WEST PLAINS, Mo. – It’s taken nearly all season, but the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team finally found that elusive mindset that leads to wins.
The Grizzlies (8-20) won four of the six games they played on the road last week, earning key wins over a Region 16 rival and a nationally-ranked competitor from the NJCAA Division II ranks and earning some respect from the No. 2 NJCAA Division I team in the nation.
The Grizzlies dropped the first game of their road trip on Oct. 18 to Region 16 rival Mineral Area College (MAC), ranked eighth in the most recent NJCAA Division I poll, 16-25, 23-25, 22-25 in Park Hills. But they bounced back Oct. 19 to defeat region foe Jefferson College 21-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-23 in Hillsboro, and won their first three games in the annual Jefferson College Halloween Classic Oct. 20-21.
On Oct. 20, they defeated Vincennes University, Vincennes, Indiana, 25-14, 25-18, 25-17 and Cloud County Community College, Concordia, Kansas, 25-15, 25-21, 25-22. Oct. 21, they downed Illinois Central College (ICC), East Peoria, the No. 7 team in Division II, 25-17, 25-15, 25-16, before losing to Division I No. 2 Iowa Western Community College (IWCC), Council Bluffs, 12-25, 21-25, 29-31.
NO LONGER SETTLING
“I feel like we finally have a mindset that will allow us to go into games and not settle,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said. “We worked through some things, and the lineup we used through last week is something we can get better with.
“There is a different feel than where we were a week-and-a-half ago,” the coach added. “We want to fight for wins. Instead of being down after the loss to Iowa Western Saturday night, we were mad and we were ready to go again. There is an energy that comes from the effort and emotion put into playing. That’s something we haven’t seen much of so far this season.”
REGION 16 FOES
The attitude change began during the MAC game, thanks in part to a change in the lineup. After dropping the first set, the Grizzlies changed their rotation, going from a 6-2 to a 5-1. “We started to get into a flow after that,” the coach said. “It’s frustrating trying to figure out what combination of players will create consistency, but once we switched, we found a lineup we can build on. The players had more chemistry, and their ability to move around each other continued to improve throughout the weekend.”
Against Jefferson the next day, the Grizzlies finally showed some tenacity, bouncing back after dropping the first set to win the next three. “We were finally fighting for it, we weren’t settling. The players were wanting more, and the emotion they felt after getting the win was much needed,” Wiedemann said. “It was something we were hoping would continue to drive us to wanting more from each other, and it did.”
HALLOWEEN CLASSIC
They got more in the first three games of the tournament. The Grizzlies showed greater efficiency and kept their focus, for the most part, as they picked up straight set wins over Vincennes, Cloud County and ICC.
“We knew Vincennes was a good team, but we were efficient, we ran the middle well, we really took care of business. We carried the feeling we had defeating Jefferson into this game,” Wiedemann said. “We lost a little focus against Cloud County, but we were still able to beat them in three straight.
“ICC is a good team. They’re well coached, will stay in points and not make a lot of errors,” the coach added. “I felt like we took control from the beginning and played very efficiently. We ran our offense through the middle as much as we could. Our passing was better, our blocking was better and our defense was better throughout the tournament. Our players were really feeling comfortable about who we are and what we’re going to do.”
Against IWCC, however, the Grizzlies found themselves reverting to old ways against the pounding of the Reivers in the first set. “We backed off, we played timid,” Wiedemann said. “Down in the second set, we called a time out to regroup, and we went back out there and played so much better. We stopped being timid and played aggressive,” she said. “There’s a reason they’re No. 2 and have been most of the season. We needed to walk out of there saying we left it on the floor, no matter what happened, and we did.”
RESPECT
In fact, when the teams met at the net after the game to congratulate each other, Wiedemann said the Reivers’ coaches were very complimentary of the Grizzlies’ efforts, especially on defense. The teams had played each other twice earlier in the season with very different final scores.
The Grizzlies have a lot to be proud of with this trip, Wiedemann said. “They took that feeling of fighting and not settling and turned it into motivation for the rest of the weekend. That’s something we haven’t seen this season, and it’s what I’m most proud of them for. The mindset needed to play this game is so important. We have a group that had a breakthrough in its mindset,” she said.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Statistical leaders for the Grizzlies against MAC were freshman outside attacker Koty Cooper, seven kills and 9.5 points earned; freshman middle attacker Grace Stumbaugh, .308 attacking percentage and three blocks; redshirt freshman setter Kinli Simmons, 22 assists; freshman libero Kamryn Artale, 17 digs and 2.55 passing rating.
Statistical leaders against Jefferson were Stumbaugh, 13 kills, .333 attacking percentage, four blocks and 17.5 points earned; Simmons, 39 assists; redshirt freshman defensive specialist Elliotte Bourne, 2.41 passing rating; and Artale, 17 digs.
Statistical leaders for the tournament were Stumbaugh, 32 kills; freshman middle attacker Keziah Williams, .357 attacking percentage, 9.5 blocks and 43 points earned; Simmons, 124 assists; and Artale, 71 digs.
FINAL GAME OF REGULAR SEASON
The Grizzlies will close out their regular season Tuesday, Oct. 24, at home against East Central College of Union in a Missouri Community College Athletic Conference (MCCAC) contest at 6:30 p.m. in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center. The game will be sponsored by The Fish Shack and The Pizza Shack.
Wiedemann said the evening has been dubbed “Student Appreciation/Hawaiian Luau Theme Night.” The first 75 students who attend the game in Grizzly or Hawaiian themed apparel will be treated to free pizza in the civic center’s Redbud Room immediately following the game, she said.
“We hope everyone will come out and cheer on the Grizzlies in their final home game of the season,” the coach said.
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit www.wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/vb/. For complete statistics of the Grizzlies’ games, visit http://www.njcaa.org/sports/wvball/2017-18/div1/teams/missouristateuniversitywestplains.
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