. “It didn’t work out with San Diego, but I heard from (Reft) later when he was at UCLA.”
Duffey committed to UCLA earlier this year. She also had an offer from Oregon State.
She’s looking forward to UCLA’s move to the Big Ten.
“It’s so exciting to be part of that,” Duffey said.
As a junior, Duffey didn’t play for the Cougars after August.
“With Kate Duffy, last year builds up to this year,” Ornelas said. “She went down with an injury that ended up taking her out right before league even started.
“Because of what happened last season, she came in with more of a drive.”
One of Cougars’ three captains, Duffey laid out the goals for the season, which included sweeping rival Buena, competing for the league title and reaching the postseason.
“With her style of leadership and confidence,” Ornelas said, “the group itself was on the same page.”
Ornelas handed the keys to the offense to Duffey before the season, transitioning from a 6-2 offense to a 5-1, ensuring the offense would flow through his star.
“It was best for the team,” Ornelas said. "It made sense for her to take control of the game.”
The decision was made during the first meeting of the preseason.
“That was the reason why everything was so well balanced,” Ornelas said. “She was involved in every play."
What made it work, Ornelas said, was Duffey’s combination of physical gifts and volleyball acumen.
“Kate comes in with both,” Ornelas said. “She’s our best defender. She’s our best hitter. She’s our best setter.
“She runs a 5-1, but she’s third in our kills. She can dump the ball. She can go up and attack a ball. If she dug that first ball, we knew to go back to her. And she was doing that from the back row.”
Duffey had 23 assists, 16 digs, five kills and four aces as Ventura swept Buena on Aug. 24. She had 23 assists, 10 kills and eight digs as Ventura beat Buena in four sets on Sept, 19.
Duffey had a season-high 47 assists in a five-set win over Dos Pueblos on Sept. 21.
She had 37 assists, 10 digs and eight kills as the Cougars rallied from two sets down to beat San Marcos to remain unbeaten in league play on Sept. 28.
“We were all like, ‘No, we’re not going to lose this one,’ ” Duffey said. “It was fun to be on a team that had that type of heart, which is what I’ll remember from this year.”
She also had 25 assists, 11 kills and 10 digs as the Cougars advanced to the sectional quarterfinals with a second-round playoff sweep of Ridgecrest-Burroughs on Oct. 21.
“Kate is humble,” Ornelas said. “She knew she was better than everybody else on the court. But the great thing about coaching her was that she was still wanting to learn.
“She’s played for great coaches before in club. But she knows every time she steps on the court is an opportunity to learn, that’s why her skill kept growing.
“She was always open, very coachable, and would do anything to make the other girls on the team better.”
The Star's All-County Girls Volleyball Second Team
Gigi Scaglia, Ventura
London Halvorsen, Thousand Oaks
Charlotte Wilde, Moorpark
Ashley Hall, Moorpark
Payton Holliday, Moorpark
Kinsley Gullatt, Villanova Prep
Maggie Rhew, Oaks Christian
Madelyn Downen, Oaks Christian
Brooke Gilmour, Oaks Christian
Laney Ramirez, Oxnard
Valeria Ibarra, Oxnard
Sydney Davis, Buena
Kyriah Trefren, Royal
Ayzlinn Trefren, Royal
Kaitlin Logan, St. Bonaventure
Sienna Huckestein, St. Bonaventure
Soraya Forbes, St. Bonaventure
Maddie Dodd, La Reina
Chloe Cook, Simi Valley
Olivia Campisi, Simi Valley
Summer Frazier, Nordhoff
Taylor Mansmann, Oak Park
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Kate Duffey is The Star's Girls Volleyball Player of the Year
