WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Four members of the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team were named to the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference (MCCAC) All-Conference team for the 2016 season.

    They include first team selections Blanca Izquierdo, a 5-foot, 9-inch sophomore setter from Madrid, Spain; Catja Weijzen, a 6-foot freshman outside hitter from Houten, Holland; and Autumn Reese, a 5-foot, 3-inch sophomore libero from Ozark; as well as second-team honoree Adriana Darthuy, a 5-foot, 9-inch outside/right side attacker from Marseille, France.

    “I’m happy our players and team have received this recognition, and it’s very much deserved,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “Going undefeated in the conference and the region this year was a goal we set at the beginning of the season, and our team committed to it. Blanca and Autumn set the tone for our team as our sophomore leaders on and off the floor, and Catja and Adriana made an immediate impact for us on the floor. It’s obvious others took notice. They are all deserving of their all-conference recognition.”

    In their first year competing in the conference, the Grizzlies went undefeated against MCCAC foes Mineral Area College (MAC) of Park Hills, Jefferson College in Hillsboro, East Central College in Union, and St. Louis Community College and earned their first MCCAC conference championship.

    Other MCCAC first-team all-conference honorees included MAC’s Cailey Braken and Jane Kickham, Jefferson’s Kayla Juenger and Antoinette Fields, East Central’s MacKenzy Vedder, and St. Louis’ Alyssa Sarandos. Others earning second team honors were Taylor Covington and Pam Zuluaga of MAC, Rachel Luebbers and Taylor Fortner of Jefferson, Kayla Borcherding and McKenzie Struckoff of East Central, and Maura Raybun of St. Louis.

    For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit its website.