Katie Kabbes knows a little bit about Cardinal Gibbons High volleyball, all the way back to when, at age 10, she first met coach Jim Freeman at a Crusaders Sports Camp.

“He used to hate me, actually,” Kabbes said. “I was the most annoying camper.”

Freeman described her as “rambunctious … and quite the fun-loving, good-hearted distraction.” Then, there was her height and apparent athleticism.

Kabbes is now 16, a 6-foot-5-inch junior and three-year starting outside hitter for Cardinal Gibbons, which defended its NCHSAA 2-A title on Saturday with a 23-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-21 win over previously undefeated West Henderson High, the 2005 runner-up.

Kabbes, who totaled 17 kills en route to becoming the championship’s Most Valuable Player, did not have a lot to say afterward.

These days, her numbers say a whole lot — and more.

Kabbes became the first Crusader to accumulate 1,000 career kills (1,022 after three seasons) in the Crusaders’ Oct. 31 semifinals sweep of Kill Devil Hills First Flight. Her single-season total of 416 passed Katie Fleming’s previous program best of 412, which Fleming set in 2001.

The “rambunctious” camper, Freeman said, is among the student-athletes who “have become the face of our program.

“She has become one of the finest all around players to ever play volleyball in this state,” he said. “She is emblematic of the progress that has occurred in our program over the years.”

Kabbes witnessed that progress up close — in her own home. Her two older sisters, Lindsey (Class of 2002) and Kelly (Class of 2003), helped the Crusaders to three N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 3-A state championships (2000-2002).

Middle blocker Lindsey, who graduated from Peace College last year, was vital to the injury-riddled 2000 team. Kelly, also a middle blocker, set the program’s single-match kills mark (30) in the 2002 state semifinals and had her No. 24 jersey retired before going on to play at George Washington University, where she now is a senior.

Each Kabbes sister ended every high school varsity season in the state final.

“My sisters have been huge reasons for why I have accomplished so much,” Katie said. “They set a model for me.

“I didn’t even know about some of these records until (Freeman) told me afterward.”

When Katie text messaged Kelly — third (411) and fourth (726) on Cardinal Gibbons’ single-season and career kills lists — to tell her about her 1,000th kill, Kelly hastened to respond.

“She was like, ‘Well, I only played varsity two years, and I was a middle,’” Katie recalled. “I was keeping her in her place,” Kelly said. “She’s still a great player, but I just wanted to keep her in check.

“She used to be so goofy, and she still is.”

When occasions allow, the sisters still enjoy passing the volleyball around in the driveway.

“You would probably think we didn’t know what we were doing,” said Lindsey said of the pickup play before turning serious.

“If we were all to get on the court, I would definitely say that Katie probably could dominate the both of us.

“All of us have had passion for the sport, but Katie, definitely, is the most talented.”

Katie, at the urging of her sisters, stopped playing basketball when she entered high school.

Katie, always a dominant hitter, also led the Crusaders in digs and serve-receive average this fall. West Henderson coach Jan Stanley praised Katie’s front-line defensive impact in the championship match.

“We hit the ball pretty hard at her and she was blocking it,” Stanley said. “That makes a big difference when you have your big hitters getting blocked like that.”

Crusader partisans must look out for having their views of the youngest Kabbes blocked by stargazing college coaches — including UCLA’s Andy Banachowski and Stanford associate head coach Denise Corlett. The pair watched Katie rip five consecutive jump serves in the prestigious 2005 Archbishop Mitty Invitational in San Jose, Calif.

A beaming Freeman could not stop smiling through those moments.

“I remember when we were awful,” he said. “To see this evolution take place where now I’ve got a player that Stanford and UCLA are sitting there watching, and we’re playing in California. It just kind of all came together at once.”

Last summer, Katie, arguably the state’s top player in the Class of 2008, was among 18 high school players nationwide vying for the 12 spots on the U.S. Junior National Team that would compete in the North American, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Federation Continental Championships.

“To know that I contributed to making them better the 12 days I was there is a good accomplishment for me,” Katie said. “It’s an honor, but I have a lot bigger goals — to be top in the nation.”

In what is shaping up as one of the most competitive recruiting battles ever for a North Carolina player, Katie’s choices are narrowed down to Florida, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Southern California, Tennessee and Texas.

“She’s got her act together a lot more than I did when I was 16 or 17. That’s for sure,” Freeman said. “Ten years from now, I’ll still be thinking about Katie Kabbes.”