CASPER, Wyo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team is still in the hunt for its first national title after defeating Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City, Utah, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 25-21 in first round action today at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Women’s National Volleyball Championship Tournament in Casper, Wyoming.
The Grizzlies (26-12), seeded 11th in the three-day event, will face third seeded College of Southern Idaho (33-2), Twin Falls, at 6:30 p.m. local time today in the quarterfinals. The Golden Eagles advanced by defeating No. 14 seed New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, 25-15, 25-21, 25-7 in a first round match that took place on a court adjacent to the Grizzlies’ match. All of the tournament matches can be viewed via streaming live video at www.njcaatv.org.
Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann couldn’t be more pleased with the effort her team put forth against the Bruins. “Our players were phenomenal,” she said of her players. “They executed our game plan very well. They played great defense, and that helped create our offense. I can’t say enough about their effort today.
The Grizzlies and the Salt Lake Bruins fought a tight contest through the first two sets, with neither team gaining more than a 4-point advantage. In the third, however, the Grizzlies jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead and continued to build that advantage throughout the set with great team play. The Bruins righted their ship in the fourth set, keeping pace with the Grizzlies until freshman middle attacker Penny Liu put the set away by scoring 4 of the Grizzlies’ final 5 points to give the team the win.
“In the first set, once we started getting our blocks set, our defense could dig around their hits, and they started making errors,” Wiedemann said. “We started getting a little momentum at the end of the second set, and it really helped us take off in the third. Our serving, passing and defense made the difference for us throughout the match. They started forcing things, and we were able to pull away. We only had three hitting errors in the third set and 19 kills – eight more than they had.”
Liu led the Grizzlies offensively with 31 kills on 46 attempts with three errors for an attacking percentage of .609. Freshman outside attacker Pulotu Manoa followed with 17 kills, and freshman outside hitter Gabby Edmondson added 11. Freshman setter Susannah Kelley led the team in assists with 53, and sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist Kaili Simmons recorded the team’s only service ace.
“Penny just got them so frustrated,” Wiedemann said. “We set her in transition, and that led to several open spaces for her to attack. Pulotu really helped us get separation in the first set, which was huge. When she started getting kills in that first set, it made such a difference for us.”
Defensively, Liu, Manoa and redshirt freshman right side/middle attacker Ashley Bishton each had two blocks, and Simmons led the team in digs with 25, followed closely by sophomore libero Alyssa Aldag with 21. Liu earned the most points with 35.
One notable statistic from the match really impressed Wiedemann. “Both teams only missed one serve the entire match! We have been working on it, and it made a difference. When teams come out and play like that, it’s fantastic,” she said.
The Grizzlies will have to turn in another great performance against CSI, Wiedemann said. “Defensively, we want to continue what we’re doing and try to be efficient on offense. We’re playing with a lot of confidence right now, and that’s how we need to be playing. Our players need to continue to give each other confidence on the court.”
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit the team’s website at http://wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/vb/. For more information about the national tournament, visit http://njcaacasper.net/.