COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Losses are never easy, but some losses hurt a little more than others, and the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzlies’ five-set loss to Iowa Western Community College Monday night in Council Bluffs, Iowa, was painful.
The Grizzlies entered the contest knowing it would be their last shot at a top five team this season, and they wanted the win badly. But so did an athletic Reiver team, ranked fourth in the nation, that was coming off a tough loss to Indian Hills Community College, Ottumwa, Iowa. In the end, the home team prevailed, sending the Grizzlies home with a 19-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 13-15 loss and imagining what could have been.
“This one hurt, but I’m proud of the fight we had after being down 0-2,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “This was a big game for our players, and they went at it like it was. These girls have done so much to prove they are a team that’s worthy of recognition, so it’s not easy, and I hate it for them.”
The Grizzlies had their opportunities. After a slow start in the first set, they adjusted their play to offset the Reivers’ physicality. By the second set, they were back on track, but a number of service errors kept them from pulling ahead for the win.
“In the second set, we didn’t take advantage of the way we were playing by not capitalizing at the service line. We were pushing too much to be aggressive when really all we needed to do was take better care of the ball,” Wiedemann said. “If you take a couple of the service errors out of this set, it definitely could have made a difference in the outcome.”
The Grizzlies used the 10 minute break between the second and third sets to discuss several things, Wiedemann said. “You can’t change what happens, but you can change your response to it, and our response was great. We really started putting the pressure on them and started fighting through, and we took better care of the ball from the service line and stayed aggressive,” she explained.
The Grizzlies took the next two sets and seemed ready to finish off the Reivers in the fifth, but the Reivers showed why they’re a top five team, too, by fighting back. “Iowa Western earned the points to get the win. We didn’t give the points to them,” Wiedemann said. “They’re a good team, they have been all year.”
In the end, Wiedemann said, the Grizzlies were happy with the way they fought through the match, but they understood it was a missed opportunity, as well. “A loss is never easy to take, but when I started looking at it, all five of our losses this season were to teams that are ranked in the top five. We lost twice to Panola College (ranked No. 1), twice to Iowa Western and once to College of Southern Idaho (ranked third). Our players understand they don’t have another shot at any of these teams,” she said.
Wiedemann praised sophomore libero Autumn Reese for playing “fantastic,” noting she recorded a 2.88 passing rating for the night and, defensively, covered the floor well. “Autumn was lights out in serve receive, which set the tempo for us offensively, and she continued to do great things defensively,” Wiedemann said. Reese also led the team in service aces with three and in digs with 27.
Freshman outside attacker Catja Weijzen led the team offensively with 20 kills and 20 points earned, while sophomore setter Blanca Izquierdo recorded a team leading 54 assists. Defensively at the net, freshman middle attacker Greer Rogers led the team in blocks with 2.5, including two solo blocks.
The Grizzlies will host St. Louis Community College at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the West Plains Civic Center arena in their final Missouri Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) contest. After a trip to Hillsboro Oct. 21 and 22 for the Jefferson College Invitational Tournament, the Grizzlies will host their final match of the season against Mineral Area College at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the civic center in a non-Region 16 contest that’s being sponsored by Community First Banking Company and Screenshots Printing and Design.
In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Grizzlies will host their annual Dig Pink Night Oct. 25. Proceeds from their annual T-shirt fundraiser will go to the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks. In addition, members of the Student Government Association (SGA) will have a booth set up at the game to raise money for the foundation, as well.
“We’ll honor our sophomores in their final game as a Grizzly, too, so we hope to see everyone there,” the coach added
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit its website at http://wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/vb/.