Groos' volleyball career is a walk-on's success story

Nov. 9, 2007

By LINDA BOUVET, Sports Information Director

SAULT STE. MARIE - Stories about walk-ons achieving great success abound in college athletics, and they are tales that never grow stale. Such stories drive home the point that good things happen to athletes who aren't afraid to pay their dues, put in extra work and sacrifice for the team.

Lake Superior State senior Jamie Groos' rise from an inexperienced walk-on to senior captain on the Laker volleyball team is one of the greatest success stories during 13-year coach Mark Engle's tenure. The Escanaba, Mich., native went from barely making the team to becoming one of the top blockers in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

"I was kind of intimidated when I was a freshman, especially being from an Upper Peninsula school," Groos said. "Going from U.P. high school volleyball to Division II college volleyball - during the first few practices I watched the ball zip by my head when I was supposed to hit it. My teammates probably were frustrated with me back then."

One of the GLIAC's top blockers

That frustration didn't last long. As a sophomore middle hitter in 2005-06, Groos ranked 10th in the GLIAC in blocks per game. Last season, she ranked seventh in total blocks and led the league in solos.

This season, as the team's only senior, she played all-around for the first time in her collegiate career. According to Engle, she had only months to learn positional assignments that most college players have been playing since the eighth grade.

"I trust Mark," said Groos, who played both middle hitter and outside hitter this season. "He knows the game much better than I do. He puts me where he thinks I can be effective and help the team...Playing outside hitter has its advantages. You get a heck of a lot more attack attempts. When you're in the middle, it has to be a perfect pass. I got a lot more swings and a lot more kills (as an outside hitter). I just don't have as many blocks this year."

This season, most of the blocking responsibilities went to redshirt freshman Samantha Gibbs and sophomore Sara Hess. Later in the year, Hess and Groos played opposite each other in the rotation, so Groos had the opportunity to do more blocking.

Groos led the Lakers in kills with 285 and serve percentage at .970, finished second in digs with 297 and service reception at .920, and was third in blocks with 48. It is very rare for middle hitters to have such solid all-around statistics.

"Those digs - that's a pretty big accomplishment for someone in their first year of playing all-around," Groos said. "When I came here, I knew I was fundamentally weaker than everyone else. I had so many things to fix. Most players have decent footwork and a decent arm swing. I didn't have anything. I was a good blocker in high school, and that was the thing I focused on most. I knew that was where I was at least as good as everybody else.

"Mark told me, `I want you to be a player who can play every spot. Now you have the footwork and arm swing. You have to work on your passing and defense. I spent a lot of time during the recent years working on passing and serve receive."

Groos labeled herself the weakest of the three LSSU true freshmen who joined the Laker team in 2003, and she is the only one of those three players to complete her four years of eligibility. Her message of persistence is not lost on the rest of the squad, which included two juniors, three sophomores and one redshirt freshman in the regular rotation.

"I could see them improve," Groos said. "The freshmen -- you could see them improve by leaps and bounds. I think we continued to move uphill all season. The program is moving forward...Mark is looking for more players who can play all-around."

In addition to her success on the court, Groos is among LSSU's top five student-athletes academically. The three-time GLIAC All-Academic Team honoree has a 3.949 grade point average while majoring in computer networking. Groos is also a former recipient of the Bud Cooper Coaches Award.

As part of a practicum, Groos helped Northern Star Broadcasting, one of Sault Ste. Marie's local radio stations, design a production order system that automates orders for sales reps. Although the project was halted due to a leadership change within the company, Groos was thrilled to have the opportunity to put her degree to use.

"I like designing programs. It's fun learning the whole design process and how businesses can run better," Groos said. "There are things you can do for businesses to make their work so much easier, and I like working with people."

Groos plans to attend graduate school after earning her undergraduate degree this spring.