Greg Calimpong doesn’t actually like what he’s become. Widely
hailed by coaches and former players as the best setter in the
history of Gilroy High volleyball, Calimpong, in fact, hates his
job.
”
I actually don’t like setting,
”
the senior says with a smile.
”
I’d rather be a hitter because it looks like more fun.
”
GILROY – Greg Calimpong doesn’t actually like what he’s become. Widely hailed by coaches and former players as the best setter in the history of Gilroy High volleyball, Calimpong, in fact, hates his job.
“I actually don’t like setting,” the senior says with a smile. “I’d rather be a hitter because it looks like more fun.”
Seeing your name next to the statistic known as an “assist,” which leads to the statistic commonly referred to as a “kill,” obviously has a lot to do with it. The reason Calimpong isn’t smashing down passes from above the net, though, is because you can only do so much with a 5-foot-5 frame in a game predominantly played through the air.
“I always wonder if I was this tall,” Calimpong says, motioning above his head, “I wonder how good I would be.”
With a growth spurt unlikely to occur in the next few months, he’ll have to settle for being the best setter to ever put on a Mustangs uniform. After running cross country his first two years of high school, Calimpong started focusing on volleyball exclusively. During offseasons he would practice with former GHS players in addition to playing for a club team that went on to make some noise in the Junior Olympics tournament held last summer.
Helping Gilroy get off to its first-ever 8-0 start earlier this season, Calimpong has come close to dishing out 50 assists in two contests this season. He generally eclipses 30 no matter if a match lasts a minimum of three sets or goes as long as five.
First-year coach Scott Martin, a 2003 GHS graduate, says he had never heard of anyone topping 40 assists after Calimpong handed out 49 in a five-set victory at Monterey last month. It’s not just the numbers that are staggering, though. It’s the kind of passes Calimpong makes that set him apart from his predecessors.
“He’s just a phenomenal setter in terms of going against the grain,” Martin says. “Where all the court is going to one side because that’s where the pass goes – or that’s where they think it’s going to go because that’s where
our big hitter is – and he’ll shoot it to the other side and no one will ever see it coming.”
“He’s easily the best setter Gilroy has ever had,” says GHS co-head coach Josh Corioso, “and that’s coming from the second-best setter in school history.”
Aside from a reliable pair of hands that float the ball to the perfect spot for a slam, Calimpong is also the emotional leader of a team that features eight seniors, many of whom have played on club teams together.
“His actions, his words, his emotions set the tone,” says senior Thomas Costa. “Whenever he’s doing good, the team is doing good. He’s the one that brings everybody together.”
The Mustangs, at 12-3 overall and sitting in second place in the Tri-County Athletic League entering Thursday’s game at Salinas, are having remarkable success with two new coaches mainly because players have bought into the system, while already possessing team chemistry that doesn’t come around in a matter of months.
“We’re all really close friends and we’ve all been playing together for a long time, so it’s nice to go out and win,” says Calimpong, who will likely attend San Jose State next year. “This is definitely the best team I’ve ever played on.”
Whether or not this team becomes the best in school history is yet to be seen. But it never hurts to have your best player also be required to be the most unselfish.
