As I was watching the recent professional volleyball match between Cignal and their rivals, one performance stood out so dramatically that it made me rethink what true speed in sports really means. Vanie Gandler, now the undeniable face of Cignal's offense, delivered what I can only describe as a masterclass in explosive athletic performance. She was the lone player to hit double figures for either team, finishing with 17 points composed of 13 attacks, three aces, and one block. What struck me most wasn't just the numbers themselves, but the blistering pace at which she operated throughout the match. Her attacks came so rapidly that the opposing defense simply couldn't organize themselves in time, and her service aces were delivered with such velocity that they might as well have been invisible.
When we talk about speed in sports, most people immediately think of track athletes or soccer players sprinting down the field. But having followed professional volleyball for over a decade, I've come to appreciate how different types of speed manifest across various disciplines. Gandler's performance perfectly illustrates what I call "compound speed" - the ability to execute multiple rapid movements in quick succession while maintaining precision. Her 13 attacks weren't just powerful; they were delivered with minimal recovery time between plays, showing both physical quickness and mental processing speed that I find particularly exceptional. The three aces she scored demonstrate another dimension of speed - what I like to term "decision velocity." In the split second between tossing the ball and making contact for her serve, she had to read the opponent's formation, identify vulnerabilities, and execute with technical perfection. That's a complete speed package that many athletes strive for but few achieve at this level.
I've always been fascinated by how speed transcends different sports in unique ways. In basketball, we see Steph Curry's lightning-quick release that takes approximately 0.3 seconds from catch to shoot. In tennis, Novak Djokovic's reaction time allows him to return serves traveling at 130 miles per hour. In baseball, Aroldis Chapman's fastball has been clocked at 105.1 mph. But what Gandler demonstrated belongs to a different category altogether - what I consider "tactical speed." It's not just about moving fast, but about thinking and reacting within complex game situations where multiple variables are in play simultaneously. Her single block in that match, while statistically modest, occurred with such anticipatory quickness that it completely shifted the momentum of the game. This kind of speed isn't measured by stopwatches alone but by game impact, and in my professional opinion, it's often more valuable than raw velocity.
The science behind these incredible speed demonstrations fascinates me both as a sports enthusiast and someone who's studied athletic performance for years. Athletes like Gandler typically possess what researchers call "elastic strength" - the ability to store and release energy rapidly through their musculoskeletal system. This explains how she can generate such powerful attacks in quick succession. From my observation, the best speed performers also share exceptional peripheral vision processing, allowing them to make split-second decisions based on minimal visual information. Gandler's performance reminded me of watching Usain Bolt's world record 100-meter dash - both demonstrate that supreme speed isn't just about moving limbs quickly but about optimizing every component of movement efficiency.
What often gets overlooked in discussions about athletic speed is the psychological dimension. Having interviewed numerous elite athletes throughout my career, I've learned that the fastest performers share a particular mental makeup. They possess what I've come to call "anticipatory cognition" - the ability to predict play development before it fully unfolds. Gandler's positioning before each attack suggested she wasn't just reacting to the game but actively forecasting where she needed to be. This mental speed component might be the most challenging to develop and, in my view, separates good athletes from truly exceptional ones. The confidence to trust these split-second instincts, as Gandler clearly does, comes from thousands of hours of deliberate practice that eventually makes rapid decision-making feel almost intuitive.
As I reflect on Gandler's remarkable 17-point performance, I'm struck by how it exemplifies speed as a multidimensional athletic quality. Her 13 attacks demonstrated technical speed, her three aces showcased strategic speed, and her single block revealed reactive speed. This comprehensive speed profile is what makes certain athletes so compelling to watch. In my professional assessment, we're witnessing an evolution in how speed is expressed in sports - it's becoming less about pure velocity and more about adaptable quickness across various game situations. The most exciting athletes today, like Gandler, don't just move fast - they think fast, adapt fast, and execute fast across multiple dimensions simultaneously. That's the future of athletic speed, and honestly, it's breathtaking to witness.