Both Dakota Drenth and Anna Freeman were competing in their first Varsity volleyball game during their freshman year. The Varsity team was phasing Copley, who had won the first two sets, and Revere needed to win the next set to even have a chance to beat their rivals. Drenth and Freeman experienced one of the biggest comebacks in their volleyball career so far. 

“Copley was up two sets to zero, and [we] came back and won the last three sets, and won the last set 15 [to] 13,” Drenth said.

Both Drenth and Freeman are now juniors at Revere. Drenth has broken all three assist records, and Freeman has broken all three kill records, along with reaching 1000 kills. 

Drenth and Freeman have both been playing volleyball since elementary school. Revere does not have a volleyball program at Richfield Elementary, so Drenth played through Players Choice Volleyball Club (PCVC). Freeman used to live in Nebraska, and she played through the YMCA. 

An assist occurs when one person, the passer, passes the ball to another player, the setter, and this player then sets the ball to another player. This last player, the hitter, hits the ball onto the other side of the net. The setter that sets the ball to the hitter and gets an assist, if and only if the hitter gets a “kill.” A kill occurs when the ball is hit on the other side of the net, it lands onto the ground, and the team scores a point. Drenth broke the records for most assists in a single game, single season, and career. Freeman broke the records for most assists in a single game, single season, and career. 

“The record [for assists in a single game] was 52, and I broke it with 64. The career one was around 1,200 and I got 1,989. And per season it was [around] 760 and I broke it with 798 last season,” Drenth said.

Freeman broke all three kill records, and also recently reached 1,000 kills. She reached a total of 36 kills in a single game beating the former 32, 471 kills in a season beating the former 444, and 1,256 kills so far already beating the former 1,039. Freeman explained what percent of hits are usually kills. 

“40 percent of the time that I hit the ball, it will hit the ground on the other side, and their passer won’t get it up. So sometimes when Dakota sets me, I control it and keep it in, but sometimes I hit it hard and it scores,” Freeman said. 

Drenth also said that most volleyball players who are hitters, “don’t reach 1,000 kills in their entire career, while Freeman reached 1,000 kills as a junior.” 

Head Varsity coach Dana Dutched has been coaching volleyball at Revere for eight years. Through these past years, Dutched has seen how well Drenth knows the game.

“Dakota is very knowledgeable. She has a very high volleyball IQ. She can read the ball on defense, blocking, and knows how to run our offense extremely well as a setter. I trust her 100% to run our offense and make the best decisions at the right times,” Dutched said.

Dutched described Freeman as a player with competitive nature. 

“Anna is a competitor. The kid loves to compete. She strives to be the best version of herself, especially on the volleyball court. She is unstoppable,” Dutched said. 

Outside of Revere, the juniors both participate in the club team, Academy Volleyball in Cleveland (AVC). They practice between November through July and travel all across the country for tournaments. AVC has around ten tournaments, and this year, due to Covid-19, the team will be limited in the tournaments that they are allowed to play. 

“The main point of AVC is to get recruited for college at a lot higher of a level,” Freeman said.

Players that participate in AVC are from all across Ohio, so some have to drive hours to get to practice. Drenth and Freeman both agree that this time commitment creates a more competitive game.

“It’s a lot more competitive. There’s people that drive two hours just to go to AVC [Also], you play with your age group, not high school or four years,” Drenth said.

The Varsity team advanced to the District Semi Finals and won their first game against Villa Angela Saint Joseph, and lost District Finals at Beaumont. Drenth and Freeman will both be starting their club season at AVC, and will return for the 2020-2021 season next year as seniors for the Revere volleyball team.