In their first year at St. Vincent, junior twin sisters Brie and Kate Rubel have etched their names in school history as integral parts of the girls basketball and volleyball teams.
The Rubel twins did so by helping guide both programs make the coveted state final four, rightfully leading them to be recognized as some of the best players in the Show-Me State for each sport.
This winter, Brie and Kate starred on the St. Vincent basketball team alongside players like senior Allie Patrick and juniors Lana Adams and Rylee Robinson, plus more.
Together, these Indians had the best season in program history as St. Vincent made its first-ever trip to the final four — finishing as the Class 2 state runner-up — and ended with a single-season record 27 wins.
The Indians also brought home their second district championship in three years, first JCAA Small School Conference title in recent memory and were First State Community Bank Holiday Classic Champions for the first time.
Following this unforgettable season, Brie and Kate were each named to the Class 2 All-State Team by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association’s all-state selection committee, which features a panel of head coaches from around Missouri.
“Being named all-state shows off all the hard work and dedication we have put into the sport all throughout our lives to be as good as we can be,” Brie said. “It also shows off our team’s hard work because we couldn’t have gotten the honor without them.”
On what was a must-see Indians team where almost any player could be the leading scorer any given night, the Rubel twins led the offensive attack as they each averaged a team-high 13.8 points per game.
While scoring nearly half (44.3%) of St. Vincent’s points this winter, Brie and Kate also both finished in the top three for St. Vincent in assists, rebounds and shooting percentage.
Each of them even broke single-season records as Brie shattered the Indians previous assist record of 75 with 143 (4.6 per game), while Kate broke the rebound record by four as she hauled in 174 boards (5.6) this winter.
The twins did all of this after transferring to St. Vincent from Notre Dame last school year, where they made the Class 5 Final Four with one of their older sisters Tori when they were freshmen two seasons ago.
“With everyone’s support by bringing us in and everything, it really helped us feel more comfortable and helped us develop,” Brie said. “Going on different teams, it helps us transition easier, so that’ll help us in the future. [Our teammates] made us more comfortable and know that we have a place on this team.”
Outside of tying for first in points and having the most assists, the do-it-all point guard Brie Rubel led St. Vincent in steals (three per game), 3-pointers made (57), shooting percentage (47%) and 3-point percentage (39.3%). She was also third in rebounds with 4.1 per contest.
In addition to earning all-state, Brie was named the Class 2 District 3 Player of the Year, as Patrick and Adams also earned all-district and all-conference with Brie and Kate.
Patrick was named the JCAA Small School Conference Player of the Year for the second time in her career, while Robinson and seniors Haley Emmendorfer and Mallory Patrick also earned all-conference honors.
“I really wasn’t expecting to win the district player of the year award,” Brie said. “But it really meant a lot that the coaches and everyone were really able to see how hard I work on the court.”
Along with having the most rebounds and being tied for first in scoring, a crafty forward like Kate Rubel led the Indians in blocked shots (26), finished second in field-goal percentage (45.8%), third in assists with 81 (2.6 per game) and fourth in steals (2.1).
In the Class 2 Final Four, Kate Rubel proved to be one of the top players throughout the entire state regardless of class, averaging 23.5 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks per contest while shooting 61.2% from the field.
Scoring 47 points through two games at the highest level of basketball in Missouri is not only a testament to Kate’s work ethic and talent, but most importantly to the competitive mindset she possesses for her team to succeed.
“I think it’s just something you have to do at a point to win those games,” Kate said. “I have to get the ball inside and make a shot inside so my teammates can get open on the three. If I don’t make that layup, then they’re just going to keep hogging the shooters, so it’s a domino effect.”
While basketball is a significant part of their family’s lives, Brie and Kate have their own love and passion for the sport, which fuels them to put in countless hours of work throughout the year to be as good as they are.
For instance, whenever the Indians would be done with practice this season, the Rubel twins would stay in the gym and work on individual drills instead of going home for the night.
Brie and Kate also play AAU in the offseason for MOKAN Basketball in Kansas City, which means they are now traveling five hours every weekend just to practice with their team.
The two will also compete in multiple tournaments throughout the country during this spring and summer, while they still use the rest of their time during the week practicing on their own and working out.
“That’s just part of being good — you have to put in the extra hours,” Kate said. “Just because people don’t see it doesn’t mean anything, and I think it’s just a have to. We had a comment a few weeks ago about how people want to be us, but they don’t know what it’s like to put in the work. It’s just something you do.
