HILLSBORO, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team will go into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 16 Championship Tournament this weekend with a 23-9 record after finishing its regular season this past weekend with three straight wins at the Jefferson College Halloween Classic in Hillsboro.
The Grizzlies, ranked 10th in the current poll, defeated Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College 25-22, 25-16, 28-26 and Seward County Community College, Liberal, Kansas, 25-23, 17-25, 25-13, 25-19 Friday, Oct. 23, and Illinois Central College, East Peoria, 25-16, 25-19, 25-17 Saturday, Oct. 23.
Although the Grizzlies picked up the three wins, they did hit a bump in the road. Sophomore outside attacker Gabby Edmondson, a six-rotation player, went down with an ankle injury in the second set against Hutchinson and spent the rest of the weekend on the bench. Her status is day-to-day at this point, Wiedemann said.
“Hutch played a good first set, then we handled them pretty well in the second, but they played about the best we’ve seen them play this season in the third. We eventually won it 28-26, and it was a big win, especially after losing Gabby,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said.
To fill Edmondson’s void, Wiedemann brought in sophmore outside/right side attacker Breanna Taylor for the front row and freshman defensive specialist Abigail Bergman for the back. “Breanna stepped in and did a great job offensively for us, and Abby did some good things in defense and coverage,” the coach added. “Breanna was energetic, she moved well and she really helped us get through the rest of the weekend. All year, Breanna has come in where we needed and contributed. I can’t tell you how proud I am of her. And Abby did a good job covering the floor on the back row. She made some digs, but she also did some little things that really contributed to us getting things done the way we did.”
Against Seward, the Grizzlies won a very close first set before dropping the second to a team that played virtually error free. “They played phenomenal. They didn’t let the ball hit the ground, and they didn’t make any mistakes. We rebounded well as a team after that second set loss,” Wiedemann said of Seward.
More effective serving from the Grizzlies, however, forced Seward out of its offense and into more errors in the third and fourth sets, giving the Grizzlies the game. “The way we worked through this game was excellent. We felt the pressure, but we didn’t let it overwhelm us,” Wiedemann said.
Against Illinois, the coach said the Grizzlies played well across the board against a “well-coached” team that has a history of success. Sophomore middle attacker Zori Curry suffered a minor knee injury against Illinois, but she should be ready to practice this week, Wiedemann said.
“Everyone stepped up this weekend,” Wiedemann said. “Sophomore outside attacker Pulotu Manoa was huge offensively for us. Freshman libero Autumn Reese covered the floor and set the tone defensively. Freshman setter Blanca Izquierdo was very effective serving, and that makes all sorts of good things happen. The things we worked on in practice last week made a big difference during the weekend, especially when Gabby went down. Practice intensity directly correlates to confidence on the court.”
The Grizzlies’ statistical leaders for the weekend included Manoa, who had 40 kills, five service aces and 47 points earned; sophomore setter Susannah Kelley, who had 100 assists, 41 digs, and an attacking percentage of .533; Curry and sophomore middle attacker Ashley Bishton, who each had 8.5 blocks; and Reese, who had 41 digs.
The Grizzlies, seeded first in the Region 16 Championship Tournament, will now prepare to play the winner of Friday’s Region 16 semifinal match between second seed Jefferson College and third seed Mineral Area College. The championship will take place at noon Saturday, Oct. 31, in Park Hills.
The Region 16 winner will advance to the NJCAA District N Championship hosted by Monroe College in New Rochelle, New York, on Nov. 7 where they will play the winner of the Region 15 and 20 playoff, which will occur earlier that day.
“The girls have done what they needed to do to get to this point, and they continue to try to put themselves in the right position going into each game we play,” Wiedemann said.
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit its website.