Greta Griswold excels on and off the volleyball court
Senior Gretta Griswold serves the ball in Millis Gym. Photo by: Liz Reichart
By Edward Lennon// Staff Writer
The High Point University Women’s Volleyball team is off to a great start this year with the help of senior captain Greta Griswold. Griswold has been excelling on and off the court.
In her fourth collegiate season, Griswold continues to make a huge impact. In addition to her athletic skills, Griswold also has an industrious work ethic, a selfless attitude and enthusiasm.
Joining the team as a preferred walk-on in 2013, she did not expect a lot of playing time.
“Coming in I was told by the old coach that I might not play at all during my four years,” Griswold said.
Griswold did not let this discourage her. Instead, she took this as motivation. She wanted to show how tough she was and improve her skills so she could help her team be successful. She ended up playing in a few matches during her freshman year.
Showing improvement and determination, Griswold began to illustrate characteristics of a leader. As an underclassman, she mostly led by example, working very hard at practice and with the strength and conditioning coaches. As time progressed, she continued to lead by example as well as transitioned into a vocal leader.
Her work ethic became so impressive that she was recognized by HPU after her junior season. HPU’s strength and conditioning department named her the 2015-2016 female recipient of the “Iron Panther,” an award that honors the hardest working athlete of any sport.
Griswold has been a positive influence on the underclassman because their work ethics have become similar to her work ethic. Last year, freshman Molly Livingston was named the female recipient of the “Iron Cub,” the freshman version of the award Griswold won.
Griswold’s selfless attitude is a huge reason why she is such an asset to the team. Her current head coach, Tom Mendoza, truly believes that she is a great player.
“Greta is a great team player and she really wants the group to succeed,” Mendoza said. “She shows how she always puts the team first and she is a great example of how to carry oneself.”
Coming from a coach, this shows how highly her teammates, the athletic department and the rest of the university think of Griswold.
“I just want my team to be as good as we can be,” Griswold said. “I will do whatever I can to help us improve.”
She puts her teammates’ needs in front of hers and that is one of the reasons why she is one of the team captains.
In order for a team to be successful, there has to be a lot of enthusiasm and liveliness. For the women’s volleyball team, Griswold is a huge source of the energy and enthusiasm.
“I’m one of the loudest people at practices,” Griswold said. “I love being energetic and enthusiastic. Being the one that rallies everyone together is important to me.”
Most college athletes have played their sport their entire life; however, this is not the case for Griswold as she started playing volleyball when she was 12. Griswold was a very serious soccer player, playing for about 15 years, but continued playing volleyball in college. Her varsity high school coach was a huge influence on her decision. He was very supportive and helpful to her progression as a volleyball player and her recruiting process.
Another positive influence was her mother, Lisa. She was a three-time women’s soccer national champion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Growing up with a former competitor, Griswold was able to learn form her mother. Lisa helped her daughter develop her strong work ethic.
“My mother’s honesty was really important and helpful to my improvement,” Griswold said. “She did not sugarcoat or lie to me if I did bad that day. She would let me know and I would try to fix it.”
Griswold truly puts the word “scholar” in the term “scholar-athlete.” Through three seasons, she has been a three-time Millis Scholar Athlete. This is an honor to any athlete who has a grade point average above a 3.0. Griswold is also a member of the Media Fellows Program. Most impressively, Griswold is one of the class of 2017’s Junior Marshalls.
Griswold is in the full swing of her senior season and she says that this year’s victory over NC State was the highlight of her career.
“It was great to get a win over an Atlantic Coast Conference team,” Griswold said. “It was a great feeling, and that was my first win over an ACC team.”
Griswold is an extremely remarkable and accomplished person because of how she applies herself and how she does not take anything for granted. She is very grateful of all she has. All of her characteristics are going to lead to a very promising future.