On Thursday, March 21, 2013, Upper Merion senior Casey Griffith was recognized at a special news conference for signing a letter of intent to play volleyball at UMBC.
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Casey Griffith – University of Maryland Baltimore County (Volleyball)
Major: Undecided (possibly biology)
Final list of colleges: UMBC, Syracuse, University of Pennsylvania, Radford
Reasons for choosing UMBC: “It’s an honors university, so I know I’ll be academically challenged. Also, when I visited, the volleyball girls were really nice and welcoming, and the coach is really nice. I’m excited to work with them.”
When did the idea of playing volleyball at the collegiate level become a reality? “In my sophomore year in high school, I cut down to just playing volleyball. I was playing lacrosse as well, but club (volleyball) took over, and I didn’t have time for lacrosse anymore.”
Coach Tony Funsten says: “Casey’s freshman year she actually had a little trouble getting on the court because we had all the pieces the puzzle. She was good at everything, but we just didn’t know where she was going to head. After her freshman year, she became a libero, and that became her main focus, but her sophomore year once again we still had a libero. So as it worked out, circumstances led her to being a right side for us, and she was a fabulous right side for us as a sophomore. She continued her club play as a libero, and the next year our libero graduated, and she fit right in. It was a natural fit.
“We thought it was going to be that way her senior year, but Carolyn Yvellez, our right side, couldn’t play. Casey has always been willing to do whatever I’ve asked of her. She’s never stopped developing her skills. She had good hands, and she knows the game. It was just natural for her to go to the right side, and she just had a ridiculously outstanding year. Her willingness to do whatever was necessary is really an outstanding characteristic.
“In her time with us and Synergy, she’s learned to read hitters and recognize different types of arm swings and different types of sets and where you need to be and try to anticipate because – especially when you play at that high a club level and at the level we were playing in the state quarterfinals/semifinals – if you’re not at the right place, you’re not going to make the play, no matter how talented you are. Casey didn’t just rely on her talent, she relied on talent and positioning and reading and scouting reports and the whole ball of wax. She was able assimilate all that she was supposed to.
“And then there’s the natural ability. I really think that passing serve is, to a large degree, God-given. I equate it to the skill of hitting a baseball. You just seem to judge it better because of your perception and everything else. It’s not that you can’t get better at it, but it was easy for Casey. Was it easy? I don’t know, but she made it look easy. She was very confident, she moved comfortably to the ball, and she judged balls well.”
About Casey:
Favorite food: Granny Smith Apples
Favorite movie: 21 Jump Street
Favorite music: Country
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