By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
As they cruised through the regular season, Marshfield volleyball players and coaches were optimistic about their chances of winning the Big 8 East, securing a district title and embarking on a Final Four run.
Then came the second-worst news they received all season.
Less than two weeks before the start of the 2020 district tournament, Marshfield learned that two of its seniors — who would both later be named to the Class 4 all-state team — were placed into quarantine.
Without Brooklyn Crawford and Alliyah Joiner in the lineup, the Blue Jays lost back-to-back conference games to Springfield Catholic and Logan-Rogersville to spoil their chances of an outright championship.
Crawford and Joiner would have been eligible to return to the lineup on October 27, but Marshfield’s district opener was scheduled for October 26. West Plains upset the Blue Jays, ending their season in round one. A team that won 26 of its first 30 games ended 27-7 — and its best players could only watch.
“One thing we kept on preaching is there were some teams in Kansas City or St. Louis who didn’t even get an opportunity to play,” last fall due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Marshfield coach Jarod Olson said. “They didn’t have a season at all. Our girls, our program, our school – we were blessed to be able to have a season and be able to go compete. The bottom line is we had an opportunity to win and we put ourselves in a good position and we just weren’t able to do that at the end.”
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That perspective was undoubtedly shaped by the worst news the team received all season – the mid-summer revelation that senior Ashlyn Grier was being airlifted to a hospital after suffering a stroke.
“It was a life-and-death situation,” Olson said.
Grier’s stroke – and her ensuing journey – became a rallying point for the Blue Jays, as they came together to support the senior and celebrate the milestones she passed on her road to recovery.
Grier was able to return to the court for Marshfield’s second game of the season, roughly two months after the incident, and wound up appearing in 23 of their 34 contests. Her presence was a huge boost to the Blue Jays, who marveled at how she was able to compete given where she was just a few weeks prior.
“She had to learn how to open her hand again and how to walk again and how to talk again,” Olson recalled. “It was incredible to see how quickly she was recovering from this.”
Grier’s battle embodied the spirit of Marshfield’s senior class, seven players who saw the program win more than 100 games in their four years at the high school. They represented over half of the 2020 varsity roster, which returns just six players — only three of whom played in most of the team’s sets.
“Last year was just a great group of seniors,” Olson said. “Those girls have been in battle basically since playing school ball. They had played for the championship of every tournament they had played in since they were in seventh grade. Those kids knew how to battle, how to win and how to compete.”
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The all-state selections, Crawford and Joiner, are two of the three graduates now playing college sports.
Crawford will continue in volleyball at College of the Ozarks, while Joiner is on the Southwest Baptist track team. Brianna Utecht, who earned four all-state honors in track in spring, will run at Wichita State.
Each earned all-district and all-conference honors after leading the Blue Jays in at least one statistical category. Joiner had 327 digs and 448 receptions, Utecht had 95 blocks and Crawford had 342 kills.
Baylee Hayes, Harper Coltrane, Ellie Whitehurst and Grier have also graduated, transforming a program that had seven de facto leaders one year ago into one without a single senior on the roster.
“That’s the main thing that we’ve been preaching,” Olson said. “We have to be leaders. We have to learn how to be leaders. We have to follow in the footsteps of the kids that we’ve had in the previous three years. We’ve had strong senior classes that I’ve been able to show how to lead.”
One of the players who could assume a more prominent leadership role is sophomore setter Mollie Thomas, who earned all-conference and all-district honors after leading Marshfield with 53 aces and 500 assists as a freshman. She also ranked among team leaders with 191 digs (fourth) and 142 kills (third).
“She started every match for us last year as a freshman,” Olson said. “And as a setter, you have to be the quarterback of the offense. You have to be able to communicate, and she’s not afraid to. That’s huge.”
Juniors Bayley Simmons (outside hitter) and Macie James (defensive specialist/outside hitter) also return after seeing the floor in most of Marshfield’s sets last year.
“Bayley Simmons is a girl we’re going to lean on quite a bit,” Olson said. “With her presence out there on the court, she’s a tall girl. She’s an athletic girl. She was all-state in the high jump this year.”
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Sophomore middle hitters Lauren Leubbert and Gracie Kimrey and setter Abby McBride are all back after seeing time on the varsity squad last season. Classmate Addison Houston enters the equation as a defensive specialist, while Lillie Findley looks to secure a role as an outside/opposite hitter.
“We have several sophomore girls who are really solid athletes,” Olson said. “They were on that varsity court practicing against our varsity last year — a lot — and getting a lot of practice experience, trying to play at the level that we expect them to play at. This summer, we’ve been able to play in a few leagues and kind of get their feet wet. We feel really good about these young players.”
Juniors Riley Manary (opposite hitter) and Peyton Byrd (defensive specialist) will also be in the mix. And the team’s lone freshman, Ruby Joiner, will look to have an immediate impact as a defensive specialist.
Exactly one week after their August 24 appearance at the Camdenton Jamboree, the Blue Jays will return home to open the regular season against defending Class 4 state champion Willard.
Marshfield’s Big 8 East opener is scheduled for September 27, when Mount Vernon comes to town.
“I feel like we are as athletic as we have ever been,” Olson said. “Skills-wise, I feel we are really close. We just have to do a good job coaching.”
