SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team almost pulled one of the biggest upsets of the year Saturday when they came close to defeating the defending national champion and No. 1 junior college team in the nation.
The Grizzlies, 6-2, were up two sets on College of Southern Idaho (CSI), Twin Falls, in their final game of the Crystal “Inn”vitational Tournament hosted by Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, Utah, before the Golden Eagles battled back to take the last three sets and the win. The final score was 25-14, 26-24, 19-25, 22-25, 11-15.
“That one was a hard one to take,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “The loss was very, very hard on our sophomores. We feel like it was an opportunity lost. We set a lot of goals for ourselves during the course of this season, and defeating CSI was one of them. It’s hard because it feels like we weren’t able to accomplish one of those goals.”
The loss was the only blemish on what was otherwise a stellar outing for the Grizzlies, currently ranked 15th. They opened the tournament with a 28-30, 26-24, 25-17, 25-20 win over No. 2 Western Nebraska Community College (WNCC), Scottsbluff, and a 25-21, 25-15, 25-20 victory over No. 5 Northwest College, Powell, Wyoming, on Friday. Saturday, they defeated Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) opponent North Idaho College, Coeur d’Alene, 25-18, 25-16, 26-24, before turning right back around to face CSI.
“We won two big games Friday against WNCC and Northwest, and it was as much about how we went about doing it,” Wiedemann said. “They are explosive teams, and you have to be ready to fight through each set, and we were more than ready.
“The hardest part about the loss to CSI was that we felt we didn’t control the last three sets,” the coach said. “CSI played well and put some things together that ultimately gave them momentum, which they didn’t let go, and that made the difference. I have such tremendous respect for their program and their coaches. Whenever our teams play each other, the result is a great match. We have to take advantage of the opportunities when they are in front of us by making sure we control the game on our side of the floor. We know we could have pulled it out if we had done a couple of things better.
Wiedemann said looking back at the tournament as a whole, the Grizzlies performed very well, especially in their first three games. “We went in with our game plan, and we executed it well,” she said. “There was just a missing connection against CSI, in the sense of taking control of the game through constant communication. We did not keep that constant going. But we did put some things together and learned some lessons that we can use in future games.”
Tournament statistics show another well balanced attack at the net for the Grizzlies. Freshman outside hitter Adriana Darthuy had 51 kills, followed by freshman outside hitter Catja Weijzen with 45, freshman middle attacker Rachel Holthaus with 39, freshman outside hitter Johonna Walkup with 29 and freshman middle attacker Greer Rogers with 24.
Sophomore setter Blanca Izquierdo led the team in assists with 174, as well as in attacking percentage with .417. Holthaus closely followed in attacking percentage with .380. Holthaus and Rogers led the team in blocking with 9 each; Rogers recorded two solo blocks. Sophomore Autumn Reese led the team in digs with 82. Darthuy recorded the most points earned with 60.
The Grizzlies will travel to Union Wednesday, Sept. 7, for a 6:30 p.m. game against East Central College then return home to host No. 4 Iowa Western Community College, Council Bluffs, at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, in the season home opener at West Plains Civic Center arena. In between the second and third sets of the game, university officials will induct Grizzly Volleyball standout Katja Stepanova (2008-09) to the Grizzly Athletics Hall of Fame. Admission to the game is free.
The game will follow the annual Grizzly Booster Club Fall Picnic, which will begin at 5 p.m. in the civic center exhibit hall. Everyone is invited to attend this free meal provided by Almost Famous Grille and BBQ and hear about the upcoming athletics seasons from Wiedemann, Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Chris Popp and Grizzly Cheer Team Coach Nick Pruitt.
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit its website.