WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team came through its toughest stretch of the season, so far, with flying colors, earning six consecutive wins – including three over ranked opponents – in a week’s time.
After defeating Region 16 rival Mineral Area College, Park Hills, on Sept. 13, the third-ranked Grizzlies traveled to Lakeland, Florida, and picked up four wins in the Polk State College Invitational Sept. 16 and 17, then returned home Tuesday, Sept. 20, to down No. 11 Jefferson College, Hillsboro, in three straight sets. The wins up the Grizzlies’ record to 13-3.
“This has been a long week,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “We put our season in a good position by getting through tough games efficiently. We played consistently, which made a difference and was important.”
At the tournament in Florida on Friday, the Grizzlies downed State College of Florida-Manatee 25-16, 25-20, 25-10, and No. 7 Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, Florida, 25-22, 18-25, 25-15, 25-21. Saturday, they downed Miami-Dade College, Miami, Florida, 25-23, 20-25, 25-17, 25-12, and the host team, ranked third at the time and now ranked fifth, 27-25, 25-12, 25-21.
“This was probably as good of a weekend as we’ve had in a long time,” Wiedemann said. “The teams were talented, but we were able to maintain. The consistency, the energy, the urgency and how we capitalized on situations when they presented themselves really made a difference in each game. Our players continue to take everything we work on and talk about in practice and use it in the games. They stick with the game plan and continue to do things well.”
Although unranked, Wiedemann said Miami proved to be one of the toughest competitors of the weekend. “Miami has as good of a team as anyone, but they have to learn to play through long stretches. They got frustrated and we didn’t. They didn’t stay in long points often enough, and we did. We talk about outlasting our opponents and not getting frustrated. We executed that very well,” she said.
Miami had one attacker who was a powerhouse, Wiedemann said. “She absolutely lights it up. When she wants to play, it’s unreal to watch.” Sophomore Grizzly libero Autumn Reese found out first hand just how hard the Miami player could pound it when one of her shots hit Reese in the face. “At one point in the first set Autumn took her best shot and acted like it didn’t faze her. That was huge in my mind,” the coach said.
Throughout the tournament, the Grizzlies fired on all cylinders, Wiedemann said. “Our serving was really good. It got to a point where we were so effective with our serve, we took our opponents out of system. Then we capitalized. They couldn’t get us out of system, and that changed everything. We also were very good in transition. We didn’t block a lot of balls, in terms of point production, but our blocks improved our ability to dig balls. We were able to get points out of good transitions because of our blocking.”
Offensively, the Grizzlies were led by freshman outside attacker Catja Weijzen, who recorded 61 kills during the tournament. Freshman middle attacker Rachel Holthaus was the most efficient at the net, recording 48 kills on 86 attempts with only six errors for an attacking percentage of .488. Sophomore setter Blanca Izquierdo led the team in assists with 176.
Defensively, Holthaus led the team in blocks with five, including two solo blocks, and Reese led the team in digs with 63. Weijzen led the team in aces with 11 and in points earned with 75.
“Rachel was really efficient. It was one of her best outings of the year,” Wiedemann said, “and Catja was great. The girl from Miami kind of fired her up. She really pounded the ball all weekend. Blanca ran a great offense for us. The way she ran the middle created point production everywhere. She’s so good at giving our hitters something where they can take a hard swing.”
Wiedemann said the Grizzlies didn’t play as well against Jefferson in their 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 win Tuesday as they did in the tournament over the weekend, but they remained consistent. “Our transition and ability to dig balls frustrated them,” she said. “We kept them out of system a lot. We’d dig a ball and score a point. We had good rallies and good hustle. We played with intensity, but it was controlled.”
Weijzen once again led the Grizzly offensive charge with 10 kills, followed closely by Holthaus with 9 and freshman outside attacker Johonna Walkup with 8. Izquierdo led the team in assists with 31. Freshman middle attacker Greer Rogers led the team in blocks with 3.5, including one solo block, and freshman outside attacker Adriana Darthuy led the Grizzlies in digs with 15. Weijzen had a team-leading 11.5 points earned.
Wiedemann once again thanked the crowd for providing a great playing atmosphere Tuesday evening, and Lazy W Pallets for sponsoring the match. “We truly appreciate the support we receive from our fans and our sponsors,” she said.
The Grizzlies will have a brief break before they return to the road Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 for Tyler Junior College Invitational in Tyler, Texas. Their next home games will be Oct. 7 and 8 in the Grizzly Invitational sponsored by Lazy W Pallets and Colton’s Steakhouse and Grill.
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit its website.