Junior captain Michelle Griffith to lead '15 Kats
8/24/2015 7:35:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Usually the team captain for an athletic squad will be a senior. But when there are no seniors on your team, a junior has to step up.
That's exactly what is happening with the Sam Houston volleyball team this fall.
Michelle Griffith, a junior setter from College Park High School in The Woodlands, has been voted by her teammates to be the squad's leader in 2015.
“It's great being a captain as a junior because there's no pressure on you to get everything done in one year,” Griffith said. “There still is a sense of urgency because you are older and you know you have your teammates' respect. It's great to know they look up to you and respect what you do and say on the court. We have a good group with the talent to get things done this season and we're looking forward to the challenge.”
The Bearkats open play by hosting the annual Sam Houston Volleyball Invitational tournament Friday and Saturday August 28-29. Montana State, UTSA and Prairie View A&M will visit Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in a weekend head coach Brenda Gray will start her 32nd season at Sam Houston on a winning note.
Gray certainly believes she has solid leadership with Griffith directing action as team captain.
“Michelle is a natural born leader,” Gray said. “She actually has been with us for the past three years. She red-shirted as a true freshman in 2012 when we won the championship. And she ran our floor last season. She knows what it takes to win. The girls trust her to lead.”
Sam Houston has long been a force in Southland Conference volleyball. The Bearkats have finished among the top three teams in the conference race five of the last six years.
But, when the Southland announced the preseason poll of the league's head coaches in early August, Sam Houston has predicted to finish sixth in the 2015 race. That did not sit well.
“The preseason poll definitely got our attention,” Griffith said. “Being picked sixth lit a fire under us as we started two-a-days. It's going to be fun showing people in the league what we are capable of doing because they obviously don't think we are.”
Griffith became the fifth setter in Sam Houston's NCAA Division I history to earn first team All-Southland Conference honors last year. She started all 30 matches, tallying an impressive 10.89 assists per set as the Kats rolled up an 18-12 record and finished third in the Southland race.
The main target for Griffith's sets was outside hitter Deveney Wells-Gibson, one of only two Kat volleyball players to earn first team All-Southland honors three seasons in a row. Wells-Gibson will be missed but Griffith believes the absence of the team's leading scorer from this season's roster makes the Kat attack more unpredictable.
“I absolutely loved playing with Dev. She is going to be greatly missed,” Griffith said. “But it also can be a good thing for us. We were so outside heavy with Dev because we needed her to put the ball away and she did.
“This year it's exciting to feel how many options we have. During spring ball, we were able to spread the wealth and beat some really good teams because they didn't know where we were going. For the opposing defense, it's no longer just wait for us to get the ball to the left side and set it for Dev.”
Middle blocker Shelby Genung, outside hitter Breanna Homer and libero Claire Kilpatrick also are returning junior starters. Jordyn Vaughn and Brooke White are returning sophomores who saw lots of action in 2014 as well.
“We have freshmen joining the team who are going to be awesome to work with as well,” Griffith said. “Our middles are getting in there and setting their blocks and are opening up our offense. It's going to be awesome to run so much out of the middle.”
Griffith was All-District and team Most Valuable Player in high school at College Park and played on club teams that produced top five Junior Olympic Open national finishes.
“Sam Houston recruited me out of club volleyball,” Griffith said. “I was on a very good team that was ranked nationally every year and had some players go to big schools.I wanted to stay in Texas close to home. I visited a number of schools, but when I came to Sam it was different. There is a sense of family and welcome here that is wonderful.”
Like every young player in NCAA Division I volleyball, Griffith had to “pay her dues” before earning a berth in the lineup. She red-shirted in 2013 and played in only three matches as a red-shirt freshman. But, as the understudy to another All-Southland setter, Tayler Gray, those two seasons, Griffith learned her craft well.
“I always looked up to Tayler,” Griffith said. “Playing behind her, she always pushed me. She's now with us as a volunteer coach and she still pushes me. When she was playing, whether we were running stands or doing a setting drill, we were always pushing each other.”
Now the shoe is on the other foot as Griffith is the starter with a new freshman, Jaclyn Ward from Oak Ridge High School in Spring, joining the team.
“Just like I pushed Tayler when I was a freshman, Jaclyn is pushing me right now,” Griffith said. “That's what Coach Gray always does – bring in a younger person that's going to push the older player ahead of her. That older person is there to lead. Taylor to this day is constantly making me better.”
The head coach is a definite believer in competition for starting roles.
“It's good to see Michelle and Jaclyn fighting for the position,” Gray said. “Michelle did the same for Tayler and it made them both better players. We have a lot of new this fall. Michelle is familiar with all her hitters. I think her comfort zone on the floor with running the offense and leading and guiding the team will be good for us. I look forward to her having a great year.”
Griffith has been recognized by selection as a member of the All-Southland Conference preseason team.
“Selection to the preseason all-conference team gives me a sense of confidence going into the season that people in the league do respect me,” Griffith said. “But, at the same time, it holds me to a higher standard. That's fine with me.”
Griffith also is a team leader off the floor. She is the team's representative on the Sam Houston Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Last year, she earned Academic All-Southland honors with her 3.68 overall grade point average as a food science and nutrition major.
“I've always had a passion for medicine, but I don't want the long run that medical school calls for,” Griffith said. “I want to go to Physician's Assistance school after graduation. I'm already applying to the top five programs in Texas. I want to stay in the state.”
The junior setter's focus now, however, is on leading the Bearkats to a championship performance this fall.
“Our goal is simple – get a ring,” Griffith said. “Sure, this group has no seniors. We're young but we are all very close on and off the floor. We have all the pieces if we can put it together. I want to see each of my teammates achieve their goals and earn all the honors they can. We're ready to get started.”
