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Gabriella McLaughlin’s favorite professional athlete is Simone Biles. It’s not because she’s an ultra-talented gymnast with 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals.

Instead, she admires how a celebrity of Biles’ stature uses her platform. She doesn’t use it to glorify her illustrious career, but to emphasize the importance of mental health for women in sports.

She’s discussed it at length on podcasts and in interviews. As a child, Biles was abused and saw addiction in her family.

McLaughlin has used Biles’ messages as inspiration through her own setbacks. When she was 6 years old, her mother Rennette McLaughlin died. When she was a senior in high school, she lost her father George McLaughlin.

But the senior has battled through those challenges to emerge as a star outside hitter for Syracuse volleyball. In her first year at SU, the Nevada transfer’s racked up a team-high 166 kills and 185 points, marks that also rank seventh in Atlantic Coast Conference.

“Gabby is just a warrior,” Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said. “She went through a lot in life, which really shaped her character, but also shaped the way she competes.”

When McLaughlin is on the volleyball court, spending time with her teammates or watching TV, she always has a smile on her face. That’s her way of alleviating pain.

“I play a lot better when I’m loose and having fun. So I try to smile as much as possible and make it as fun as possible for me and the people around me,” McLaughlin said.

Zoey Grimes | Design Editor

SU’s captain wasn’t always smiling when she played sports in her childhood. With her athleticism and familial pedigree, she seemed destined to succeed in basketball. Her grandfather, also named George McLaughlin, and her aunt, Kathleen McLaughlin Howard, were prolific college basketball players. Both are honored in the Hall of Fame at their respective universities.

But McLaughlin hated the sport. She opted to try swimming but realized it wasn’t for her.

One day when McLaughlin was 10, her father was on the phone with another of her three paternal aunts, who suggested volleyball as another option.

McLaughlin was hooked instantly. She would make regular trips to a local recreation center to play volleyball. Within a year, she had advanced ahead of her competition. McLaughlin played for Viper Volleyball, a club team in her hometown of Temecula, California.

“You recognize the kids that are different when they come in from an early age,” Viper coach and family friend Neemias Costa said. “Gabby was, for sure, one of those. She was definitely the girl that stood out on every team she participated on.”

The outside hitter switched to WAVE Volleyball Club in San Diego in 2019 where her 17s squad placed second at the 2021 USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship.

McLaughlin started on Temecula Valley’s junior varsity team, but she was called up to varsity midway through her freshman year, and she remained there for the rest of her high school career. As a freshman, she played a major role in the Golden Bears’ 2018 California Interscholastic Federation Division I championship.

McLaughlin committed to Nevada because it was the only D-I program that offered her a full scholarship, which George insisted was paramount, her aunt, Colleen McLaughlin
said. The Wolf Pack’s coaches stood out by attending her club tournaments.

But everything changed right before McLaughlin’s senior year. Her father died on Sept. 3, 2021 from COVID-19. Volleyball became her escape.

“I really leaned on volleyball during that time. It’s something that made me happy,” McLaughlin said. “And I knew my dad always liked watching me play volleyball. I felt close to him whenever I played.”

After his death, McLaughlin began prioritizing her mental health. She turned to Biles for inspiration.

“She really helped me realize that it’s okay to take a break from sports to really focus on your mental health,” McLaughlin said. “You’re not defined by how you perform in your sport, and I think she helped me put that into perspective.”

Even through her most difficult times, McLaughlin never stopped doing what she loved most. She returned to Temecula Valley to finish the season.

“She’s just an amazing spirit. Some people would use that as a crutch,” Colleen said. “I don’t even think the people at Reno even know that to this day.”

Her spirit was evident at Nevada. McLaughlin starred as a freshman with the Wolf Pack, ranking second on the team with 347 kills. In her sophomore year in 2023, that total dipped to 209 after she missed eight consecutive games.

Because of Nevada’s poor season, she entered the transfer portal. Her junior year breakout — which included a career-high 18.8% attacking clip and 443 kills — put her on Ganesharatnam and Co.‘s radar in the portal.

“(SU) really showed that they wanted me and I could make a name for myself here, which I really liked,” McLaughlin said. “The other schools that I talked to kind of talked a little bit about that, but I don’t think they did as well of a job as Syracuse did.”

Her connection with SU associate head coach Akiko Hatakeyama, who she played for with the Wolf Pack, helped influence her decision. McLaughlin also learned that her former WAVE and Nevada teammate, Tehya Maeva, committed to SU. But this was an unanticipated perk.

“When I found out Gabby was going into the transfer portal, I was super excited for her,” Maeva said. “I didn’t know what her journey was going to be, but it ended up being Syracuse. So I’m glad that we’re back together.”

When it came time for SU’s first match versus Niagara, the senior was one kill away from 1,000 in her career. It happened on the Orange’s eighth point of the night. Yet again, Maeva and McLaughlin linked up. Maeva lofted a set to the left side, and a flying McLaughlin launched the ball into the opposite corner.

Nobody reacted, though. In fact, McLaughlin didn’t even know she’d reached the mark until she was informed before her postgame press conference.

“Did you even know you were close?” Marie Laurio asked.

“No,” McLaughlin responded, laughing. “I thought I was 30 away.”

Gabriella McLaughlin smashes the ball over the net in Syracuse’s win over Siena. McLaughlin leads SU with 166 kills and 185 points in 2025 after transferring over from Nevada. Jonathan Theodore | Contributing Photographer

Through 12 games, her kills-per-set mark of 3.77 ranks seventh in the ACC and top 100 in the country as she’s developed into SU’s top player. She’s also never been subbed out this season and has remained durable late into games.

“She had 61 attempts,” Ganesharatnam said, glancing at the stat sheet after the Orange bested the Broncs. “We’re not going to survive the season with that. Neither is her shoulder.”

Ganesharatnam has no plans to change McLaughlin’s playing time, but he’s certainly asked less of her since then. Her outing against Rider marked the most attempts she’s totaled all year, and also the most by any ACC player in a game this campaign.

“Even if I do get tired, my love for volleyball carries me through,” McLaughlin said. “So I let that help me push past the tiredness.”

She uses volleyball as an outlet to escape her personal hardships. Even when she feels fatigued, she leans on the sport, thanks to Biles.

McLaughlin hopes to meet her, though she’s not sure if she could tell Biles how much of an influence she’s had on her life.

“I don’t know if any words would come out. I’d probably be too smiley, freaking out,” McLaughlin said. “But I’d just say that I love what she’s done so far and how she’s helped young women in
sports.”

Published on September 30, 2025 at 10:23 pm
jaglick@syr.edu | @jason_glick