Ryenn Gordon stands alone atop the Centralia volleyball leaderboards.

Gordon is the first in school history to reach 1,000 career kills after surpassing the milestone in Centralia’s Sept. 10 loss at home to Father Tolton. The senior was five kills away after recording 20 kills two nights prior at home against Boonville, so Gordon achieved the feat at the beginning of the second set.

Play stopped momentarily for Gordon to be recognized. She said she remembers being told last year she was getting close. 

“It was fun,” Gordon said. “Everybody was cheering. I got to give everybody high fives and say hey to everybody.”

Gordon has played multiple sports for Centralia and has done them well. She has been selected as an all-state basketball player three times and has earned a state medal in track and field. 

When it comes to volleyball, Gordon started playing in middle school and was even the manager for the team, according to head coach Julie Crum. She said her husband remembers Gordon constantly hitting the ball back then. 

“She’s active and is always doing something,” Crum said. “My husband clearly remembers seeing her hitting the ball against the wall while she was managing the middle school team. She’s been growing her skills for a while. That’s the biggest thing is girls just getting their hands on a ball and playing with the ball every day.”

Crum said that Gordon has a natural ability to be an attacker as she can jump high and her offensive kills have become “undeniable.” She said all of that extra work helped Gordon develop her swing and make the varsity team as a freshman 

“I can usually tell,” Crum said. “When the ball leaves the setter’s hands, I can literally look at the set and know that she’ll be able to finish it.”

Gordon admits she gets butterflies in her stomach whenever she rises up to spike the ball. She said it is her “favorite thing” whenever she gets to hit the ball.

“I just jump as high as I can and try to hit it as hard and down as I can,” Gordon said. “Sometimes, it will fly out of bounds, but if I can get on top of it, it goes down.”

As a freshman, Gordon only played in the front row. She is grateful to all the girls who passed to her that season and she wanted to do the same for others to help the team.

“I’ve gotten a lot smarter as a player at picking spots,” Gordon said. “I’ve gotten a lot better at defense because, in freshman year, I couldn’t pass to save my life.”

Crum said Centralia keeps track of stat leaders every match and gives out stickers to those leaders. Gordon has led the Lady Panthers in digs and serving percentage most of their matches along with kills.

Gordon’s teammates over the last few years have done well to set up Gordon for her kills, Crum said, and Crum thanks them whenever she sees any former Lady Panthers. Gordon is grateful for her past and present teammates and still tries to be the best player for them. 

“She doesn’t ever try to stop improving,” Crum said. “She’s a senior, and she’s going to play basketball in college. While she’s here with us right now, she’s constantly working to improve.”

Gordon said she wants to be a “selfless” player and is focused on the team’s success with so much of her senior season left to play.

“I just try my best to get a win,” Gordon said. “That’s all that I really care about. This is just something good that came on the side.”