With her lively personality, its hard to believe Ashley Grubb could go unnoticed. But, while the Illinois State junior outside hitter doesnt get the fanfare of more noted teammates, her roles are no less important. She will continue as the Redbirds right-side hitter in this weekends Missouri Valley Conference matches at 7 p.m. Friday against Bradley and 7 p.m. Saturday vs. Northern Iowa in Redbird Arena.
Coach Sharon Dingman needed a double-negative to express Grubbs value on the court to her 7-2 Redbirds, who are leading the Missouri Valley Conference.
She is the kind of player that you notice what doesnt get done when shes not on the court, said Dingman.
Grubbs ballhandling skills are so strong that she was competing for the libero spot in preseason, but the junior from Jacksonville, Ill., admits shes happier playing the full rotation and not just the back line.
I love getting my swings, said Grubb, who had a season-high 6 kills in a season-high 16 attempts in ISUs three-game sweep at Creighton. When (setter) Kelly (Rikli) gets me the ball on game point, thats my biggest thrill.
As much as she likes power hitting, Grubb does the things that dont get much notice in the statistics. She has nine service aces in 31 games this season, but only three errors. Grubb, libero Paige White and left-side hitter Savannah Knowles have passed most of opponents serves this season. Their skill at getting the ball to Rikli accurately is a big reason ISU has four players averaging over three kills per game and an offense that is No. 2 in the Valley.
Those are our three anchors, said Dingman. Grubb, Paige and Savannah allow us to run our offense. Passing and serving are where weve been able to win and Im pleased with that.
Grubb thinks the Bradley-Northern Iowa weekend will be an important test for her team.
This weekend will be a test to see where we are in the league, said Grubb, whose Redbirds currently share the Valley lead with Wichita State at 2-0, with Northern Iowa a half-match behind at 1-0. We know that we have to be ready.
Dingman believes her team has what it takes to be ready to meet Bradley and Northern Iowa, even though the weekend will be different with more than 30 Redbird volleyball alums returning for a reunion.
This team understands the level of focus they need to have, said Dingman. They also understand that this is proving to be a crazy year in volleyball. Teams that arent expected to win are beating the favorites. Its happening nationally and in our league.
Grubb and Dingman are excited about the reunion.
Ive read the media guide and I know a lot of the names of our former players, said Grubb. It will be great to meet some of them and get to know them.
Dingman believes its a mutual opportunity.
It will be great to hear the returning players share old memories and Im excited for our current players to meet them, said Dingman. But Im also looking forward to seeing those returning players meet these players. I think they will like what they see in this team.
Cindy Harris, an assistant athletics director at Illinois State, wont have to travel far to the reunion, but the former Redbird outside hitter (1980-83) is proud to be part of Redbird volleyball. Shes one of 33 returning from as far away as Kansas, Ohio and Texas.
Volleyball at Illinois State has a proud history, said Harris. This reunion reminds us that there really is a Redbird volleyball family and we are all part of it.
