Nov 21, 2025 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

As Skyler Gates prepares to graduate early from Brownsville Area High School and enroll at the University of Virginia to continue her academic and volleyball careers, an interesting nugget has arisen regarding the soon-to-be Cavalier.

“When I began playing sports, I didn’t even want to play volleyball,” Gates said. “I wanted to play softball. When I look back on it now, it is kind of funny to think about it.”

Gates, who stands at 6-4, was asked a follow-up question about her height as a youngster. Maybe she wasn’t one of the tallest growing up.

“I have always been tall,” Gates said. “I grew up playing basketball and softball, and even with my height, I was drawn to softball. When I entered high school, I was only in my third year playing volleyball.”

Although she started the sport later than most of her peers, Gates picked up the sport quickly, and through dedication and hard work, the Lady Falcons’ captain has been named the Player of the Year on the Herald-Standard All-Area Girls Volleyball Team.

Gates, who also plays basketball for Brownsville where she is a 1,000-point scorer, has decided to graduate from high school early and attend the University of Virginia for the second semester of the 2025-2026 school year to get acclimated to being a college student and preparing for her collegiate debut in volleyball.

“I am eager to get started in college,” Gates said. “I feel like the more knowledge I can gain before next volleyball season starts, the better. It will be exciting to play in the ACC.”

Gates recorded her 1,000th-career kill for the Lady Falcons this fall, as she helped lead Brownsville to the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. Gates believes the program is in good hands and will continue to succeed.

“We definitely improved a lot from last year,” Gates said. “We won the section my freshman year with a very strong team that was senior oriented. I took on a role as being more of a leader during my junior and senior years. I hope I helped the team get better, and they can carry that over to next year.”

Gates played club volleyball at Rise Volleyball Academy in Morgantown, W.Va. Uniontown head coach Paulina Nottingham was instrumental in Gates’ development as a coach at Rise.

“It was interesting because we played against Uniontown in the FCCA (Fayette County Coaches Association) tournament and we scrimmaged them over the years,” said Gates in reference to playing against her club coach. “In addition to developing technique playing club, you also have more opportunities to get recruited because college coaches attend club matches more frequently.”

Gates realized playing in club competition that having height would not put her over the top.

“I found out that there are other players who are just as tall, if not taller, than me, so I had to work on my technique,” Gates said. “You can’t get away with athletic ability alone if you don’t work on your game, especially at the collegiate level.”

Player of the year: Skyler Gates, Brownsville

First team: Brownsville’s Skyler Gates; California’s Morgan Ross; Frazier’s Maddy Salisbury and Addison Schultz; Laurel Highlands’ Diondra Brown; and Waynesburg Central’s Ani Cree.

Second team: Belle Vernon’s Aubrey Brown; California’s Madyson Morton; Frazier’s Addison Hiles; Southmoreland’s Ainsley Martin; and Waynesburg Central’s Railey Bochna and Emily Rafferty;

Third team: Beth-Center’s Ella Sims and Kyleigh McDaniel; Carmichaels’ Bailey Barnyak; Frazier’s Allie Monack; Laurel Highlands’ Sara Reed; and West Greene’s Kendra Tharp.

Honorable mention: Albert Gallatin’s Mila Giachetti, Riylee Abel and Danica Sterbutzel; Belle Vernon’s Abby Nickolls, Joy Johnson, Mallory Wasicek, Lyla Teets and Mia Roebuck; Brownsville’s Ashley Evanchak, AiJanae Foster, Kenzie Adams and Abigayle Thomas; California’s Sydney Dunn, Bayla Galis, Addie Frank and Giana Smith; Connellsville’s Saige Mickens, Megan Fynn and Macey Orndorff; Frazier’s Morgan Fisher, Grace Polkabla, Emme Travalena and Mia West; Geibel Catholic’s Mallory Clemmer, Nolace Petrosky and Sarah Shumar; Laurel Highlands’ Lucy Baker, Addie Ciez and Esther Wanqanivaul; and Uniontown’s Callie and Maggie Cunningham, Ava Linvingood and Lyric McLee.

Coach of the year: Mandy Hartman, Frazier

The veteran coach guided her team to the Section 4-A championship, a third-place finish in the WPIAL Class A championship and a quarterfinal berth in the state tournament after defeating District 9 champion Elk County Catholic, 3-1, in the first round of the state championships.

The Lady Commodores ended their season with a record of 15-5 after a 3-1 setback to District 10 champion Maplewood, who went on to win the state title.