“Making final fours in different sports and being named all-state in both is just something special because we put in almost as much work into volleyball as we do for basketball, which is also what people don’t see. They don’t see us at the SportsPlex training like we do for basketball — we do the same for volleyball. It’s cool to have both those recognitions in one year.”
Moving to volleyball back in the fall, the Rubel twins earned all-state honors for the first time this school year as members of the Class 2 third-place St. Vincent volleyball team.
The all-staters Brie and Kate helped the Indians make state for the first time in a decade with teammates like fellow all-district and all-conference selections Haley Emmendorfer and fellow senior Brigid Sauer.
Players in the Brie and Kate’s 2026 class such as Clara Clifton and Lauren Light earned all-district honors as well, while a hitter like Sauer will play collegiately at East Central College.
Along with making it to state, these Indians led St. Vincent to win a fourth consecutive district championship and take home the Dig For Life Silver Championship, finishing with the program’s most wins (23) since 2015.
Both sisters were equally impressive on the court as Brie started at two of the most important positions in volleyball (setter and libero) during the season, while Kate amassed 1,000 career kills as a versatile outside hitter.
Due to Emmendorfer battling back from an injury for the first half of the season, Brie filled in at setter for St. Vincent and finished the year with a team-high 279 assists.
When Emmendorfer returned just a few weeks prior to the district tournament, Brie moved to the back row to play at libero as she ended up recording the 11th-most digs in all of Class 2 with 477.
Brie also led the Indians in aces (34), while she produced the second-most service receptions (334) and fifth-most total blocks (19).
“It was definitely surprising when I found out I was going to play libero,” Brie said. “The day before I found out, I had a training session with one of the coaches I work with, and we worked on setting because I was a setter. The next day, I was told, ‘Oh, you’re getting changed to libero,’ so a week later I started working on that.
“It was definitely very surprising. While it’s not the same position, you have to have the same mentality by going for every ball. As a libero, anyone would say, ‘I’m going to get this serve. I’m going to get this pass — it’s my ball.’ As a setter, it’s the same mentality because you have to get the second ball no matter what.”
As for Kate, she was the only player for St. Vincent that recorded more than 200 kills with a team-high 366 to eclipse 1,000 kills for her career as she also led the Indians in service receptions (448).
Additionally, Kate paced Brie in both digs and aces with 233 and 33, respectively, while she was fourth in blocks at 30.
“Getting to 1,000 kills for my career obviously meant a lot, but at the same time it’s a team thing,” Kate said. “Being a hitter, I don’t get anything without a good pass and a good set — I really don’t, so it’s all thanks to my team.”
With the Rubel twins returning for their senior year, as well as several other key players for both teams, next school year, the Indians faithful have plenty to be excited about for 2025-26.
Even though next year will be their last time playing both sports at St. Vincent, Brie and Kate will continue their basketball careers in college as they each field multiple Division-I offers.
However, these twin sisters have learned to cherish high school sports while becoming two of the most revered athletes in not just Southeast Missouri, but the entire state.
“[Our senior year coming up] is surreal — it does feel surreal,” Brie said. “I feel like I’ve just seen [our older sister] Tori in high school, so I’ve always been in high school gyms. Next year is it, and I probably won’t go back to a high school gym for a while — just crazy.”
Kate added, “It’s just something I don’t think either of us or really our team — our junior friend group — has really thought about right now. It’s been like, ‘This year’s seniors are graduating,’ because we’re all going to miss this senior class. It’s just something none of us have really come to grasp yet.”
One perk of being at a new school in St. Vincent for the Rubel twins is that they are no longer following in their older sister Lexi and Tori’s footsteps like they were at Notre Dame.
Not that they didn’t enjoy doing that, but this new situation has allowed Brie and Kate to write their own legacy here in Perryville.
“We’re in a whole different town and no one really knows anything about us, so it’s definitely different,” Kate said. “I think it’s really cool especially since we are twins — it’s not like it’s one of us. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, there’s two of them!’
Even in the paper, some didn’t know which one is which, so it’s a cool thing to have.”
Brie went on to say, “At Notre Dame, we were just always following in our sister’s footsteps and that was expected of us. We always embraced it and knew we were making our own paths as well, but here we’re able to venture out a little more and really make a mark with this school. Hopefully we can do that in the seasons to come next year.”
