She helped Woodinville High School to back-to-back Class 4A state volleyball tournament appearances as a sophomore and junior and one trip to the state basketball tournament before dropping the sport as a sophomore. The three-time All-KingCo volleyball pick was the state's top volleyball recruit by her senior year.
Collegiate career
Gabriel, along with All-American Makare Desilets, formed one of the nation's best blocking tandems, leading the Huskies to the top of the NCAA blocking rankings in 1997. A Pac-10 first-team selection as a junior, Gabriel ranks in the UW career top-10 in five categories, including total blocks and block assists. She also ranked in the top-25 nationally in blocks per game in each of her four seasons at Washington. After completing her eligibility in 1998, Gabriel trained with the United States women's national volleyball team program and was selected to participate at the 1999 Universiade in Spain. She returned to Washington to complete her degree and graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Psychology degree and a minor in speech communications. From August 2000 until May 2001, Gabriel played professional volleyball in Murcia, Spain.
Coaching career
Since 2001: Washington
Gabriel has served as the associate head coach alongside McLaughlin since 2001 and has played a key role in developing Washington's setters, which have ranked among the nation's elite during Gabriel and McLaughlin's tenure. In 2006, Gabriel helped guide senior setter Courtney Thompson to one of the best individual seasons in Husky history. Thompson was named First Team All-America by both the American Volleyball Coaches Association and Volleyball Magazine. In addition, she was named the CVU.com National Setter of the Year, and was a finalist for the Honda Award after winning the award in 2005. In 2008, Jenna Hagglund led the Pac-10 and ranked second in the nation in assists per set with 12.17, and finished her career as a two-time AVCA All-American, and was 10th in Pac-10 history in career assists. Gabriel also aided in the development of Tamari Miyashiro into the top libero in the nation. Miyashiro was twice named the Volleyball Magazine National Defender of the Year in 2007 and 2008, and was a three-time AVCA All-American from 2007-09. She set the school digs record with 2,382 which ranks her ninth in NCAA history. Prior to the 2006 season, Gabriel worked with the team's middle blockers.
