The Chamblee Lady Bulldogs volleyball team celebrates with teammate Natalie Tsai (third from right) on her eclipsing 2,000 career assists and 500 service aces. (Courtesy Photo)
Chamblee senior volleyball player Natalie Tsai just eclipsed 2,000 career assists earlier this season as the Lady Bulldogs have streaked out to a 12-0 mark.
The senior setter has led the county two of the past three seasons in assists compiling 1,844 while twice going over 600 assists including 632 in 2022 and 620 in 2023. She currently sits with 237 assists in her senior season.
Chamblee has a total of 309 kills on the season with Tsai having 24 of her own. Ten other players have combined for 285 kills thanks in part to her skills at setting the ball for her teammates.
Tsai has been in the Top 20 of the county stat categories of aces, kills, assists, blocks and digs 11 times during her first three season. Including first in assists (2021, 2023) and aces (2021-2023) while finishing second in digs (2021) and assists (2022) and Top 10 in three other categories.
In her 124 matches played, heading into Tuesday’s match against Southwest DeKalb, she has 520 aces, 250 kills, 59 blocks, 653 digs and the 2081 assists.
Chamblee’s Natalie Tsai makes a play at the net during the 2023 DCSD Spikefest. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Comparing her to 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year Paige McKnight of Dunwoody, she has eclipsed McKnight’s 1,419 assists and 381 aces. She trails by just under 200 in total digs and could possibly surpass McKnight’s total of 848.
Coach Lorri Reynolds Chamblee squad has gone 79-55 overall with Tsai on the court including the 12-0 mark this season. Chamblee has reached the state playoffs in the three previous seasons as well. Tsai and the team are 3-3 in the state playoffs while holding three Sweet 16 appearances along the way.
See link below to Tsai’s career totals: