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Kenley keeps Guetter girls attack going

By Travis Rosenau 5 min read

WABASSO -- Wabasso Rabbits outside hitter Kenley Guetter may have a ways to go to catch up to her big sisters in the volleyball record books, but the sophomore has no shortage of aspiration.

Following in the steps of her older sisters Chelsey and Maddy, Kenley Guetter has carried on the Guetter girls tradition of being one of the hardest-hitting, go-to attackers on the court for the Rabbits.

Chelsey Guetter, a 2014 Wabasso High School graduate, finished her volleyball career with 726 career kills, fifth all-time in school history, and 332 kills during her senior year that saw her named both the All-Journal Volleyball and All-Journal Girls Basketball Player of the Year. At the time of Guetter's graduation, she was the school's all-time leader in kills and her senior season was also a school record for single-season kills.

Kenley Guetter's other sister Maddy Guetter graduated in 2019 from Wabasso High School as the school's all-time leader in kills with 1,719. Maddy Guetter, a two-time All-Journal Volleyball Player of the Year in 2016 and 2018, had her senior season of volleyball in 2018 end with a single-season school record of 531 kills, which she also set the previous two years by racking up 446 in 2016 and 483 in 2017.

Chelsey Guetter went on to play women's basketball at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as a freshman before playing her final three years at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph. Maddy Guetter went on to play women's volleyball at Augustana.

"I was pretty little when Chelsey went through high school and college and I don't remember much of her career, but Maddie, I do remember all of her college career," Kenley Guetter said. "And just being around Maddie and her team throughout my entire childhood definitely got me right into volleyball. I practiced a lot with her when I was young just in the backyard ... I was still young, but just being around the sport definitely helped for my entire career and getting general volleyball knowledge in my head."

Kenley Guetter may not match her sister Maddy's eye-popping sophomore season of 446 kills, which came in 89 sets, but she's still leading a balanced hitting attack on a young Rabbits team. This season, Kenley Guetter has 295 kills.

"Just watching [Maddy] in general, she was always a very aggressive, very powerful hitter," Kenley Guetter said. "[My sisters] aren't home as much as they've gotten older, so I don't say it's as much coaching as one might think with the older sisters, but I definitely get feedback from both, both my sisters and my parents."

Much of that feedback has centered around staying aggressive and maintaining confidence in her attack.

"One thing Maddy has always told me is just to be aggressive as much as you can," Kenley Guetter said. "Obviously tipping's a great way to still score, but if you can get a good swing on it, put a good swing on it and be aggressive, even on bad balls. Like a perfect set, obviously swing away, you want to swing as hard as you can. But even on bad balls, just always trying to be aggressive and tip, honestly, as least as much as possible."

Kenley Guetter said after a freshman season where she had 233 kills, she feels more comfortable in her sophomore year of volleyball thanks to her offseason schedule.

"I think that a lot of the skills that I put in happen during the spring season, offseason's when the most growth happens for me," she said. "So I feel like just my overall confidence on the court has gotten a lot better, which then your skills are going to bring up with it because the more confidence you have, you're not as tentative playing on the court.

"I probably average more kills this year than I did last year just from the offseason growth, and next year I hope to continue the same thing and just keep climbing the scale."

Apart from Maddy Guetter, no other Wabasso player has passed 1,000 kills in their career, with Morgan Frank being second all-time in kills with 950. Maddy Guetter's career kills mark may be safe for quite some time, but the 1,000-kills milestone is more than reachable for Kenley Guetter and it's a milestone the determined sophomore would like to reach and go beyond.

"For now my goal is definitely I want to get to 1,000 [kills] for sure, get past that," Kenley Guetter said. "It's always been something I've seen, I've always just had these goals and it's always something I've been compared to in my career, so it's definitely always been a goal to try to get up there. Not necessarily even having to pass it, but just getting close and being able to be comparable with [Maddy] and her numbers. My goal is always just to be able to be comparable with Maddy for sure."

That goal is a personal one for Kenley Guetter down the road, but she's also eyeing a return to the top of the Tomahawk Division and Tomahawk-Valley Conference for Wabasso. The last time the Rabbits won a conference title came in 2023 after winning the Tomahawk title five years in a row from 2013 to 2018.

"I think that the team this year is obviously very young and very new," Kenley Guetter said. "Lots of fresh faces on the court this year. So [if we] just continue to get used to playing at this higher level, I think next year we'll have a lot more success just with everybody being more comfortable and being more used to playing at the varsity level and hopefully have a winning season next year."

The Rabbits have one regular season game left on their schedule when they travel to Redwood Valley High School for a 12:30 p.m. nonconference match Thursday. The first round of the Section 3A playoffs will take place on Oct. 26.

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