TYLER, Texas – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team opened its season this past weekend with four straight wins in the Dana Hatch Invitational Tournament at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas.
Friday, the Grizzlies, ranked sixth in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Division I preseason poll, defeated Panola College, Carthage, Texas, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20 and two-time defending national champion Blinn College, Brenham, Texas, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-23. Saturday, they downed Trinity Valley Community College, Athens, Texas, 25-21, 26-24, 25-14 and Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas, 25-11, 25-18, 25-21.
“The girls were really ready to play,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “They came into the tournament with the right mentality – maintaining, making adjustments when needed, and communicating – and that made all the difference in the world.”
Wiedemann called Friday’s Panola match “the perfect first match” of the season for her team. “Panola is loud, in your face, athletic, everything you have to try to figure out when playing a team. Each set we got a bit better. We gave them no room to go on a run, and that was huge,” she explained.
Against Blinn, the Grizzlies failed to jump on the Buccaneers early, and it cost them the first set and a 17-11 hole in the second. After taking a time out, the Grizzlies came back on the floor, gained momentum and carried it to the finish. “It was great to see our players respond to each other in order to create momentum and not let it go,” the coach said.
“Friday was a big day for us, but Saturday was even bigger. Starting 2-0 was great, but ending the weekend 3-1 or 2-2 would make Friday’s wins seem long ago. We couldn’t back down,” Wiedemann said. “We weren’t really efficient at the beginning of the day, but we became more efficient as the day progressed.”
After a strong first set against Trinity Valley, the Grizzlies found themselves fighting to pull out the second set. “After we won that second set, we took off and played pretty well the rest of the day,” the coach said.
Statistics show a strong offensive performance by the Grizzlies throughout the weekend. “We only had one player in one game hit negative all weekend. That’s it. Everybody played on the positive side,” Wiedemann said.
Leading the way were sophomore outside hitters Pulotu Manoa and Gabby Edmondson, both of whom hit .389 for the weekend. Manoa recorded 57 kills while Edmondson had 34. “Lotu owned the gym Friday,” Wiedemann said, “and Gabby plays six rotations like she owns the floor.”
Their, and the other hitters’, effectiveness was made possible by strong play by sophomore setter Susannah Kelley, who recorded 140 assists for the tournament. “Sus ran a great offense. She managed the hitters very well. The more our hitters become comfortable with what she’s trying to do with the offense, the better we will become,” the coach said.
Freshman defensive specialist Autumn Reese led the team in digs with 68, sophomore right side attacker Guro Froberg led the team in service aces with 11, and sophomore middle attacker Ashley Bishton led the team in blocks with nine, including two solo blocks. Manoa led the team in points earned with 58.5.
The Grizzlies will open their home season Sept. 1 with a 6 p.m. match against Indian Hills Community College, Ottumwa, Iowa, at the West Plains Civic Center. The Warriors are ranked 12th in the NJCAA preseason poll. Prior to the match, the Grizzly Booster Club will host its annual fall picnic in the civic center exhibit hall. Everyone is invited to the free barbecue meal. Admission to the match also will be free that evening.
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit its website at http://wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/vb/.