HILLSBORO, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team added four more wins to their season record over the weekend at the Jefferson College Invitational Tournament in Hillsboro.
The Grizzlies, now 27-5, opened the two-day event Friday with a 25-20, 25-23, 25-22 win over Vincennes University, Vincennes, Indiana, then followed that with a 25-15, 25-15, 25-22 victory over Cloud County Community College, Concordia, Kansas. On Saturday, they downed Illinois Central College, East Peoria, 25-15, 26-28, 25-12, 28-26, and John A. Logan College, Carterville, Illinois, 25-16, 25-8, 25-23.
“It was a good weekend to go 4-0,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “It was a very competitive tournament. All of the teams were good, so we had to play well. Our ability to maintain a certain level of play and being consistent made the difference.”
Offensively, the Grizzlies were led by freshman outside attacker Catja Weijzen with 62 kills and sophomore setter Blanca Izquierdo with 175 assists. Freshman middle attacker Rachel Holthaus proved most efficient at the net offensively, recording a .535 attacking percentage.
Defensively, freshman middle attacker Greer Rogers led the team in blocks with seven, including four solo blocks, while sophomore libero Autumn Reese led the team in digs with 58. Izquierdo led the team in service aces with 5, and Weijzen led the team in points earned with 68.5.
“Catja produces points, and she did it again over the weekend,” Wiedemann said. “She’s just going to continue to get better. When she begins perfecting the little nuances of the game, she will be even more effective and powerful.”
Phillips, Wiedemann said, put together her most consistent power performance at the net over the weekend. “She’s always had the ability to take care of the ball, but she’s swinging with more power now. She’s worked really hard at this, and it’s paying off,” the coach said. Phillips had 39 kills during the tournament.
Freshman middle attacker Greer Rogers also played well, Wiedemann said. “Her length makes other teams have to do things they don’t want to do. She earns points at times when we really need them, sometimes in unconventional ways. Her ability to do the little things, which go unnoticed most of the time, make a big impact on the outcome of a game, and I love that about her,” the coach said.
Wiedemann also praised the defensive play of freshman outside attacker Johonna Walkup and sophomore defensive specialist Maja Petronijevic. “Jo and Maja did a good job digging the ball on the left side. Combined, they dug 6.5 balls per game, which is just what we needed,” the coach said.
The Grizzlies’ final match of the season is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against Mineral Area College, Park Hills, in a non-region, non-conference contest that is being sponsored by Community First Banking Company and Screenshots Printing and Design. This also will be the Grizzlies’ annual “Dig Pink Night” in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, and it will be “Sophomore Night” for the team’s four sophomores who will be leaving the team after this season: Izquierdo, Reese, Phillips and Petronijevic.
Special T-shirts for “Dig Pink Night” will be available for $12 each for youth sizes through adult XL and $15 each for sizes 2X and 3X. Orders can be placed by downloading the order form on the Grizzly Volleyball Facebook page, “Missouri State University-West Plains Volleyball,” or by contacting Strength and Conditioning Coach Keri Elrod at 417-255-7936 or KeriElrod@MissouriState.edu. Some shirts will be available for purchase at the game. Fans also will be able to order shirts at the game. All proceeds will go to the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.
The Student Government Association also will have a booth at the game to collect donations for the foundation.
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit its website.