All in.

Those two words accurately describe recent Notre Dame High School graduate Gabby Deery.

Everything Deery did, from the classroom to the stage to the athletic court, Deery either gave 100 percent or she didn’t do anything at all.

Deery has an effervescent smile and a bubbly personality, the type that makes friends easily and attracts others to her. She goes out of her way to help others, as seen in the numerous camps and clinics she participated in the last four years.

But put Deery on a volleyball or basketball court and watch the switch flip.

Deery was as fierce of a competitor as there is. She wants to win and she will do anything and everything she can to help her team succeed.

Really?

Consider this. She was the Class 1A Player of the Year in volleyball as a sophomore, helping Notre Dame win a state championship in their first trip to state.

When teammate Katy Stephens went down with a season-ending knee injury the following year, head volleyball coach Mike Davis asked Deery to slide over from her usual middle hitter position and play outside hitter.

All Deery did was lead the Nikes to another state championship and earn Class 1A Player of the Year honors again.

Deery was the consummate team player and competitor. But as good an athlete as she is, Deery is an even better person.

“I always put a lot of pressure on myself to give 110 percent in everything I do,” said Deery, The Hawk Eye’s Female Athlete of the Year. “When I step on the volleyball court, I am going to give everything I have to help my team win.”

“Gabby was a sophomore when I first got my hands on her as a coach. She was playing some club ball was was a little reluctant to change at first,” fourth-year Notre Dame volleyball coach Mike Davis said. “I was very fortunate to have a chance to coach her. Anything I asked her to do, even switching positions, she would do it without asking any questions. I really appreciate her switching positions to help us. It took her some extra time and extra reps for her to get comfortable on the outside. But when she caught on, boy was she good.”

Well-rounded athlete and ...

Deery got an early start in sports.

“I started playing basketball when I was super little and I loved it,” Deery said, “I would go to basketball with my sister, Evie, and I just fell lin love with sports. But I can’t imagine my life without volleyball.”

“We used her a lot and expected a lot out of her,” Davis said. “We did our best to move her around on the court and give her the best opportunities to help us. She hit a high percentage of our swings over the last three years.”

Corey Stephens took over as Notre Dame head girls basketball coach in November of 2021 after head coach Jim Myers died of cancer.

“When she is on the court she plays as hard as she can all the time,” Stephens said. “There were times you could tell she was very tired, but she never wanted to come out.. She is someone we really relied on, That’s something that rubs off on the other players, just that great work ethic she has.”

Deery’s game evolved in her four years on the basketball court. She helped the Nikes qualify for state her junior year. For her career, Deery scored 870 points, grabbed 667 rebounds, dished out 119 assists, pilfered 165 steals and blocked 129 shots. She added an outside shot and a turnaround jumper to her arsenal her senior year.

“I really don’t know where that shot came from,” Stephens said of Deery’s turnaround jumper, which became her go-to shot. “She never worked on it in practice. It just came naturally to her.That’s just the kind of athlete she is.”

Deery was even better on the volleyball court, where she played in the offseason for the Iowa Rockets, a club team based in Iowa City. Playing on a national level against elite players from coast to coast forced Deery to raise her game to new heights.

“Playing teams from all over the country really makes you bring up your game,” Deery said. “(Iowa Rockets coach) David Rodgers, I owe so much to him. I gained so much knowledege of the game from him. The coaches there gave me so much knowledge and how to apply it to your game.”

Deery earned all-conference and all-district honors three times and was an all-state selection three times. For her career, Deery had 1,516 kills, 292 blocks, 850 digs, 150 service aces and 20 assists.

Deery even dabbled in track in middle school, competing in the Drake Relays in the 4x100 as an eighth grader.

... a well-rounded person

As good as Deery was on the court, she is even better off it.

Deery was at her best around younger kids, making them feel comfortable and letting them see another side of her than many didn’t get the privilege to see.

“She’s a pretty special athlete, but her best attribute is she is just an all-around good kid,” Davis said. “Any time there were youngsters around, she was always quick to go over to them and make them feel special.”

“Gabby is just an overall great person,” Stephens said. “She would do anything to help her teammates. It’s great to see kids just being kids. Gabby is just a great person.”

Deery credits her family — parents Brad and Jeanne Deery and sisters Dominique, Bridget, Grace, and Evie — for helping her become the person she is today.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without my family,” Deery said. “My Mom and Dad took me all over the country to practices and tournaments and they helped me through the recruiting process. My parents came to every single game when I was in high school. Their support is very big, indescribable.”

Deery carried a cumulative 4.7 grade-point average at Notre Dame, earning Valedictorian honors. She was student council president and a member of the National Honor Society. She also sang in the choir for four years and put in countless hours of volunteer work with numerous communbity organizations.

Ascending to the top — twice

The highlight of Deery’s high school career was winning back-to-back Class 1A state volleyball championships in 2020 and 2021.

Deery was named captain of the all-tournament team as a junior.

Notre Dame was a combined 116-46 in Deery’s four years.

“None of us really knew how good we were until we won,” Deery said. “Then it was like, ‘Oh my goodness. We just did this.’

“There was a lot of pressure the second year. We worked so hard to get to that point. We came in with a goal to win it again and it ended up working out.”

Deery drew plenty of attention from college coaches. But from a young age, she had her heart set on being a Hawkeye. She fulfilled that dream and now is gearing up for her first season at Iowa.

There is no place else she would rather be.

“She is just a great get for us. She’s not only an Iowa girl, but she had a great high school career and she is such a quality person on and off the court,” first-year Iowa volleyball coach Jim Barnes said. “She has everything we are looking for in a great player. We are looking forward to her helping us get Iowa to the national level in volleyball.”

“I’m excited to work with (Barnes and the rest of the coaching staff,” said Deery, a pre-dentistry major.

“They have some big, big goals for Iowa volleyball. I’m so excited to be a part of it.”