Athletespotlight: Blaise Ramsbotham

Perhaps the most exciting play in volleyball is the powerful kill, when a tall hitter sends a hard shot over the net for a score.

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Greenbrier senior Blaise Ramsbotham has always been a key contributor on those types of highlight plays. She's in charge of the boring part.

"I actually always wanted to be a hitter, but I was never tall enough," she said.

Instead, Ramsbotham is a setter. It's the sometimes thankless job of placing the ball perfectly in the air so an outside or middle hitter can finish off a kill. While the oohs and ahhs associated with the big plays are often directed toward other Lady Wolfpack volleyball players such as Annie Czarnecki and Ashton Carraway, Ramsbotham is almost always the girl who sets up the play.

"I couldn't do anything without her," Czarnecki said after a win at Evans last week. "She's on the court the whole time and, as the setter, she just goes for everything."

The senior setter has been doing her job at a near-flawless pace for the past three years. She leads the team with 505 total assists this season and is second on the team with 227 digs. Even more impressive is her 15 blocks - a stat not usually associated with setters.

Greenbrier volleyball coach Debbie Born said those numbers don't fully describe the senior star.

"Blaise has become one of the best setters in the state of Georgia," Born said. "Many coaches and teams have complimented me about her ability to take charge of our team and great court sense. I can honestly say that Blaise is the best setter ever to play at Greenbrier High School and one of the best all-around players I have ever coached. She is a great asset to this team and a huge part of our success this season."

Blaise shrugged off the credit as simply doing her job.

"I just feed the hot hitter," she said. "My job is to make hitters look good. I like being the leader, but I can get down, too. My teammates are always there to pick me up."